Inside 208

Last week, the Michigan Municipal League joined state agencies, emergency managers, local governments at the Michigan High Waters Coordinating Summit in Lansing. The summit, convened by Gov. Whitmer and the Department of Great Lakes Energy and Environment, addressed the current high waters crisis and both provided education on the climate [...]

In addition to the League's official media statement in response to the Governor's budget presentation yesterday, here are some of the more critical details for League member communities: The Governor's Fiscal Year 2020-21 budget utilizes $11 billion in General Fund dollars, just barely higher than the $10.7 billion spent in...

Registration is now open for the 2020 Great Lakes Water Infrastructure Conference, a first-of-its-kind regional conference hosted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The conference will focus on the water infrastructure challenges faced by the Great Lakes region and solutions to those challenges. Over 800 attendees [...]

Officials from several Michigan communities testified in a House subcommittee Thursday, January 23,  about the devastating impact of shoreline erosion and high waters. A related report given by Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) predicted little relief is in sight as water levels are expected to get [...]

The Michigan Municipal League has secured a hearing in the House Appropriation Sub-Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Quality to highlight the devastating impact of shoreline erosion and high waters on Michigan’s coastal communities. The hearing, scheduled for Thursday, January 23rd at 10:30 a.m., and located at the Anderson House [...]

With the voting this week, the Legislature officially wrapped up their activity for the year and reached the halfway point of the 2019-2020 legislative term.  The House and Senate are now on recess until January 8th.  All bills introduced in 2019 continue to remain eligible for action until the end...

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is holding three public hearings next month on its plans to regulate several types of fluorinated chemicals that may pose a health risk where they’re being found in public drinking water. Those levels (in parts-per-trillion, or ppt) for seven compounds are: PFNA...

As expected, following the Legislature’s movement of budget bills that the Administration had not signed off on, Governor Whitmer responded aggressively to the legislative spending proposal by issuing 147 separate line items vetoes within the 16 departmental budget bills she signed.  Signing the bills allowed her to avoid a state government [...]

EGLE has provided stakeholders with the initial draft for Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) regulations for PFAS contaminates based on input received this summer. These draft regulations advise on the best technologies available to mitigate PFAS along with added public notice requirements, new PFAS MCLs, sampling requirements and compliance requirements for [...]

Last Friday, the Michigan Court of Claims ruled to dismiss the 2018 lawsuit challenging Michigan’s lead and copper rules for safe drinking water. The lawsuit was filed by the cities of Detroit, Livonia, Great Lakes Water Authority and Oakland County who argued the rules compromise their ability to remove lead [...]