Report | Environment Michigan Research and Policy Center

Toxic Waterways

Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of mercury pollution in the United States. Emissions from these plants eventually make their way into Michigan’s waterways, contaminating fish and wildlife.

News Release | Environment Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Under Threat from Underfunding

A new report, The Best of America Under Threat from Underfunding, released today by Environment Michigan showed that visitorship to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is on the rise. But even as Sleeping Bear Dunes draws more and more visitors, it could face budget cuts in the coming year- leaving it with fewer resources for maintenance, upkeep and stewardship. 

News Release | Environment Michigan

Congressman Peters Standing Up for Michiganders' Health Within Federal Budget Debate

As negotiations around funding for the federal government continue into the weekend in Washington, D.C., Congressman Gary Peters is taking actions to ensure that the final bill does not include attacks on Michiganders’ public health and our environment. Congressman Peters signed onto a letter this week to House Speaker John Boehner, urging him not to allow any attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to clean up dangerous pollution.

News Release | Environment Michigan

Budget Threatens Michigan’s Public Health & Environment

A budget bill being pushed in Congress this week includes a number of measures that would threaten Michigan’s public health and environment, according to Environment Michigan. Under the bill, the Environmental Protection Agency would be barred from taking any action to clean up carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants from coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other industrial pollution sources; and the EPA would be barred from restoring Clean Water Act protections for many of the nation’s most vulnerable waterways. 

Report | Environment Michigan Research and Policy Center

Best of America Under Threat from Underfunding

As America’s greatest places are becoming more popular destinations, now is the time to ensure that national parks have the resources they need to sustain valuable visitor programs and services, maintain the quality of park facilities, ensure safety and promote park stewardship. Proposed budget cuts for the coming year will only add to the National Parks Service budget shortfalls, created by years of underfunding.

Report | Environment America

Our Great Waters

To restore and protect our great waters, Environment Michigan is calling on Congress to pass legislation this summer that will reduce pollution, increase investments in restoration efforts, and protect our most treasured places for generations to come. This report highlights the following eight waters across the country that are in the most need of increased protections and immediate restoration efforts: Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Tahoe, the Puget Sound, the Columbia River, the San Francisco Bay and the Great Lakes.

Report | Earthjustice, Environment America, Clean Water Action, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Southern Environmental Law Center

Courting Disaster: How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It

For decades, the Clean Water Act protected the Nation’s surface water bodies from unregulated pollution and rescued them from the crisis status they were in during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Now these vital protections are being lost. This report details the threat to our Nation’s waters by examining dozens of case studies, and highlights the urgent need for Congress to restore full Clean Water Act protections to our waters.

Report | Environment Michigan Research and Policy Center

Wasting Our Waterways: Toxic Industrial Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act

Industrial facilities continue to dump millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into America’s rivers, streams, lakes and ocean waters each year — threatening both the environment and human health. According to the EPA, pollution from industrial facilities is responsible for threatening or fouling water quality in more than 10,000 miles of rivers and more than 200,000 acres of lakes, ponds and estuaries nationwide.

Result

Lake Michigan defended.

Environment Michigan’s advocacy has helped win numerous victories for the Great Lakes, including stopping pollution from power plants and refineries — like BP’s proposed expansion in 2008, which would have led to hundreds more pounds of toxic waste being dumped into Lake Michigan.