| Michigan Department of Environmental Quality | |
|---|---|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1995 |
| Preceding agency | Department of Natural Resources[1] |
| Jurisdiction | Michigan |
| Headquarters | Lansing, Michigan |
| Annual budget | $341.3 million (2010) |
| Agency executive | Steven E. Chester, Director[2] |
| Child agencies | Air Quality Division Environmental Science and Services Division Land and Water Management Division Office of Geological Survey Office of the Great Lakes Remediation & Redevelopment Division Waste & Hazardous Materials Division Water Bureau[3] |
| Website | |
| www.michigan.gov/deq/ | |
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was the agency of the state of Michigan charged with "Protecting Michigan's Environment - Ensuring Michigan's Future"[4]
Contents |
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was a spin off of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR was created in 1921 as the Michigan Department of Conservation. In 1968, the name was changed to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
In 1995, The Department of Environmental Quality was created by Executive Order No. 1995-18, which transferred environmental regulatory programs from the Department of Natural Resources to it[5]. Subsequent Executive Orders transferred additional regulatory programs formerly associated with other agencies, such as Low Level Radioactive Waste Authority from the Department of Commerce, the Above Ground Storage Tank Program and the inspection of dry cleaning establishments from the Department of State Police, the Michigan Environmental Science Board and the Environmental Administration Division from the Department of Management and Budget. A significant order in 1999 created the Water Quality Advisory Board.
In 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm moved to merge the Department back into the Department of Natural Resources and the authority to appoint the reunited department's director instead of Natural Resources Commission. The State Senate has passed a resolution to stop the merger. [6]
There are key topics that MDEQ focuses on in order to achieve and maintain smooth functionality among its active members, external organizations, and local community members. These topics pertain to legal procedures, environmental databases, reporting requirements, grant programs, coordinating logistics, and other functions. All 16 categories are described below in greater detail, broken into three sectors: Logistical Categories, Environmental Action and Management, and Additional Categories.
Many of the regulatory programs overseen and administered by the DEQ establish a right to contested case hearing. Issues that are covered within these programs include water quality of inland lakes and streams, air quality, solid waste management, wetlands, shorelands, drinking water, oil production, and many more. Cases are heard by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and the State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules.
Community Right to Know is interconnected with Emergency Planning and notifies community members when quick measures need to be taken in case of an unexpected event or setting. This is stated in Michigan's implementation of Title III in Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (“SARA Title III”) and details four focuses:
Learn more about Title III SARA Act and its four major components.
DEQ activities have established facilities that are centralized in certain locations. This category is used to aid the public in locating information in regards to their environmental interested. Listed below are sites/locations that are the most popular to public interest in the state:
Maps are available to the public electronically or through request of a hard copy. Available maps:
Assistance can be found at the Environmental Assistance Center (EAC) where it services all environmental regulatory compliance needs. Services include: telephone assistance, planning and producing of training events, or developing publications, educated staff members from major environmental protection programs will be of great help on a wide range of topics. Specific Services are listed here:
Phone Number to EAC: 1-800-662-9278, or Send Email Hours: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday
This component entails what community members, regardless of age, can do themselves in order to learn more about the environment and also take initiative action to protect their surroundings. Resources available to the public include:
Reports are made each year on the state's air quality, Great Lakes, wetlands, drinking water, inland lakes and streams, and environmental clean-ups. These examinations are made to observe the progress that has been made in each area, while highlighting room for improvement as well.
These services (physical, chemical, microbiological testing) are mainly provided for environmental programs in the state for purposes of: drinking water, bathing beaches, public swimming pools, beaches, waste management, air quality, and geographical surveys among other areas.
Major restricted appropriations, over $10M (estimated fiscal year 2009-10):
1. Forestry Funds
2. Game and Fish Funds
3. Parks Funds
4. Waterways Funds
5. Miscellaneous
(*Including funds to be transferred to permanent investment). [8]
MDEQ is currently working actively to establish relations with group and community organizations as well to not only strive to maintain safety guidelines in each environmental sector, but to also preserve the environment for many future generations to come. Thus, funding opportunities are available to the affiliated groups and organizations to initiate community programs.
The Clean Water Fund plays a major collaborative role with the MDEQ in protecting Michigan’s environment and water resources. They help enact the DEQ’s plans for water pollution controls and for monitoring the quality of Michigan’s water. [9] The Clean Water Fund strongly values the Great Lakes as a natural resource, and aims to protect the lakes as much as possible. [10] They want to keep the lakes and their resources as public assets, not held by private institutions. [11] The organization also helps in protecting water resources from pollution (e.g. waste from natural gas extraction), as well as protecting groundwater. One grant the DEQ allotted to the CWF was $8 million to correct wastewater flow from storm sewers. [12]
The Clean Michigan Initiative is a $675 million bond, approved in 1998, aimed directly at Michigan’s water resources, administered by the Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Community Health. Among the recipients of funding are local and state parks, waterfronts, the Clean Water Fund, lead and other contaminants, and CMI Brownfield Funding. Forty-three state parks and 136 projects received this funding from the CMI. [13] The Brownfield Funding is generally for the cleanup of contaminated sites and areas of endangerment, as well as examining and redeveloping areas when it’s possible. Many Brownfield sites are in cities that used to have a significant amount of manufacturing and heavy industry, as well as small towns. Revitalization of these degraded sites benefits the communities around them, economically and environmentally. [14] For more specific information on the initiative:
Additionally, a variety of smaller grants and loans are awarded for a number of projects throughout the state of Michigan, ranging from the handling of scrap tires to the voluntary cleanup of creeks. For example, $500-$5000 can be awarded to organize a volunteer cleanup of Michigan rivers, streams or creeks. Many of the awards require the recipients to match some portion of the grant, many times 25-50%. [15]
Many incentives are administered by The Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) and offered to local businesses, governmental units, and other industry sectors to maintain strict environmental responsibility. Incentives can include public recognition and regulatory flexibility among others. Listed below are incentives that are available:
The Neighborhood Environmental Partners Program was developed in 2004 and is a program that recognizes and awards facilities who work with community partners to improve the environment in their community. [16]The award inspires businesses and citizen groups to work together for the mutual interest of creating a cleaner and more attractive area to live and work in. [17]
Environmental Management Systems are based on the International Organization for Standardization’s framework and are used worldwide by businesses, organizations, and other agencies in order to identify, monitor, and control potential environmental impacts. The EMS creates a site-specific management system for the MDEQ that allocates the resources and responsibilities needed to address environmental concerns. It also includes an ongoing evaluation of the practices, procedures, and processes of the MDEQ in order to achieve quality and sound environmental performance. The goal of an EMS is to increase efficiency and to reduce environmental impacts. [18] Teams of employees create each site-specific EMS, and the MDEQ has also created a general manual for local citizens to use to implement their own EMS frameworks within their personal businesses and organizations.
MDEQ’s Clean Corporate Citizen program was established to allow regulated establishments that have demonstrated environmental stewardship and a strong environmental ethic to be recognized as Clean Corporate Citizens. The goal of this program is to provide long-term benefits to Michigan’s environment through encouraging companies to voluntarily commit to waste reduction and to initiate other efforts related to environmental sustainability. To qualify as a Clean Corporate Citizen, organizations must adopt a facility-specific EMS, establish and track pollution prevention goals, and have a consistent record of compliance with applicable environmental requirements. [19] The designation of Clean Corporate Citizen signifies that these Michigan facilities can be relied upon to carry out their environmental protection responsibilities, and therefore are permitted greater flexibility than facilities that have not been recognized as Clean Corporate Citizens. Clean Corporate Citizens also receive public recognition and are entitled to specific regulatory benefits, which include expedited permits. [20]
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has been active in the past few years. As an incentive program to maintain high environmental standards, the MDEQ has issued honors to several Michigan locations. In 2011, the Detroit Edison River Rouge Plan was given the state environmental honor for an outstanding commitment to environmental and community outreach. Later that year, three West Michigan facilities—Herman Miller Inc., Holland Board of Public Works, Pilgrim Manor Retirement Community—were awards the Neighborhood Environmental Partners Gold Award. This program was developed to recognize facilities and their community partners.
Governor Snyder has also taken an active part in Michigan environmental movement to create safer communities. He declared October 16-22, 2011 to be Radon Action Week in Michigan, encouraging all Michigan residents to learn more about environmental hazards and test their homes to protect themselves. The DEQ is partnering with local health departments to ensure that radon test kits and literature are accessible to all Michigan residents.
The MDEQ also played an important role in the Seventh Annual MiCorps conference. The DEQ assisted in collecting and sharing water quality data to protect and manage Michigan’s lakes and streams. With this participation, the DEQ has demonstrated its commitment to educating Michigan residents about the environment and collecting vital information about the current environmental situation in order to identify the various environmental problems the state is facing.
Recently, the MDEQ has also issued permits for the operation of a hazardous waste management facility in Romulus, Michigan. The Environmental Geo-Technologies, LLC obtained a license for aboveground hazardous waste treatment and storage operations. The DEQ staff conducted a full review of the company, and assured that EGT facility met all the state requirements. This permit for air emissions allows the facility to begin approved upgrades and would not be able to do so without DEQ oversight.
While the MDEQ takes action within the Michigan community, the department also has ongoing incentives. Some of the most prominent ones include the Electronic Waste Takeback Program (a recycling program for electronic waste) and a phragmites control demonstration program (communicate better treatment to the spread of phragmites in Saginaw Bay). [21]