[con]serving Michigan

Hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts rallied in Gaylord last week to demand better accountability from the state government for natural resources and environmental protection.

This rally was the second Michigan Natural Resources Rally, both of which were hosted by Antrim Conservation District. The first rally, held in Marquette, had an attendance of over 400 concerned citizens, and another 1,600 people who were unable to attend called in with their support, according to the Gaylord Herald-Times.

The two agencies charged with conservation in Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are vastly and disproportionately under-funded. According to a Fall 2007 report released by Michigan LCV Education Fund, “Losing a Legacy: Why Michigan’s Magnificent Places are at Risk,” the DNR and DEQ have suffered a 62 percent decline in funding since 2001. This decline is not at all proportionate to overall declines in statewide funds: for the same period, total general fund spending dropped only 6 percent. As a result of these funding slashes, Michigan’s Great Lakes, state lands, and wildlife are in peril.

TAKE ACTION! Send a message to the leaderships of Michigan’s House Appropriations Subcommittees on Environmental Quality and Natural Resources asking for adequate funding for DNR and DEQ quickly and easily by going to the Michigan Action Project website.

To learn more about conservation funding and accountability in Michigan, visit Michigan LCV Education Fund’s Conservation Funding program page.

This week, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released its draft Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan for the damage done to the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers and surrounding areas by Dow Chemical Company’s Midland, MI plant.

The report gives a history of Dow’s activities at their Midland plant, beginning with their WWI and WWII production of mustard gas and other war-related chemicals, and including the production of pesticides, herbicides and plastic, which they better known for. Production at the Midland plant has been greatly reduced in recent years, but the toxic legacy remains.

Dozens of hazardous metals and chemicals used or produced at Dow’s Midland plant have been found in the surrounding area, including heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury, and toxic chemicals such as phthalates, chlorinated phenols, and organophosphates. Most notably, dioxins and furans have been found at very high levels in and around the Tittabawassee River. The levels of dioxin contamination are some of the highest concentrations ever reported.

Dioxins and furans, released during the incomplete combustion of liquid tars, are common byproducts of waste incineration. According to the assessment, dioxin production by the Dow facility dates back as early as the 1890s, but the state of Michigan did not begin regulating the discharge of these toxic chemicals until the 1980s.

The presence of Dow Chemical’s Midland plant and the pollution it has caused has negatively affected a number of species, including benthic macroinvertebrates, according to the assessment. The area around the plant is important for wildlife- there are seven plant and 23 animal species that have been found within Midland or Saginaw counties and are listed as endangered, threatened, or animal species of special concern by the State of Michigan.

Despite the undeniable evidence of massive contamination, Dow Chemical Company continues to get praised–this past fall by the UN for being part of the global water solution, despite causing a Michigan water crisis, and again last month by the EPA for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, despite Dow’s longstanding failure to reduce or clean up their massive dioxin emissions.

Read the draft assessment plan online at the FWS website. Comments on the plan will be accepted through May 19 and should be submitted to Dr. Lisa Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2651 Coolidge Road, Suite 101, East Lansing, MI 48823.

A public meeting on the draft is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 17 in the Great Hall B at the Best Western Valley Plaza Inn, 5221 Bay City Road, Midland.

Last week, the State Senate passed SB 1000, a bill that requires the Department of Management and Budget to purchase 3 percent of its electrical energy from renewable sources by Jan. 1, 2009, 10 percent by 2010, 20 percent by 2020 and 25 percent by 2025. The bill is a good first step, but Michigan still has a long way to go on the road towards a renewable energy future.

A package of bills in the State House currently call for increased energy efficiency and a renewable portfolio (RPS) of 10% by 2015—for the whole state. These bills would demonstrate a strong commitment to renewable energy in Michigan, and they would create thousands of full time jobs, add money to the economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and make Michigan an energy leader. Passing an RPS of 10% by 2015 is essential in helping Michigan attract investments and jobs in order to compete in today’s economy.