Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Environmental Protection

Economic Benefit

Human Health

Emerging Issues

• Green Chemistry• Statewide Recycling Initiative• Wayne Co. Sulfur Dioxide Emissions• Part 201 Updates/Gelman• Wurtsmith Air Force Base• LUST Releases and Closures• Environmental Cleanups• Southfield Oil and Gas Extraction• Algal Blooms in Lake Erie• Commercial Net Pen Aquaculture• Waukesha Water Diversion• Flint Water• Water Infrastructure

Green Chemistry

• Michigan a national leader, thanks to many businesses and universities– Herman Miller, Steelcase, Dow Corning, Dow

Chemical, GM, Valicor, and Somnio Global all have seats on Green Chemistry Roundtable

– MSU, WSU, GVSU, Michigan Tech, and U of M also involved in Roundtable

Statewide Recycling Initiative

• Double the recycling rate from 15% to 30%

• Focus on these key areas– Convenient access to recycling for all

Michiganders– Public education and technical

assistance for communities– Benchmark and measure

progress– Develop recycling markets

Wayne Co. Sulfur Dioxide Emissions

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

2011 2012 2013 2014

Sulfu

r Dio

xide

(Ton

s)

Facility Types (% in 2014)

Marathon’s Revision

• Marathon will identify emission reductions

• In January, Marathon identified 47.2 tons of reductions – Flare gas recovery, including

shutdown of the Cracking Plant Flare– Sulfur Vapor Pit gas recovery

• Proposal was 47.2 – 22 = 25 tons per year reductions overall

Remediation for Redevelopment

• Focused on remediating sites so they can be reused

• Introduced updates to brownfield statutes

• Added six new brownfield staff in April focused on redevelopment

Bridgewater Place, Grand Rapids

67,000 Inputs

Cleanup Criteria

116 Equations

8 Pathways

304 Hazardous Substances

1 QA/QC Process

Part 201 Cleanup Criteria Rules Revision

Gelman Dioxane

• DEQ’s changing regulations• Court order for monitoring and

remediation• Part 201 criteria is decreasing 10-fold

for 1,4-dioxane

Gelman Dioxane

Wurtsmith Air Force Base

• PFCs discovered near former base in Oscoda

• DEQ working to ensure contamination is addressed, particularly for affected drinking water wells

• Also involved in protecting surface water and creating fish consumption advisory

LUST Releases and Closures

LUST Releases and Closures

181164 161

142 136154

193

56

204

232

171185

285

488

427

148

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16-Mid

March

ConfirmedReleases

Site Closures

Environmental Contamination Sites

No Further Action Report Determinations

Southfield Oil and Gas Extraction

• Jordan Exploration Word of Faith 16-27 Oil Well– DEQ provided for extensive public

input– Application met

all requirements of law & rules

• Protection of ground water, surface waters, sensitive features

• 450-foot setback

MiWaters Database

• Integrates and updates 25 water applications and databases– Includes 80% of permits issued by

DEQ– More than 10,000 registered users

• Provides public access to info previously only available through FOIA

• Provides automatic notifications to users about:– Successful application submittals– Permit expiration dates– Violations

Algal Blooms in Lake Erie

• Michigan entered Western Lake Erie Basin Collaborative in June 2015

• With Ohio and Ontario, working to achieve 40% reduction in phosphorous entering Lake Erie

• Implementation plan fits well with binational Annex 4 process under Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Algal Blooms in Lake Erie

• Implementation plan works in 3 watersheds: Detroit River, Raisin River, and Maumee River

• Includes: – Managing discharges from wastewater treatment plants– Researching causes of blooms– Monitoring inland lakes, Lake Erie, and Saginaw Bay for

harmful algal blooms and toxins to increase understanding

NPDES Permit Backlog

• DEQ issues NPDES permits under Clean Water Act to control pollutants discharged to surface waters

• About 600 different permits, about 120 of which are backlogged

• DEQ focused on reducing backlog by September 2017

Commercial Net Pen Aquaculture

• Two proposals: Northern Lake Michigan and Northern Lake Huron

• Ecosystem Management Approach– Science Panel: environmental and

ecological factors– Economics– Legal requirements– Social factors

Commercial Net Pen Aquaculture

• Findings– Fish disease and genetic risks– Current law prohibits it– High startup and monitoring costs – Public and tribes opposed– DEQ/DNR/MDARD opposed, but will

assist with well designed flow-through, pond and recirculating aquaculture facilities

www.michigan.gov/aquaculture

Waukesha Water Diversion

• Wisconsin DNR advanced Waukesha’s Water Diversion application to the Great Lakes Compact Council on January 7

• Great Lakes Compact excludes water diversions with the exception of a few counties straddling the basin

Waukesha Water Diversion

• The 5 Pillars– Water Return Flow– Water Conservation– Water Supply– Alternatives– Impact Assessment

Waukesha Water Diversion

• Michigan’s Process– The team examines the proposal for

potential ecological and hydrological effects.

– Clarification questions are submitted through the Compact Council to the Wisconsin DNR.

– The team submits a technical review to the Compact Council March 22 & posts to www.Michigan.gov/waterdiversion

– A final recommendation is submitted to the Governor in May 2016.

Flint Water

• Water treatment• Response Teams deploy• Long-term support

Water Infrastructure

• Governor created 21st Century Infrastructure Commission

MECC Conference

• Michigan’s premier compliance assistance conference

• Held June 21-22 in Lansing

Questions?

Environmental Protection

Economic Benefit

Human Health