"Thirteen Michigan water systems failed to meet federal standards for lead in drinking water in the last half of 2018, and seven of those systems had lead levels at least twice as high as the state will allow starting in 2025."
"Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration on Friday banned Sterigenics from using ethylene oxide at its Willowbrook sterilization plant, responding to an intense public outcry about toxic air pollution that left surrounding neighborhoods with some of the highest cancer risks in the nation."
"Republican lawmakers on Thursday blocked Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s bid to restructure the state environmental agency — the first time the full Legislature has rejected a gubernatorial executive order since 1977."
"Gov. Tony Evers says he’s joining a group of governors vowing to combat climate change at the state level, in part by pursuing reduced greenhouse gas emissions."
"A multi-agency state task force assembled to tackle a ubiquitous chemical contaminant across Michigan continues to operate under the Whitmer administration, but without a director or the executive directive that created it."
Expect the fight to worsen over the Trump Administration’s attempted rollback of auto mileage standards. Not only is California resisting a loss of its waiver to set tighter rules, joining at least 16 other states in a preemptive lawsuit. But carmakers themselves are deviating from the Trump line, worried over a fracturing of the nationwide auto market or seeking an edge in the field for more efficient vehicles. This special edition TipSheet looks at prospects for conflict in the year ahead.
"A plea deal was reached Monday for the fired former head of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's division responsible for overseeing Flint’s water source switch."
"Tackling cumulative exposures, rather than one pollutant at a time, is key to correcting environmental injustice, experts say. But progress remains too slow in the most affected neighborhoods."
"In recent years, thousands of children started kindergarten in Cleveland public schools already poisoned by lead, which threatens their chances to achieve and poses steep challenges for the district charged with educating them."
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