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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2024
EGLE Media Office, EGLE-Assist@Michigan.gov, 517-284-9278
Eastside Detroit Community Members and EGLE Reach Civil Rights Agreement
EGLE to expand community engagement, develop community health improvement strategies, increase air quality awareness, and more
Lansing, Mich.– An agreement has been reached in a civil rights complaint filed by community members and environmental justice advocates against the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) regarding the January 2020 renewal of a U.S. Ecology North hazardous waste facility license.
Today’s announcement is the result of a mutually agreed upon informal resolution process initiated following the filing of the complaint in lieu of a formal investigation. EGLE staff and the complainants met throughout the resolution process to address concerns shared in the complaint.
“This agreement is the culmination of productive, good-faith discussions between EGLE staff and residents advocating for the health of their communities – a goal we share with them,” said Phil Roos, EGLE Director. “We look forward to continuing to work with residents across the state to ensure all Michiganders, regardless of where they live, have safe air to breathe, clean water to drink, and healthy communities to thrive in. This agreement combined with recent announcements like EGLE’s new Environmental Justice Impact Grants, exemplifies the state’s commitment to empowering communities and advancing environmental justice.”
The agreement reflects EGLE’s efforts to find solutions to community concerns within the confines of existing law and improve transparency in decision making. The settlement includes agreement between the parties on:
- Requirements that hazardous waste licensing or the licensing process include an environmental justice analysis. The applicant will be asked to prepare an analysis as part of the application process and if they do not include one, or if it is deemed incomplete, EGLE staff will conduct the analysis as part of their review of the application.
- Procedures to ensure EGLE proactively identifies limited English proficient populations and provides robust translation and interpretation services.
- Engagement with the local community to determine the best methods for providing meaningful public involvement in the hazardous waste licensing process.
- Renewed commitment to the current practice of granting licenses for a hazardous waste facility only if it is determined that it will not cause unlawful impacts to the environment or human health.
- Installation of three Purple Air monitors in the area around U.S. Ecology North and making the data publicly available.
“This agreement is the result of extensive negotiations between the State and the community complainants to address environmental justice concerns in Detroit and Hamtramck,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “The agreement reflects State efforts to improve transparency and to find solutions to address community concerns within the confines of existing law. In particular, the State’s commitment to conduct a community-based public health assessment with the residents and other partners will help continue efforts to create lasting relationships and better assess the needs of the community by listening to and working with community members.”
Additionally, the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence for Environmental Health is being utilized by state and federal governments, in partnership with community residents, to conduct an assessment of and identify public health concerns and discuss opportunities for public health improvement strategies in the communities near U.S. Ecology North in Northeast Detroit. Funding for this assessment is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“It is a good thing for our collaborative work to advance environmental justice that this settlement agreement has been reached,” said Regina Strong, Environmental Justice Public Advocate. “Addressing long-standing community concerns and protecting civil rights are critical. During the long discussion period, we have had an opportunity, in partnership with the EPA and community, to launch a community-driven public health assessment process to begin addressing public health concerns. Moving forward we will continue to work directly with the community to ensure environmental justice is prioritized.”
The Title VI complaint was filed in 2020 under the EGLE Policy 09-24 Nondiscrimination in EGLE Programs complaint process by Sierra Club, Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, and five individual Michigan residents: Pamela McWilliams, Irene Sinclar, Kheir Arabi, Mark Covington, and Sharon Buttry. They were jointly represented by the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and Edwards & Jennings PC, with additional support from the Sierra Club Law Program.
The full agreement can be accessed here.
About Michigan’s Environmental Justice structure
In 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer created the Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate within the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy by executive order to serve as an internal and external advocate and catalyst of ensuring that Environmental Justice is prioritized and integrated throughout state programs and in communities across the state, and to address Environmental Justice concerns and complaints. In the same executive order, the Governor created an Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team to ensure departments remove silos and think creatively about solutions to address environmental injustices.
The Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate also created the State’s first Environmental Justice advisory council, the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice, an intentionally inclusive body which includes Environmental Justice community members, environmental organizational representation, representation from Tribal communities, academia, business and industry, as well as labor to advise the department on addressing concerns of Environmental Justice communities.
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