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Michigan Democrats aim once again to hold polluters accountable for cleanups

Michigan Democrats aim once again to hold polluters accountable for cleanups

Yahoo06-06-2025

State Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) broke down a new package of "polluter pay" bills at an Oct. 25, 2023 press conference. | Kyle Davidson
Democratic lawmakers in both the Michigan House and Senate announced Friday they would be taking another stab at legislation to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up contamination.
For years, Michigan Democrats have introduced 'polluter pay' legislation seeking to alter the current regulations on polluter responsibilities, which lawmakers and environmentalists argue have left taxpayers holding the bag.
Michigan is home to tens of thousands of contaminated sites, many of which are 'orphan sites' where the responsible party is either no longer in business, or cannot be identified.
Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), a longtime advocate for polluter pay policies, said in a statement that the bills would put liability where it belongs: with the polluters.
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'It's shocking that Michigan law doesn't require polluters to actually clean up their mess or even report all spills,' Irwin said, noting the reintroduced package of bills aims to ensure more thorough cleanups and comprehensive spill reporting.
During the previous legislative session, Irwin, alongside Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor), led the introduction of renewed polluter pay bills intended to give state regulators more tools to enforce environmental cleanups.
After the introduction of the renewed package in October 2023, the bills were subject to workgrouping with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and various industry stakeholders.
Although several of the bills in the previous package passed through the Democratic-led Michigan Senate, the efforts never came to a vote in the House, as partisan bickering and party infighting left the House's previous Democratic leadership unable to hold session at the end of their term.
With Republicans now in control of the chamber, the reintroduced polluter pay policies will likely face an uphill battle in the House, though Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) told the Michigan Advance that it would be great to see the policies move forward in some form.
According to a statement from Irwin's office, several of the renewed polluter pay bills have already been introduced in the Michigan House, with the rest set to be introduced next week. Additionally, Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo), who chairs the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, said he intends to hold a hearing on the bills next week.
Proposals in the 2025 polluter pay bills include:
Stricter pollution reporting and cleanups requirements;
Creating an avenue for EGLE to update cleanup criteria as researchers learn more about contaminants while prioritizing the removal of contamination over implementing use restrictions;
Allowing individuals exposed to hazardous substances to sue polluters for the cost of medical monitoring;
Allowing the state to hold polluters accountable for cleanup costs and damages to the environment from contaminants not regulated before 1994, such as PFAS;
And extending the statute of limitations for individuals harmed by pollution by beginning the timeline when the pollution is discovered, in line with the federal 'discovery rule.'
Democrats were unable to advance the policies while they held control of both Legislative chambers, but Nick Occhipinti, state government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said the policies are still viable, even in a split-power Legislature.
'You do any polling on asking Michiganders if polluters should pay to have both legacy and existing sites cleaned up to protect public health, to redevelop those sites and return them to the community, return them to prosperity, they are overwhelmingly in support,' Occhipinti said.
Polling in May 2023 from Democratic-leaning public policy polling found 93% of 901 Michigan voters surveyed supported requiring polluters to clean up their contamination, rather than requiring taxpayers to foot the bill.

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