AG Nessel Celebrates Earth Day With A Recap of Department’s Environmental Work

LANSING– Michigan Attorney general Dana Nessel is reflecting upon the important work done in her Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture Division. Earth Day brings more attention to ways to protect the environment and our natural resources. 

Nessel stated that each Earth Day, it is important to pause and consider the impact we all have on protecting our environment. “Our natural resources are some of the most important aspects of Michigan, and I will fight to protect them as long as I am Michigan Attorney General.” I am proud of all the hard work done by our ENRA Division’s dedicated public servants. Their dedication to protecting Michigan’s resources goes beyond April 22 every single year. 

There are several ongoing and recent cases that concern the protection of the environment. 

• Enbridge:AG Nessel continues her fight to close down Line 5 oil pipelines in Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac. These pipelines pose a serious threat to Michigan’s economy and environment. This includes moving to have her lawsuit, Nessel.v. Enbridge Energy, remanded to the state court. Enbridge’s lawsuit against Governor Whitmer’s revocation of the 1953 Easement, on which Enbridge relies, will be dismissed. 
• PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl substances and Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl substances).AG Nessel continues his leadership role in actions taken to hold polluters and PFAS manufacturers responsible for PFAS contamination. Nessel was the first attorney general to file legal action against 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers PFAS. Nessel v. Asahi Plastics North America is another case pending in Livingston County Circuit Court. The defendant has requested delays in the case, but it is expected to be heard sometime in 2022. This will be the first PFAS case in the state. The office has joined forces with other attorneys general to press PFAS issues at federal level. Most recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was urged to use current-year funding for all initiatives identified in the EPA’s “PFAS roadmap”.  
• Arbor Hills Landfill SettlementAfter more than a decade of negotiations, AG Nessel and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Liesl Clark announced a settlement agreement with the Arbor Hills Landfill owner and operator in Salem Township. The settlement includes environmentally beneficial projects as well as fines of more than $2.3million. The agreement also includes a network monitoring the landfill perimeter for hydrogen sulfide or methane emissions. This will reduce them to levels that are less than nuisance-causing.  
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations:To protect Michigan’s waters from pollution by factory farms, civil actions are brought against CAFOs. Nessel recently filed a civil action against a CAFO located in Calhoun County. This was due to the CAFO’s repeated and long-standing failures to comply with permit requirements. This has resulted in ongoing pollution of ground and surface waters. Slater Farms reached an agreement with Nessel in which it accepted additional oversight and permitted conditions regarding waste storage, management and disposal. It also paid $120,000 in civil penalties. 
• Morrow DamNessel filed suit against EGLE and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for Morrow Lake and Dam in Kalamazoo. The lawsuit against STS Hydropower, LLC and Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, LLC is pending due to the grossly mismanaged drawing down of the lake by the companies to complete repairs to their dam on the Kalamazoo river. The lawsuit seeks to restore these important ecosystems as well as to compensate the public in respect of the damage done to the natural resources. 
• Multistate actions to conserve water resources, combat greenhouse gas emissions, and promote energy efficiency