Tag Archives: EPA

State and Federal agencies celebrate removal of Muskegon Lake from List of Most Environmentally Degraded Areas in the Great Lakes

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Environment, Great Lakes, Health, Kent County, West Michigan, , , ,
From Left: Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership Chair Dennis Kirksey, Great Lake St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Project Manager Matthew Doss, Muskegon County Community Development Director Bob Lukens, City of Muskegon Mayor Ken Johnson, U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten, Michigan EGLE Director Phil Roos, U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel, West Michigan Shoreline Development Commission Executive Director Erin Kuhn. (Courtesy Photo)


By WKTV Staff
greer@wktv.org

After decades of work, Muskegon Lake has officially been removed from the binational list of “Areas of Concern,” and is no longer considered one of the Great Lakes’ most environmentally degraded areas. Muskegon Lake is the eighth U.S. Area of Concern to be delisted.

On Oct. 1, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Anne Vogel, along with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Phillip Roos, joined other federal, state, Tribal and local partners in Muskegon, Michigan, at an event to celebrate the cleanup and restoration of the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern, a 4,149-acre lake that flows into the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

“The successful cleanup and restoration of the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern, achieved through decades of dedicated effort, marks a significant milestone in our ongoing work to restore and protect the Great Lakes,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager Anne Vogel. “This accomplishment showcases the commitment and collaborative spirit of our partners in restoring not just the lake, but also the habitats and recreational opportunities that had been lost for so long.”

“Completing this long journey of recovery, restoration and renewal is a tremendous community achievement that EGLE (Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) has been proud to assist,” said EGLE Director Phil Roos. “Alongside many partners, we celebrate today’s success and look forward to supporting tomorrow’s continued stewardship and growth.”

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said, “I’m thrilled to celebrate the restoration of Muskegon Lake, a body of water that is vital to both the local community and health of our Great Lakes. This achievement is a testament to the decades of collaborative efforts between federal, state, local and tribal partners to get the job done. During my time in the Senate, I’ve been proud to fight for continued funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to bolster cleanup across the state, including tens of millions of dollars to support this essential project, and I’ll never stop fighting to protect our Great Lakes for future generations.”

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3): “Today is a huge milestone in Muskegon Lake’s comeback story. Once, this lake was a symbol of environmental degradation. Today, it is a testament to what a community can accomplish when it comes together to protect and restore our beloved public lands. Michigan’s lakes are treasures, and I will always fight for resources to protect our environment in Congress.”

Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4), Republican Co-Chair of the House Great Lakes Task Force: “The delisting of Muskegon Lake as an Area of Concern is a great bipartisan win for Muskegon, the Lakeshore, and the entire Great Lakes region. I am proud to have championed funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative which played a critical role in the recovery of Muskegon Lake. For years, I have discussed how the Great Lakes economy is directly tied to the ecological health of the Great Lakes. By cleaning up legacy pollution, removing contaminated sediment, and restoring natural habitats, Muskegon Lake has transformed from an area of environmental concern to a source of recreation and economic opportunity. The efforts to restore Muskegon Lake have demonstrated how local, state and federal partners can work together to reinvigorate communities, rebuild recreational opportunities, and make the Great Lakes even more enjoyable for the next generation.”

Michigan State Representative Will Snyder: “Muskegon is a city first and foremost set on Muskegon Lake; the lake has always been the lifeblood of the community, from the days of lumber, to the days of industry, to the tourism of today. This momentous day is the culmination of decades of hard work by hundreds of concerned active citizens partnering with government at every level to do big things. It’s exciting that we have restored Muskegon Lake to this degree. I look forward to the next decades of restoration.”

Mark Eisenbarth, Muskegon County Administrator: “Muskegon Lake is set to be delisted by the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Michigan, Muskegon County, municipalities and WMSRDC marking the culmination of decades of dedication and collaboration. Through generations of environmental cleanup, municipal sewer lift station upgrades, and the steadfast participation of private partners, this achievement stands as a monumental milestone. This achievement restores cleaner water, healthier fisheries, improved wetlands, and stronger wildlife habitats. It also creates lasting recreational opportunities, protects public health, and ensures that future generations will enjoy the natural beauty and vitality of Muskegon Lake.”

Ken Johnson, Muskegon Mayor: “For decades, our community has worked with partners in the non-profit sector and every level of government to heal the wounds left by industrial pollution and to restore our treasured Muskegon Lake. Today’s delisting is not only an environmental victory, but a testament to what’s possible when people come together with a shared vision for a healthier, more sustainable future.  Muskegon Lake’s recovery is ongoing, however, so we must be vigilant in protecting and cherishing the natural resources that define who we are as a community and a shoreline city, while we still look to our waterways to support economic growth.”

Dennis Kirksey, Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership Chair: “We are thrilled to share that Muskegon Lake has officially been delisted as a U.S. EPA-designated Area of Concern—a milestone that marks the successful restoration of our watershed. From improved water quality to revitalized habitats, the transformation of Muskegon Lake reflects years of dedicated work and collaboration. This achievement is the result of sustained efforts by local, state and federal partners, and especially the tireless contributions of volunteers through the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership (MLWP), which has served as the local Public Advisory Council throughout this journey. We are already witnessing the benefits of this restoration—not only in the health of our environment, but in the vitality of our local economy. These improvements will continue to shape our community for generations to come.”

Erin Kuhn, West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission Executive Director: “I’m honored to have been part of the monumental transformation of Muskegon Lake. This achievement marks not only the end of an era, but the beginning of a new chapter, one that will shape our community for generations to come. As we close the book on Muskegon Lake’s designation as an Area of Concern, we celebrate a powerful moment in our shared history. It’s a privilege to stand together in this historic transition, and now we have the opportunity, and the responsibility, to redefine our lake and our future while never losing sight of how far we’ve come.”

Federal, state and local project partners remediated more than 190,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment in projects totaling approximately $47 million. EPA provided $21 million of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding and $9.2 million of funding under the Great Lakes Legacy Act cost-share program. These investments leveraged an additional $16.3 million from state and local partners through in-kind and cash contributions.

Partners completed seven habitat restoration projects in the AOC with $38 million in GLRI funding, restoring approximately 134 acres of habitat and over 6,000 feet of shoreline. These restored areas include nearly 100 acres of open water and emergent wetlands, as well as habitat for fish and native plants. Additionally, project partners removed more than 110,000 tons of logging-era sawmill debris from the lake, restoring habitat for bottom-dwelling invertebrates and for fish and wildlife populations.

Economic Impacts

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative investments to restore Muskegon Lake are already paying dividends. According to a study by Grand Valley State University, the remediation and restoration of Muskegon Lake is projected to increase local home values by nearly $8 million and boost the local recreation economy by $28 million annually. Muskegon has already seen a 19% increase in customers at the marina, and a 45% increase in hotel room tax collected by the county. Overall, the projections anticipate a 6:1 ratio of return on investment.


More information is available at the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern website.

School News Network: Former EPA official sees young people leading environmental ‘reawakening’

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , ,
Mustafa Santiago Ali enjoys chatting with WMCAT advanced videography students (from left) Micah Garmon of C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy; Arieal Jackson of Grand Rapids University Prep Academy; Erion Adams of Grand Rapids Montessori; and Marc Ramirez of Grand Rapids UPrep

By Charles Honey
School News Network

Kalil Adams loves hip-hop, but he never really connected it to global warming until he met Mustafa Santiago Ali.

The East Kentwood senior performed a hip-hop track about environmental justice for Ali, a former top official with the Environmental Protection Agency and climate-change activist with the Hip Hop Caucus. In recent performances at City High/Middle School and Aquinas College, Kalil and fellow members of All of the Above Hip Hop Academy rapped and danced an urgent message titled “There Needs to be Change.”

Precisely, Kalil said later.

“It’s something that should be paid attention to a lot more than what people believe it is,” Kalil said of global pollution and climate change. “It may not seem that big an issue, but there are people who literally are not able to breathe clean air.”

That’s the kind of passion about environmental concerns Ali says he is seeing in young people all across the country, as he brings his global-warning message to students through the lens of hip-hop culture.

“This is not a moment,” Ali said during a two-day string of appearances in Grand Rapids. “This is literally a movement,” similar to the civil rights and women’s suffrage movements. “There’s a reawakening.”

Students like Kalil are a leading force in that movement, seeing the perils that await their generation if they do not act to reverse climate change now, Ali added.

“I’m super-proud of all the young leaders. They’re changing the game. They’ve got folks on Capitol Hill shook.”1 of 2  

  • Mustafa Santiago Ali on a tour of WMCAT classrooms with videography student Erion Adams, who helped film a documentary of his Grand Rapids visit.
  • Mustafa Santiago Ali talks with WMCAT videography instructor Mike Saunders before addressing students

Leaves EPA over Trump Agenda 

He took a break to discuss his work during a visit to the West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology, where videography students filmed a documentary about his talks there, at City High/Middle and at the Aquinas College Performing Arts Center as part of Aquinas’ Wege Speaker Series.

Ali recently joined the National Wildlife Federation as vice president for environmental justice, climate and community revitalization. He worked for 24 years at the EPA, heading its Office of Environmental Justice before stepping down in 2017, two months after President Trump took office. His high-profile resignation came as the EPA under Scott Pruitt proposed slashing Ali’s office budget and plans to eliminate it entirely.

The Trump administration’s agenda of gutting environmental protections, including Ali’s work around the effects of pollution on poor and minority communities, compelled him to resign, Ali said.

“The reason I had to leave was if they were going to go forward with the things they said they were going to do, I knew more people were going to get sick, I knew more people were going to die, and I knew who those people were,” Ali said. “I said I can’t be a part of hurting my people.”

His work with young people aims to enlighten them on how pollution and climate change hit poor communities especially hard. Diesel trucks roar by urban schools, smog settles over poor neighborhoods, and hotter weather exacerbates asthma that disproportionately afflicts African Americans and Latinos, he noted.

“Those are policy choices people made, and they determine who’s going to win and who’s going to lose,” he said.

Hip Hop Motivates and Educates 

He sees young people increasingly alarmed by these trends – and motivated to turn them around. While some are resigned to “game over,” he said, “a whole lot of others are saying, ‘We’ve still got some time if we act now.’”

Events like the March 15 worldwide Climate Strike reflect students’ commitment to act, much like the March for Our Lives has for gun violence, he said. “Young people are going to have to run for office, and fill those positions where people don’t want to do the right thing.”

Hip-hop culture is a powerful motivator and educational tool to reach those future voters, he added. As vice president of Hip Hop Caucus, he championed environmental justice and registered more than 600,000 people to vote. He co-hosts the podcast Hip Hop Caucus Think 100%, a reference to achieving 100 percent clean energy.

In Grand Rapids he connected with All of the Above, a hip-hop program that began at Ottawa Hills High School and is now based at Covenant House Academy. Under the leadership of Matthew Duncan, aka Monk Matthaeus, students wrote and performed a track about pollution’s effect on disadvantaged communities.

Kalil said he learned much about environmental injustice from creating the piece, and was honored to perform it for Ali.

“I never thought I’d actually be able to do something on that scale with someone that big. To be able to even have an opportunity to perform in front of Mr. Santiago Ali, it meant a lot.”

For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.

Government Matters: Week in review, March 20-24

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Peters, Stabenow, announce $4.6 million to expand Head Start programs for West Michigan children

By WKTV Contributor

U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow recently announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $1.95 million to the Grand Rapids Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative to support their Early Head Start Child Care Partnership program, and $2.7 million to the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District to support Early Head Start and Head Start programs for children.

“Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide vital educational and support services to families and children that put them on the path to success,” said Senator Peters. “I’m pleased to help announce this funding that will help expand access to critical medical, nutritional and educational support services for children in West Michigan so they can lead healthy and happy lives.”

“Today’s announcement is good news and will help children in West Michigan get the long-term support they need,” said Senator Stabenow. “Good nutrition, medical care and early childhood education can make all the difference in helping our children succeed.”

Head Start and Early Head Start prepare children and their families for school by offering a variety of services including early learning experiences, family support services and health services. Early Head Start Child Care Partnership programs offer developmental screenings and referrals to medical, dental, nutrition, vision and mental health services, and provide necessities including diapers and formula. Partnership sites receive additional resources to support training and professional development for staff, and improve facilities and upgrade supplies and equipment.

Peters joins colleagues in opposition of proposed EPA cuts

Cuts would eliminate funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and impact EPA’s ability to help Flint

By Allison Green

U.S. Senator Gary Peters joined a group of 37 Senators in opposing President Trump’s proposal to inflict a more than 30-percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget that would have a direct effect on Michigan and the Great Lakes. Included in the budget proposal is a complete elimination of funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which addresses the most serious risks to the Great Lakes ecosystem and supports long-term cleanup goals. The proposed cuts would also significantly hinder the agency’s ability to provide vital technical expertise to the City of Flint as they work to recover from the water crisis and safely transition water sources.

Sen. Peters & colleagues reintroduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to make college more affordable & accessible

By WKTV Contributor

U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Boozman (R-AR) and Al Franken (D-MN), and U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO) and Tom Reed (R-NY) have announced they are reintroducing bipartisan, bicameral legislation to help make college more affordable and accessible by expanding opportunities for high school students to earn college credit. The Making Education Affordable and Accessible Act (MEAA) would improve access to higher education by providing grants to eligible institutions of higher learning to create dual and concurrent enrollment and early/middle college programs that allow high school students to earn college credits before their high school graduation.

“Some form of higher education or technical certification is increasingly essential to joining today’s workforce, and the rising cost of tuition should not be a barrier that keeps students from getting the skills and education they need to succeed,” said Senator Peters.

“I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that helps students save money while getting a head start on their college education. The Making Education Affordable and Accessible Act will help ensure students are well-prepared for their chosen careers and employers have trained workers to fill the jobs of the future.”

Senator Stabenow releases video urging people in Michigan to stand up for the Great Lakes

Stabenow asks Michigan residents to share their stories about the Great Lakes and join her to save critical funding

By Miranda Margowsky

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has released a video message urging people in Michigan to join her and stand up to protect critical funding for the Great Lakes. The bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which Senator Stabenow helped launched in 2010, provides vital resources to protect and restore the Great Lakes. The program faces elimination in President Trump’s budget proposal.

To submit your Great Lakes story, visit Sen. Stabenow’s website here.

Senator Stabenow announces bipartisan legislation to support U.S. manufacturers, create more American jobs

By WKTV Contributor

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today announced legislation amending our tax laws to support American manufacturers and to create jobs here at home. The bill makes it clear that both companies using contract manufacturers and the contract manufacturers themselves are eligible to claim tax deductions that reward domestic manufacturing activities in the United States. U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also introduced the legislation.

“We don’t have an economy or a middle class unless we make things and grow things,” said Senator Stabenow. “This bill makes a commonsense change to our tax policies that will encourage manufacturers to create more jobs here at home.”

Section 199 is one of the largest tax incentives that benefits domestic manufacturing. It provides companies with a 9% deduction on their income from domestic manufacturing activities, giving those activities a lower effective tax rate and making U.S. manufacturing a more attractive investment.

Under current tax law, it is unclear whether a company using a contract manufacturer or the contract manufacturer itself is eligible to claim the deduction. Senator Stabenow’s legislation would clarify tax law to allow both entities to claim the Section 199 tax incentive for domestic manufacturing.

Huizenga examines impact of financial regulation on small business job creation

On March 22, Capital Markets Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (MI-02) held a hearing to examine how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has implemented the JOBS Act and what its impact has been on capital formation and job creation. During the hearing Huizenga called for the SEC to stop pursing political objectives outside its core mission and focus on creating a regulatory environment that supports innovation and job creation.

Key Takeaways from the Hearing:

  • The bipartisan JOBS Act is working, but Congress and the SEC must do more to help small businesses, entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies access capital.
  • The SEC has a responsibility to facilitate, not frustrate, capital formation and must work with Congress to eliminate unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations that are restricting access to capital.
  • The Financial CHOICE Act, the Republican plan to replace the Dodd-Frank Act, included numerous provisions to expand access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

For more information, go here.