Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appoints three members to the Natural Resources Commission, filling the seats after the Republican-led Senate rejected two previous appointments in February.
Michigan Environment Watch
Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Great Lakes News Collaborative
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, The Narwhal and Michigan Public work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. You can find all of the collaborative’s stories here.
Shockwave
The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative will explore how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters. Read the series here.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan lawmakers to fed regulators: You blew it on Edenville Dam
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members are hauled before a Senate panel to answer why it took so long to act against a dam with decades of safety issues. Levying fines would have been like “getting blood from a turnip,” one regulator says.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Dana Nessel asks for temporary shutdown of Enbridge Line 5 after damage
The Michigan attorney general on Monday asked an Ingham County Circuit Court judge to order the closure until more is known about how it sustained “significant damage” to an anchor support.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Feds skipped check of whether Edenville Dam owner could afford repairs
Federal regulators tell Congress it never performed a check on Boyce Hydro’s finances before it bought a dam in need of repairs. They blame a loophole that says such checks aren’t necessary for dams bought out of foreclosure. The dam failed in May.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
What’s happening to Michigan’s insects? A farmer’s tale.
Whether or not we’ve reached the insect apocalypse, a rapid decline in some bees, butterflies and other invertebrates poses a threat to Michigan crops and, down the line, perhaps much more.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Enbridge rebuffs Whitmer, won’t close Line 5 after damage to anchor support
An anchor support to one leg of the pipeline was recently damaged. The company says it will continue to operate the other leg under the Straits of Mackinac. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says more needs to be known about the damage before resuming oil flow.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Enbridge Line 5 shut down after anchor support incurs ‘significant damage’
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday announced the damage and called on Enbridge Energy’s CEO to release “all information available” about the incident in the Straits of Mackinac.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan farm industry pushes back against state limits on manure spread
A coalition of farmers and industry groups challenges the state’s attempt to rein in water pollution by limiting when and how manure from large animal farms can be spread as fertilizer on farmland.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Whitmer administration names outside team to probe Edenville dam failure
After criticism from experts and others who argued the state should not lead an investigation into what caused the dam failure that flooded mid-Michigan last month, the state announced an independent six-person team
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As coasts flood, Michigan towns must choose what to save and what can wait
As Great Lakes waters threaten roads, beaches and treatment facilities, COVID-19 has created giant budget shortfalls. Local officials must make tough decisions about which problems to fix, and which to let fester.