Wind and solar development create manufacturing and technical jobs, rural economic development and pollution-free energy. The Environmental Law & Policy Center’sSolar and Wind Energy Supply Chain report shows that Michigan is home to 241 clean energy technology supply chain businesses and 10,000 related jobs.

Michigan is a solar business leader with companies including Patriot Solar Group (Albion), which manufactures trackers for solar panel installations, and Hemlock Semiconductor(Hemlock), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells and modules. Some of Michigan’s old-line manufacturing companies like Dowding Industries – Astraeus Wind Energy (Eaton Rapids) are re-tooling to supply growing markets for clean energy equipment.

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Some 117 scientists and researchers from 11 universities and colleges in Michigan have penned a letter to the state’s 17-member congressional delegation urging them to prevent proposed legislation that could reverse tough new regulations on mercury emissions and other air toxins adopted last December by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standard will help “protect and clean the air we breathe, assure that local fish are safer to eat, and protect and preserve the wildlife and natural spaces we love from harmful pollution originating in Michigan and elsewhere,” said the April 5 letter signed by the Michigan university professors and researchers. To read, click here.

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April 5, 2012

CONTACT: STEPHANIE CEPAK (517) 333-1606

Michigan Scientists Urge Congress to Support Clean Air

117 college scientists, researchers back E.P.A.’s mercury rule

ANN ARBOR – University and college scientists and researchers have signed a letter calling on Michigan’s congressional delegation to support the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) recently filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The scientists and researchers, 117 in total, represent a broad range of academic backgrounds and work at private and public colleges across Michigan.

“Humans and wildlife that eat fish can be exposed to hazardous levels of methyl mercury. Because residents of Michigan and the rest of the country are exposed to this pollutant, there needs to be a federal control on the emissions of mercury,” said Joel Blum, John D MacArthur Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan.

The future of Michigan’s own mercury emissions rule is unclear because a state advisory committee recommended rescinding it once a federal rule is filed. The scientists support the Michigan rule, but know it doesn’t go far enough to protect the health and well-being of residents.

“As part of a team of researchers, I have found mercury remains a major pollutant of concern in the Great Lakes,” said Nil Basu, Assistant Professor in U-M’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health. “All of us have detectable levels of mercury in our body.”

Much of the mercury deposited in Michigan comes from coal-fired power plants in other states, which is why a federal standard is even more crucial to protecting the public health of Michigan families. For every

$1 spent on reducing toxic emissions by upgrading power plants, the EPA estimates there is $6 to $9 in economic benefits, mostly related to lowered health care costs.

“State fish advisories like Michigan’s promote a policy that allows significant mercury contamination to remain in place while relying on the vulnerable populations to change their fish-consumption behavior,”

said Jerome Nriagu, Professor in U-M’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health. “The regulators are helping to perpetuate an unequal burden of mercury exposure in communities of the Great Lakes.”

Altogether, signers included nearly 60 scientists and researchers from the University of Michigan and more than a dozen from Michigan State University. Signers also included scientists and researchers from Wayne State University, Hope College, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Eastern Michigan University, Calvin College, Michigan Technological University, Grand Valley State University, and Ferris State University.

Blum, Basu and Nriagu participated in a statewide telephone news conference Thursday discussing the letter, along with Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

The letter was delivered this week to Michigan’s two U.S. Senators and 15 U.S. Representatives. The letter is below.

Our Letter to Michigan’s Congressional Delegation Dear Michigan Senators and Representatives:

As university and college scientists and educators living and working in the great state of Michigan, we commend the standards adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency imposing limits on mercury emissions and other hazardous air toxics. The federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) will help protect and clean the air we breathe, assure that local fish are safer to eat, and protect and preserve the wildlife and natural spaces we love from harmful pollution originating in Michigan and elsewhere. Scientific studies clearly demonstrate that mercury and other air toxic emissions are hazardous to human health. We are concerned that some Members of Congress are seeking to overturn, weaken or delay these vitally needed standards.  We urge you to vote against any action diminishing the U.S. EPA’s MATS.

Mercury and other air toxics covered by MATS are potent neurotoxins that impact the health of humans, wildlife and ecosystems (e.g. services, provisioning, etc.). Our children are most vulnerable to these impacts, with fetal exposures to mercury resulting in deleterious impacts to language, memory, visual-motor skills, and attention. In adults, exposure to mercury can damage the nervous system, with newer research showing possible impacts on the immune and cardiovascular systems. Most of mercury’s harms to human health come from consuming contaminated fish. Once deposited on the surface waters of our state, mercury is converted to methylmercury where it is consumed and biomagnified up the food chain.

Ecologically-relevant and sub-lethal concentrations of methylmercury can affect the growth, survival and reproduction of fish, birds, and other animals. Large predatory fish, particularly those found in Michigan’s inland waters such as walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass, are most vulnerable to these effects. Recreational anglers and their families, including tribal groups and others consuming these fish, can accumulate harmful amounts of methylmercury. There is also increasing and compelling evidence that mercury deposition can impact the terrestrial ecosystem, namely songbirds, bats, and other insectivores.

Michiganders have long understood the harms to public health caused by mercury and other air toxics. Reflecting the findings of scientists, the Michigan state government has taken some helpful actions. The Michigan Department of Community Health, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and Michigan Department of Natural Resources have collaborated in issuing statewide fish advisories for every lake in Michigan.

Moreover, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality adopted rules going into effect in 2015 to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in our state.  We commend the state’s actions and urge the Michigan Congressional Delegation to understand the need for federal standards to reduce mercury and air toxics pollution from power plants nationwide.

These efforts in our state fall short of addressing sources of mercury and other air toxics from other states that also harm Michigan’s people and animals. Most (greater than 50%) of the mercury deposited in our state comes from coal-fired power plant emissions, with a substantial amount coming from coal-fired power plants in other states. The U.S.

EPA’s MATS provides an important path to protecting the air and water in our state by limiting the emissions from these coal-fired power plants in Michigan and beyond. Also, the federal standards address a wider range of toxic emissions and facilities in Michigan than the state standards. The U.S. EPA estimates that annually MATS will prevent hundreds of deaths in our state and result in over one billion dollars of health benefits to Michiganders.

We, Michigan university and college scientists, urge you to support U.S.

EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in the interests of improving public health, protecting wildlife, preserving natural beauty, and supporting the economy of the state we call home.

Sincerely,

 Joel Blum, Professor- UM Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Nil Basu, Assistant Professor- UM School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Timothy Dvonch,  Assistant Professor- UM School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences

Howard Hu, Professor – UM School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Epidemiology and Internal Medicine

Jerome Nriagu, Professor- UM School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences

ELPC Deputy Director Kevin Brubaker, who leads ELPC's high-speed rail efforts, was aboard the Midwest's first high-speed rail train to leave Union Station.

On Feb. 15, 2012, high-speed rail travel arrived in the Midwest. The first high-speed train outside the Northeast United States departed Chicago’s Union Station at 7 a.m., traveling through Indiana and southwest Michigan to its destination in Kalamazoo, Mich. The 138-mile journey, which included a stop in New Buffalo, Mich., was completed in 2 hours, 8 minutes.

Kalamazoo is the highway point on the Chicago-Detroit passenger rail corridor. Eventually, officials say that 5.5-hour trip will be trimmed to 3.75 hours.Other high-speed rail corridors in the Midwest will include routes from Chicago to St. Louis and the Twin Cities.

Read more from CBS 2 Chicago and MLive.com.

“Purchasing any car requires thoughtful consiaderation of many variables – on brand, color, price – and purchasing an electric car can involve an extra layer of research,” said Madeleine Weil, Senior Policy Advocate at ELPC. “PlugInChicagoMetro.org can help consumers by providing a central resource of information about the differences, benefits and decisions involved in being an electric car owner here in Chicago and the suburbs.”

ELPC is working to advance policies that support electric cars and public charging infrastructure in Chicago and the Midwest. “Electric and hybrid cars reduce our dependence on foreign oil, produce less pollution than conventional cars, and can help consumers save money at the gas pump,” said ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner. “We should also seize the opportunities to grow the clean car jobs of the future in the Midwest auto industry.”

According to Learner, government support for public charging stations powered by clean wind and solar power, entrepreneurial ingenuity in the business community and low-cost power available for nighttime charging are just some of the ingredients that will make Chicago a market leader. “The Chicago area can become one of the nation’s leading markets for these new clean electric, natural gas and hybrid vehicles,” he said.

More and more consumers are becoming interested in learning about electric vehicles. “There’s a lot of information about electric cars out there – from dealers selling a particular model, from ‘car guys’ obsessed with the innovative technology, from critics who will scrutinize any and all changes to the status quo – but we’re not any of those people,” Weil added. “We realize purchasing a car is a personal decision. We just want to provide a forum to help Chicago-area consumers make car-buying decisions for themselves and their families.”

For more information about electric vehicles available in the Midwest in 2012, please go to www.PlugInChicagoMetro.org.

The development is contrary to Saugatuck Township’s current zoning laws. McClendon sued Saugatuck Township over the zoning laws in federal court.  On November 1st, the Court ruled that the proposed consent decree violated state law because it would have prevented the Township Board from ever modifying the zoning of McClendon’s property and created a remedy that exceeded the procedural harms alleged by the developer.

The Court’s decision holds that the proposed consent decree is illegal and “impermissibly ties the hands of future township boards.” The Township and McClendon can renegotiate, but any new settlement cannot sign away the ability of future Township Boards to zone and protect land within the community.

“Judge Maloney’s decision helps restore faith in the fairness of ‘the system’,” said Marcia Perry, Vice President of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance (SDCA).  “The hundreds of people who protested this unfair proposed consent agreement are justified by the Judge’s ruling.”

“This is a huge victory for the Saugatuck people and businesses who care about protecting our ‘pure Michigan’ landscape,” said SDCA President David Swan. “The Court’s decision affirms that the rule of law can trump the influence of a billionaire’s money and political clout.”

“As a resident of Saugatuck Township for over 35 years, I’m pleased to see that the Court has upheld our Township’s authority to make land use decisions,” said Sandra Randolph, Saugatuck Township resident and business owner. “I hope this will lead to a fair process that will better serve our community going forward.”

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation is delighted that Judge Maloney’s action has given the community another chance to protect the historic character and pristine natural beauty of the Saugatuck Dunes coastal area,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We also applaud the Court’s decision to require a public hearing prior to its review of any future consent decree incorporating development proposals for this fragile area. We continue to believe that over-scaled development would inflict irreparable harm on the Saugatuck Dunes coastal area and we will continue to work to encourage local community officials and the developer to find a solution that protects this unique and historic place.”

“The Court decided that the local government’s and Saugatuck communities’ authority to make land use and planning decisions can’t be bartered away,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center and lead counsel for the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance. “This is an important legal precedent for smart land use in the Saugatuck communities and across Western Michigan.”

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Read more in the Holland Sentinel.

Read more on ELPC’s Saugatuck Dunes page.

The project will create approximately 800 new jobs during the construction phase, which is expected to begin late spring 2012, and will facilitate service to current and future freight rail customers, including major shippers like Ford Motor Company. The money will be used for track and signal improvements between Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich., allowing for speeds up to 110 mph on 77 percent of Amtrak’s Wolverine and Blue Water services between Detroit and Chicago. The net result is a 30 minute reduction in travel time between those destinations.

“Michigan’s elected officials have put the needs of their constituents above partisan bickering.  They have recognized that transportation is a bipartisan concern.  By working together across party lines, they have allowed Washington to lay the tracks for Michigan’s economic future,” said ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder summarized the issue. “Investing in rail service will spark economic development in communities along a corridor linking Detroit and Chicago, two vital Midwest cities,” Snyder said. “A faster, reliable passenger rail system is a priority for younger generations and vital to Michigan’s ability to compete globally as businesses look to locate or expand. The rail improvements will also hasten the transport of freight, a priority for Ford Motor Company and other Michigan businesses along the route.”

ELPC is a vocal advocate for improved passenger rail, working closely with lawmakers around the region to establish new service and improve existing rail lines. The rail line between Chicago and Detroit is part of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Network that will connect cities around the region and tie together the regional economy.

Visit www.highspeedrailworks.org for more information.

Federal grants to improve the Detroit-Chicago line now total more than $400 million, almost half of which was money rejected by Florida. These funds will improve service between Kalamazoo and Dearborn; upgrade stations in Dearborn, Troy-Birmingham, and Battle Creek; and reduce congestion between passenger and freight trains — ultimately  leading to a consistent 4-hour trip between Chicago and Detroit.

Learn more about the Midwest High-Speed Rail Network.