EGLE statement on Southeast Michigan meeting ozone standards

“Ozone attainment is a significant achievement,” said Aaron Keatley, acting EGLE director. “It is a testament to the strides we have made in improving air quality in Michigan’s largest and most industrialized region.”

Meeting the national ozone standard does not mean that the work to reduce ozone in the area stops. When an area is designated back to attainment, federal law requires states to establish a maintenance plan that shows how it will continue to meet the standard. EGLE’s redesignation request (Section 4) includes Michigan’s maintenance plan detailing how air quality will be maintained considering projected growth for a period of 20 years. If future monitoring shows that ozone levels are no longer meeting the criteria, the maintenance plan helps determine the ways the problem will be addressed.

While the region is meeting the federal ozone standards, effects from other air pollutants continue to be a concern in some neighborhoods, particularly those in heavily industrialized areas, which are often in low-income communities of color.

“Our work is not done,” said Keatley.  “EGLE is keenly aware and is working diligently to address neighborhoods where proximity to industry and transportation corridors continues to have disproportionate impact. EGLE is committed to expanding our ozone success in similar ways to further reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, particulate emissions, and air toxics.”

EGLE’s ongoing air quality work in Southeast Michigan includes:

• Continuing to monitor for ozone. EGLE currently has 26 monitoring stations for ozone in the state with eight in southeast Michigan. Monitoring data is available to the public on EGLE’s Air Monitoring webpage.

• Making improvements to the air monitoring network. The draft network review is currently out for comment and includes proposals for a new site around Northeast Detroit near GM Hamtramck and US Ecology-North to measure fine particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM₅) and black carbon. It is anticipated to be functional in the fall of 2023 or spring of 2024. A new site is also being proposed with a continuous fine particulate (PM_2.5) sampler in an enclosure at a location in Marquette, and new continuous fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) samplers for the Oak Park, E. 7 Mile, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians tribal site in Manistee.

• Continuing to collaborate with the city of Detroit in an advisory role and remaining available to provide guidance upon request for the successful deployment and operation of their citywide particulate monitoring program.

• Working to develop a strategy for deployment of air sensors in different areas around the state and in collaborative projects with local partner organizations and communities. Some are already available through EGLE’s environmental lending station.

• Conducting inspection and enforcement initiatives focused on environmental justice communities, like the ones done in partnership with the EPA in North Detroit and Flint over the last year.

• Partnering with community and advocacy groups, as well as state and federal agencies on education around air quality concerns and health.

April 12, 2023
EGLE Media Office, [email protected], 517-284-9278
Mary Pressley, EPA Region 5 media relations, [email protected], 312-886-1443

ICYMI: $3 million federal grant to help Michigan cut climate pollution, grow clean energy economy

Grant precedes launch of $4.6 billion in competitive federal funding

During Michigan’s first MI Healthy Climate Conference this week, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and Governor Gretchen Whitmer highlighted a $3 million planning grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The money will help develop innovative strategies to cut climate pollution and expand Michigan’s clean energy economy. In March, the U.S. EPA announced the availability of the funds from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program created by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“Michigan has the momentum and together, we will define the future of climate action, clean energy, and manufacturing,” said Governor Whitmer, who spoke about the grant at the conference. “I am grateful to EGLE for bringing leading policymakers and action takers together in Detroit for the MI Healthy Climate Conference, and I know that by fostering collaboration, we can pursue job-creating, cost-reducing climate action that will grow our economy and protect our natural resources for generations to come. We recently won a $3 million federal grant to implement the MI Healthy Climate Plan, and I proposed over $1 billion of investments in my budget to lower the cost of electric vehicles, reduce industrial emissions, and protect clean air and water in schools. I am a climate optimist because I know that In the months and years ahead, we will compete for every dollar possible from recently passed federal legislation so we can create good-paying clean energy jobs, lower emissions, and build a brighter future for our kids.”

The Mi Healthy Climate Conference, which concludes today, focuses on mobilizing action around Governor Whitmer’s climate commitments as laid out in the MI Healthy Climate Plan, a blueprint for moving Michigan forward on greenhouse gas reductions and the economic opportunities that can be created in communities from climate action across the state. Nearly 600 engaged stakeholders, community and business leaders, advocates, and other partners are participating in the conference.

“The MI Healthy Climate Plan was built with input from hundreds of Michiganders over 18 months to chart a path forward for meeting Governor Whitmer’s climate commitments culminating in statewide carbon neutrality by 2050,” said Cory Connolly, Climate and Energy Advisor at the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. “This federal support will refine that plan and accelerate its implementation. It also will help in engaging and receiving input from communities across Michigan, especially low-income areas that are typically hit ‘first and worst’ by climate impacts. It is vital that all Michiganders share in the protections and benefits of the Climate Plan, and this moves us toward that goal.”

CPRG planning grants will support states, territories, tribes, municipalities, and air agencies in creating comprehensive, innovative strategies for reducing pollution and ensuring that investments maximize benefits, especially for low-income and disadvantaged communities. These climate plans will include:

• Greenhouse gas emissions inventories
• Emissions projections and reduction targets
• Economic, health, and social benefits, including to low-income and disadvantaged communities
• Plans to leverage other sources of federal funding, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act
• Workforce needs to support decarbonization and a clean energy economy
• Future government staffing and budget needs

The EPA is expected to launch a competition for an additional $4.6 billion in funding to implement projects and initiatives included in the plans in the Spring of 2024, which Michigan is eligible to receive. The state can also use this funding to develop strategies for using the other grant, loan, and tax provisions secured by President Biden’s historic legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to achieve it clean energy, climate, and environmental justice goals.