Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is among the advocates urging the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to more actively involve the public in its decision making.
They advocates want the agency known as EGLE to revise its criteria for public engagement and inform residents sooner about decisions that affect the environment and public health.
Tlaib called the current engagement unacceptable at a news conference late last week.
“The public is only brought into EGLE permitting process when they have almost no power to change the outcome. The public is only brought into EGLE permitting process when they have almost no power to change the outcome. And a corporate polluter has a huge head start with months of back and forth with EGLE.
As one example, the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant has had permits from EGLE to discharge wastewater that is considered safe into Michigan waterways. However, local environmental advocates argue that the permits were issued without adequately addressing public concerns. A
dvocates like Tlaib are calling for public involvement in the permitting process.
