Environment

Opposition to pipeline spreading across state

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By JASMINE WATTS
Capital News Service
LANSING — Some Michigan communities are calling on state officials to shut down an aging oil pipeline between the state’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, even though they lack jurisdiction in the matter. Line 5 is a 63-year-old oil pipeline owned by Enbridge Inc., a private Canadian company, at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. Line 5 now operates at more than 80 percent of its original design capacity. Environmentalists say they are afraid it will rupture. A 2014 University of Michigan study called it the worst possible place to have an oil spill in the Great Lakes.

Transportation & Roads

Special lane designations would increase mass transit efficiency

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By STEPHANIE HERNANDEZ McGAVIN
Capital News Service
LANSING — A new bill to allow local transit agencies to construct Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes on state highways would make mass transit more efficient, advocates say. The bill would qualify any highway marked as a M-, U.S.- or I- route for BRT lanes. Rep. Sam Singh, an East Lansing Democrat who introduced the bill, said the BRT concept is relatively new to the state and the proposal would help designate the personal bus lane required for rapid transit and allow the state to work with local agencies in creating such lanes. “We need to make sure we have some vibrant public transit in all of our metropolitan areas,” Singh said. As a former member of the Lansing Capital Area Transportation Authority board of directors, Singh said he has a first-hand perspective on public transit as an economic development tool in mid-Michigan.

Environment

State plan to deregulate chemicals upsets environmentalists

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By ZHAO PENG
Capital News Service
LANSING— The debate about environmental injustice has grown more serious in Michigan after the Department of Environment Quality (DEQ) recently proposed deregulating 500 chemicals. These possible changes to the air regulations concern the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) a lot. According to MEC, the department is going to propose a rule change requested by industry to deregulate 500 chemicals that have been subject to oversight in the past. The DEQ said the change is because the chemicals that have not been tested for their impact on public health. “Our primary concern is that the state will stop regulating certain toxics,” said James Clift, policy director for the MEC.

Environment

New EPA limits will make difference but more may be needed

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By ZHAO PENG
Capital News Service
LANSING — Stricter new smog limits by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency may improve air quality, but some regions of Michigan have a long way to go to meet it, according to an air quality advocacy group. The EPA this month called for ground-level ozone levels of no more than 70 parts per billion, five parts per billion less than the old standard issued in 2008. The American Lung Association considers it a step in the right direction. “We support the ozone standard and we are definitely supportive of making sure that the new standard gets implemented. Even though we think it could be lower- 60 ppb, moving to the 70 ppb is at least moving in the right direction,” said Ken Fletcher, the advocacy specialist for the American Lung Association in Michigan.

Transportation & Roads

Train Routes

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By COLLEEN OTTE
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan’s transportation organizations are studying planes, trains and automobiles. More options for public transit could play a huge role in the state’s competitiveness in attracting and retaining people, young and old, transportation experts say. They’ve recently launched four studies to assess the feasibility of new Michigan rail routes. The studies will assess traffic flows, taking into consideration automobile, bus and air traffic, said Elizabeth Treutel, a Michigan Environmental Council policy associate. “A big goal of the studies is understanding what are the traffic flows now?” she said.