LANSING —State Reps. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn), David LaGrand (D-Grand Rapids), Vanessa Guerra (D-Saginaw), Tenisha Yancey (D-Harper Woods), Cara Clemente (D-Lincoln Park), and Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) have introduced an air quality bill package with proposals to protect public health through enhancing air quality standards and strengthening the permitting process.

“We need to hold corporations accountable, especially those that request to emit additional pollutants in areas that already have questionable air quality,” Rep. Hammoud said. “This is discrimination by pollution, and it has to stop. Neighborhoods in Dearborn border the epicenter of the asthma burden, an area where asthma rates that are up to two to four times higher than the state average. Under current law, the DEQ is not permitted to consider the total amount of pollutants being emitted by all corporations within a neighborhood. My bill would require the DEQ to take into account the entirety of the pollution within a neighborhood, by all the corporations, when considering any additional permits.”

These proposals focus on environmental justice, transparency, accountability, local control, and expanding permit criteria. The bills are as follows:

  • HB 6139 (Rep. LaGrand): Requires all state departments and agencies to consider air quality when making decisions, and to establish air quality criteria.
  • HB 6140 (Rep. Guerra): Requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to notify legislators in the district where a permit is requested to increase emissions.
  • HB 6141 (Rep. Yancey): Requires the entity requesting the permit to increase emissions to have a representative present at the public hearing, and to address questions and concerns from the public.
  • HB 6142 (Rep. Clemente): Requires the DEQ to consider certain socioeconomic variables when reviewing a permit request.
  • HB 6143 (Rep. Hammoud): Requires the DEQ to take into consideration the cumulative air quality impact when considering permits.
  • HB 6144 (Rep. Santana): Creates a process in which a local government could veto a permit to increase air emissions through their passage of a resolution. 

“The goal of my bill is to prevent discrimination through pollution by requiring certain criteria to be considered prior to approving a permit to increase emissions,” Rep. Clemente said. “The permitting process has serious flaws that adversely affects our residents. Socioeconomic factors, such as health status or income level, need to be considered as many neighborhoods are continually subjected to worsening air quality.”

 

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