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Line 5, Lead, Climate Change And More: Here Are The Top Environmental Stories Of 2021
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Enbridge to shut down its controversial Line 5 pipeline by mid-May and a new round of legal battles ensued.
December 30, 2021
As the last two years have made clear, environmental issues don’t stop or slow down for a pandemic.
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From twists and turns in the Line 5 legal saga to the state’s ongoing fight to purge lead from drinking water lines, here are some of the Advance’s top environmental stories of 2021.
After Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Enbridge to shut down its controversial Line 5 pipeline by mid-May, a new round of legal battles ensued between the Democrat and the Canadian oil company.
Find out what's happening in Across Michiganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
That shutdown deadline came and passed. Indigenous activists made their presence and opposition to Enbridge’s operations well known at the Straits.
A judge then decided in Enbridge’s favor, ruling that the Democratic governor’s shutdown lawsuit would be heard in federal court.
Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel have since shifted gears, and are now trying to keep the AG’s 2019 shutdown lawsuit in state court.
Further North, on a trip led by the late former wilderness ranger Doug Welker, the Advance saw firsthand four sprawling expanses of U.P. forest for which environmentalists are seeking the federal government’s highest level of protection.
Also in the U.P., advocates and tribal members on the border of Michigan and Wisconsin are fighting against a controversial open-pit metallic sulfide mine on the banks of the Menominee.
It’s been nearly eight years since the rest of the country first caught wind of the Flint water crisis, but lead continues to be a problem in Michigan.
State lawmakers from both parties have also been tackling the problem of lead leaching into drinking water at schools.
And there has been more action, both state and federal, to fight per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Michigan.
The Michigan Advance, a hard-hitting, nonprofit news site, covers politics and policy across the state of Michigan through in-depth stories, blog posts, and social media updates, as well as top-notch progressive commentary. The Advance is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.
