The Sentence

Michigan’s environmental duties are defined by an act that is hundreds of thousands of words long. Included is 22,000 words that give our state its rules to fight pollution in our lakes and streams.

These words stayed strong for years until, in the early 2000s, a single sentence was added. It changed everything.

As Megan Tinsley, the Environmental Council’s water policy director, notes, this sentence has kept Michigan back in time. In many ways, it can’t use new science and tech to better protect our waters (and us) from dangerous chemicals.

Megan joins us in our new water pollution miniseries to explain the myriad ways our state government is stymied on issues like PFAS and bacterial outbreaks.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts

Learn about water protections and more through the Michigan Environmental Council. You can also subscribe to its email and follow it on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Common Groundwater is hosted by the Michigan Environmental Council and Lansing resident Beau Brockett Jr.

Our music is “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, arranged by Derek Zhang and performed by Jackson resident Taj Wallace.

Our 2024 series is sponsored by Kalsec, a global ingredient company headquartered in Kalamazoo that meets the highest recognized social and environmental standards through its B Corps certification.