LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Jeremy Moss (D–Southfield) today released the following statement after the Michigan Senate voted along party lines to approveHouse Concurrent Resolution 1 without amendment. The resolution overturns Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2019-02, which would restructure the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) into the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and increase transparency and accountability in the department.
“Under the last administration, the Department of Environmental Quality was Lansing’s most inappropriately named department because they did little to actually protect environmental quality. We must change the culture within and mission of the department, and I support Governor Whitmer’s order to do so.
“Decades of failed Republican leadership and events like a water crisis in Flint, an oil drilling permit in Southfield, and PFAS contamination throughout the state, all prove that the DEQ is in sore need of restructuring to restore environmental justice for our residents. But today, Republicans continued their support of these reckless practices by pushing HCR 1 forward.
“I opposed this resolution because we need a government that works for the people of Michigan — and the people are in desperate need of safe, clean drinking water. I will continue to stand with the residents of Michigan who need this basic human right to survive.”
###