Common Groundwater
Michigan is defined by the Great Lakes that surround it. But there's a so-called sixth lake that’s critical to our state, too: our groundwater. It flows deeply through every community and to every corner of our peninsulas. Yet, we have so much more to learn about this natural feature.
Like groundwater, this podcast shows environmental issues felt deeply, widely and personally across the state. It tells stories around those issues and the solutions to them. It goes beyond the headlines to bring listeners and viewers something grand yet personal to us all.
Common Groundwater
The Sentence - The Polluter Rulebook
UPDATE: The bills discussed in this episode did not pass the Michigan Legislature. For the latest update on our efforts, click here.
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, "The Polluter Rulebook," to explain the myriad ways our state government is stymied on issues like PFAS and bacterial outbreaks.
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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.
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Common Groundwater is hosted by the Michigan Environmental Council and Beau Brockett Jr.
Our music is "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi, arranged by Derek Zhang and performed by Jackson resident Taj Wallace.
Our 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.
