Steven Chester

Steven E. Chester has served as director for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) since January 2003.  His appointment to the highest environmental post involves overseeing the management and control of the state’s programs that regulate air quality, water resources, waste management and hazardous materials, cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites, geological resources, and sensitive land management issues.  Steven also oversees the implementation of environmental assistance and pollution prevention programs.  Prior to this appointment, he was a principal at the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C, he worked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), served as assistant attorney general for the Environmental Protection Division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, and also worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Wayne County Department of Health, Air Pollution Control Division.

Monday

April 7, 2008

Michigan has long been a leader in protecting its citizens and natural resources from environmental degradation and pollution.  Our vast natural heritage is evident in our Great Lakes waters, shore land beaches, 11,000 inland lakes, and 26,000 miles of streams and rivers.  As director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, it is my great fortune to work alongside skilled and talented professionals dedicated to preserving our natural legacy, and providing exceptional public service. 

Through the perseverance, commitment, and hard work of DEQ staff, countless citizen groups, businesses, and of course our local governments, Michigan has made great strides in protecting and improving the quality of our environment.  Over the past thirty years, air quality in Michigan has significantly improved, and our lakes and streams are more fishable and swimmable today than we have seen in generations.

I look at these successes, however, are merely investments in our future.  As we learn more about our planet, we gain greater knowledge of our own impact upon it.  New challenges emerge to confront us, some of which are global in scope while others test the very limits of our science and knowledge.  I am confident, however, that the DEQ and our partners in local government will face these known and emerging challenges, working together to overcome them. 

Check back to tomorrow to hear Steven’s thoughts on protecting Michigan’s environment.

Tuesday

April 8, 2008

If you look at the DEQ’s website, you’ll see the motto “Protecting Michigan’s Environment, Ensuring Michigan’s Future.”  For us, this is more than just a saying, rather it speaks directly to the importance we place on protecting the health and well-being of our residents and preserving the great natural legacy that is Michigan.  Nowhere is our commitment to that belief more evident than in the cleanup and brownfield redevelopment programs.  The staff in these programs not only strive to eliminate imminent health threats and hazards, but through their efforts sites of contamination are transformed into vibrant new centers of business, commerce, and recreation.

Over the past twenty years, funding for the cleanup and brownfield programs has been provided through two bond initiatives that were overwhelmingly approved by the voters of Michigan, the 1988 Quality of Life Bond and the 1998 Clean Michigan Initiative.  These bonds provided the state with the financial resources to ensure that contaminated sites could be both cleaned up and restored to productive use.

Since their passage, the wise use of these bond funds has leveraged an estimated $3.1 billion in private investment, created thousands of jobs, and resulted in the revitalization of hundreds of community neighborhoods.  Clearly, these have been important and sustaining investments in Michigan’s future.

Michigan currently is at a crossroads, however.  The one-time dollars raised by the 1988 and 1998 bonds have been exhausted, and without a new funding source, the DEQ will soon no longer be able to provide funding to address the thousands of remaining contaminated sites across our state.

I certainly believe that the cleanup and brownfield redevelopment programs are a critical component of Michigan’s environmental and economic success.  Whether we will continue to fund these programs, however, is not my decision to make but rather rests with the citizens of Michigan.  This year, I will be discussing this matter with our local government partners and directly with residents of our great state in the hopes that we can all agree that we must allow the success of these programs to continue—especially if we are truly committed to protecting Michigan’s environment, and ensuring Michigan’s future.

Check back tomorrow to hear Steven’s thoughts on contamination cleanup.

Wednesday

April 9, 2008

Nobody wants a contamination problem in their community, or even worse one that impacts their own property, but the reality is that Michigan’s industrial history has left us with thousands of sites across the state in need of remediation.  While we often think of contamination problems as impacting our urban areas, we know that they in fact impact communities of all sizes, whether urban, suburban or rural.  In fact, nearly 50% of Michigan’s population lives within ½ mile of known contamination.

When a company causes contamination on or around their property, Michigan law holds them liable for the costs of cleaning it up.  Unfortunately, there are countless sites across the state known as “orphan sites,” or properties where a liable party cannot be identified or lacks the financial capacity to pay for the cleanup.  These sites can often require significant public funding to manage the environmental and public health threats that they cause. 

In these circumstances, the Department of Environmental Quality’s cleanup programs are the safety net for Michigan citizens and the environment.  The DEQ has utilized available resources from the state’s cleanup funds to provide over 10,000 homes and businesses with safe drinking water, as well as prepare 521 sites for redevelopment, demolish more than 150 abandoned hazardous buildings, and mitigate environmental risks at hundreds of sites. 

These projects have made Michigan safer, our citizens healthier, and ensured our industrial legacy does not prevent our transformation to a diversified and successful economy in the twenty-first century.

Check back tomorrow to hear Steven’s thoughts on the brownfield grant and loan program.

Thursday

April 10, 2008

Brownfields are defined as abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial or commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is hindered or complicated by real or perceived environmental conditions.  Quite simply, these are properties that would be attractive to potential developers were it not for the contamination left behind from prior activities.

While Michigan’s cleanup funds provide an invaluable service to communities threatened by pollution, the state’s brownfield grant and loan program works to help communities get contaminated sites returned to productive use by removing the environmental hazards that too often stand as the single barrier between a redevelopment project going forward, and a site remaining unused and unsafe.

The DEQ’s brownfield grant and loan program was created as part of the 1998 Clean Michigan Initiative to enable a partnership between the state and local communities to encourage the redevelopment of these properties.  To date, over $95 million have been spent on 228 brownfield grant and loan projects, producing over $3.1 billion in private investment by developers and generating more than 18,000 jobs for Michigan workers. 

The brownfield grant and loan program has played a role in some of the most successful redevelopment projects our state has seen in recent years.  From Michigan’s urban cores in Detroit and Grand Rapids, to projects in Ann Arbor, Benton Harbor, and Traverse City, there are few areas in Michigan that have not been positively impacted by the DEQ’s brownfield grant and loan program, and the redevelopment possibilities it creates.

Check back tomorrow to hear Steven’s thoughts on funding for cleanup and redevelopment programs.

Friday

April 11, 2008

When I discuss the funding problems the DEQ’s cleanup and redevelopment programs are currently facing with people across Michigan, the obvious follow-up question I am often asked is how do we fix it?

Currently, these programs operate on an annual need of roughly $95-$ 100 million, and in these difficult budgeting times, coming up with $95-$100 million annually to support these critical programs is no small task.  I have been having discussions with a number of groups over the past several years to put our options on the table and hear what others there may be.  With each discussion, however, those options tend to narrow down to just one: a new bond.  While I am certainly open to hearing other ideas, we will soon have to move forward with a solution and ensure that it gets enacted.

Alternatively, we could choose to do nothing, and by the end of this year begin the difficult process of dismantling our cleanup and brownfield redevelopment programs.  This would mean that ongoing cleanups would be shutdown, leaving communities at risk of environmental hazards.  This would mean our ability to provide alternative drinking water supplies to households when their current supplies are contaminated would end.  This would mean our ability to partner with communities to get abandoned properties back on the tax rolls would also come to an end. 

I hope you agree that this alternative is unacceptable for Michigan, our communities, and our families.  Please join me in supporting Michigan’s brownfield and cleanup programs and the funding they need to allow for their continued success.

Thank you.

Check back on Monday to hear from Robin Beltramini, Councilmember for Troy and League Vice President.