Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act are more than 50 years old. They are not equipped to effectively deal with issues like climate change, agricultural pollution and toxic contaminants like PFAS ("forever chemicals”) that have emerged.

The 1972 Clean Water Act and a 1990 amendment help safeguard the Great Lakes, but challenges remain.

Federal protections for many wetlands have been removed. Some states have laws to protect those wetlands, but some are stronger than others.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision changed rules for wetland protection. We talked about what that means for Michigan’s waterways. Also, we heard about a cheating scandal that rocked the walleye fishing community. Plus, how the state is working to loop folks in on some major changes to Medicaid.

The U.S. EPA proposes federal baseline water quality standards for lakes and streams on reservations.

Michigan is the only U.S. state without a statewide septic code. Hundreds of thousands of leaking septic systems foul Michigan's waters.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act, the Rouge is no longer a dumping ground for industrial waste. But its gains are fragile and incomplete with contaminants still soiling the river bottom and the fish that returned to its waters.

Heavy industrial activity has been operating along parts of the Detroit and Rouge rivers for decades. The legacy it's left is up to 5.1 million cubic meters of contaminated sediment.

The Clean Water Act called for waterways to be fishable and swimmable. A report shows the U.S. EPA and states are only half way there.

Robert Massey, the president of Oil Chem, Inc. in Flint, has pleaded guilty to a charge of violating the Clean Water Act.Massey had a permit from the city…