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April 22, 1996
Responding to the Governor's request for voluntary initiatives, the Big Three auto makers promise to
eliminate the use of mercury in manufacturing electrical switches starting with the 1997 model year.
May 7, 1996
Responding to public outcry, the DNR reduces "post-production" write-offs by Antrim Shale gas producers.
The action restores $8 million annually in royalties for drilling on state land to the Natural Resources Trust Fund.
Aug. 27, 1996
Eleven people are injured in Manistee after a release of poisonous hydrogen sulfide from a gas well owned by
Petrostar Energy. State officials say they will not respond because of concern for the property rights of the
company and the mineral owners.
Sept. 16, 1996
Gov. Engler signs the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act, which allows local governments to use
property tax revenues from new development to pay for cleanups of contaminated sites.
Sept. 27, 1996
The DEQ's Harold Fitch refuses a request by Manistee County's Filer Township to hold a hearing on public
health concerns regarding a new gas well, saying the DEQ does not have the authority to consider public
health when issuing permits.
Oct. 2, 1996
State Sen. George McManus introduces a bill to weaken the Natural Rivers Act, a model cooperative
approach to natural resource protection, citing opposition to the program from property rights activists.
Oct. 24, 1996
Walter Zaremba applies to drill for Antrim Shale gas in the Jordan River Valley, a 22,000-acre natural area
that has been off-limits to industrial development since 1975.
June 18, 1996
The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council issues a report critiquing The Homestead Resort's
proposal to swap high bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for
undevelopable wetlands. The report is instrumental in defeating the proposal in Congress.
Jan. 21, 1997
Gov. Engler signs amendments to the Subdivision Control Act that enable landowners to divide property into
increasingly smaller parcels, dashing efforts by conservationists to reduce sprawl.
Jan. 28, 1997
In his State of the State speech, Gov. Engler calls for banning oil and gas drilling in the Jordan Valley. The
result of persistent citizen organizing, it is the first time the Governor has issued a clear call for conserving
natural resources.
Feb. 11, 1997
The DEQ gives Newstar Energy a permit to drill the first of three wells it plans along the Manistee County
coast to tap oil and gas beneath Lake Michigan.
June 6, 1997
The DEQ reverses a previous DNR decision and allows the Michigan Peat Co. to mine the Minden Bog. DEQ
Director Russell Harding says he feared losing in the company's "takings" lawsuit.
June 16, 1997
The DEQ issues new regulations prohibiting future releases of hydrogen sulfide like the one that injured 11
people in Manistee.
July 11, 1997
Michigan adopts the Great Lakes Initiative, which sets consistent water quality goals for the lakes and stricter
limits on the amount of toxic substances that can accumulate in fish and other wildlife.
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