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•The evidence shows that the two agencies have created more of a bureaucracy than when there was just one
agency.
•Staffers in both the DNR and DEQ have been demoralized by numerous reassignments and transfers,
causing turmoil and inefficiency.
•Cutting back on enforcement is taking its toll. According to a recent report by Clean Water Action, 44% of
Michigan's major sewage and industrial plants with permits to discharge into waterways are in significant
noncompliance with clean water laws. The number of Michigan drinking water supplies violating health
standards rose from 44 in 1992 to 73 in 1995. The number of river miles considered unsuitable for use in
Michigan because of pollution increased from 1,291 in 1992 to 1,428 in 1995.
Two Veteran Perspectives
In a recent interview published by the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center, former DNR Deputy Director
Don Inman described an "internal revolution" that occurred in the DNR in 1993. More than 150 staffers signed
a letter opposing new regulations for underground storage tanks. The incident sheds a telling light on the
situation today.
"The staff started to see changes to the point where they believed there were probably illegal activities
going on inside the agency. Things that just weren't being enforced with regards to the statute," Mr. Inman
said. "[The position statement] was courageous. In the twenty-six years I was in the agency it was unprecedented.
Those people -- believe me -- were marked."
Said Howard A. Tanner, director of the DNR from 1975 to 1983 under Gov. William G. Milliken, "We
have an inadequate staff to take care of our forests and our waters. And to take care of the other responsibilities
that belong to this generation."
The Engler Administration, said Dr. Tanner, "removed the terrestrial and aquatic biologists from the
decision-making process with regard to all kinds of development. He did this purposefully to release industry
from what he considered the unreasonable fetters of pollution control. He wants Michigan to be a more
favorable place for business. And I think that's fine. But he has chosen to decide that the one way to make it
better for business is to release them from environmental controls." G
CONTACTS: David Ladd, 517-335-7824; Ken Silfven, press secretary, Department of Environmental Quality,
517-241-7398; Tim Roby, press secretary, Department of Natural Resources, 517-335-4228; Howard A. Tanner,
517-339-2461; Keith Schneider at the Institute, 616-882-4723. |
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DNR/DEQ Case Study #1
Power Struggle Exposed
In November 1996 DEQ Director Russell Harding issued an aggressive administrative order. Mr. Harding
declared that the DNR's authority to manage the Jordan Valley and other state lands for oil and gas development
was "subservient" to the DEQ's.
The order's intent was clear. As drillers expanded their territory in northern Michigan, the DEQ was
seeking to block the DNR from interfering in the industry's use of public lands.
Senior DNR leaders immediately recognized the order's significance. The DNR had established a land
management policy in the 22,000-acre Jordan Valley that had kept it off-limits to industrial activity since 1975.
If Mr. Harding prevailed, it would threaten the DNR's ability to protect the Jordan Valley and other
ecologically-sensitive lands.
The Institute, Friends of the Jordan River Watershed, and the Sierra Club organized other conservationists
in calling the order an illegal "power grab." As a result the DEQ agreed that the DNR would continue to be the
lead agency in managing public lands. G
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