The Governor of Michigan holds more direct power over environmental protection than any other single official in the state. Through executive orders, appointments, and control of the budget, the Governor determines whether Michigan’s environmental agencies—especially the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)—protect residents or protect industry. When pollution harms Detroit, Benton Harbor, or any Michigan community, the Governor cannot claim distance. They control the people, the purse, and the policy.

Executive Authority

  • The Governor can issue Executive Orders that restructure state agencies, create new offices, and direct how enforcement happens.
    • Governor Whitmer used this power in 2019 to create the Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate, the Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team, and the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice (MAC-EJ) through Executive Order 2019-06.
  • The Governor can declare environmental emergencies that mobilize EGLE, MDHHS, and federal partners like the EPA.
  • Can order temporary suspension of operations or permitting at facilities that present imminent public-health risks.
  • Can direct agencies to prioritize cumulative-impact analysis in all major permitting decisions.

Each of these actions can be taken immediately, without new legislation.

Existing Environmental Justice Infrastructure

Michigan already has a formal EJ framework:

  • The Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate (within EGLE) receives complaints, investigates EJ concerns, coordinates across departments, and issues public reports.
  • The Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice (MAC-EJ) provides community, academic, and industry input to the Governor.
  • The Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team connects 16 departments, including MDHHS and Transportation.
  • The state operates MiEJScreen, a mapping tool for environmental and social stressors.

However, these bodies have coordination and advisory powers—not enforcement authority. They cannot deny a permit, issue a violation, or compel a facility to act. Their influence depends entirely on how much support and direction the Governor provides.

Budget and Administrative Power

  • The Governor proposes the state budget, which sets funding levels for EGLE inspectors, air monitoring, and cleanup.
  • Can direct discretionary or federal funds (ARPA, Justice40, Climate Pollution Reduction) toward communities with cumulative burdens like Detroit’s east side.
  • Controls the state’s staffing levels for environmental enforcement—vacant positions and underfunded labs are policy choices.
  • Can use the budget veto to block rollbacks or defunding of enforcement programs.

When EGLE lacks staff or monitors, it’s because the Governor didn’t fund them.

Appointments and Oversight

  • The Governor appoints the directors of EGLE, MDHHS, DNR, and key commissions.
  • These directors serve at the Governor’s pleasure, meaning inaction or weak enforcement is ultimately an executive decision.
  • The Governor can remove or replace agency leadership that fails to protect public health.
  • Through appointment to the Environmental Rules Review Committee, the Governor influences how environmental regulations are drafted or delayed.

Every permit, every inspection schedule, every enforcement plan begins with who the Governor hires.

Legal and Intergovernmental Role

  • The Governor can petition EPA Region 5 for emergency intervention or stricter oversight of Michigan’s air programs.
  • Can negotiate consent agreements with EPA for joint enforcement or funding of cleanup and monitoring.
  • Can coordinate with the Attorney General to pursue criminal or civil environmental cases under state law.
  • Holds authority to direct EGLE to reopen or review permits for facilities with repeated violations or cumulative impacts.

What Residents Can Demand

  1. Strengthen the Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate — give it formal authority to audit permits, trigger monitoring, and recommend enforcement actions.
  2. Declare air-quality emergencies in heavily burdened areas like Detroit’s east side and southwest corridor to activate state and federal support.
  3. Fully fund EGLE’s inspection and monitoring divisions and expand the Air Quality Division’s community grants program.
  4. Mandate cumulative-impact review for every new or renewed industrial permit statewide.
  5. Public accountability for agency leaders — require annual public hearings on EGLE and MDHHS performance.
  6. Integrate MiEJScreen data into permitting decisions, making environmental justice a measurable factor, not a slogan.
  7. Direct state investment into community-based air-monitoring networks and health studies, coordinated with Detroit and Wayne County.

Framing It Publicly

“Michigan already has an Environmental Justice Office — but without power, it’s just a suggestion box. The Governor decides whether it has teeth, funding, and authority to protect people. Every community complaint that goes unanswered is a policy choice. We need a Governor who turns coordination into enforcement — and advocacy into action.”