Proposed hotline aimed at bottle bill fraud

Some Michigan lawmakers and environmental advocates want to create a hotline to stop retailers from fraudulently cashing in on the state’s beverage container deposit law.

Michigan expanding PFAS testing capacity

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is expanding its testing capacity for monitoring a family of so-called “forever chemicals” called PFAS.

Michigan polluter ordered to jail for illegally discharging untreated waste

By Eric Freedman

A federal judge has sentenced a Flint, Michigan, polluter to one year behind bars for illegally discharging more than 47 million gallons of untreated waste into the city’s sewer system. Robert Massey, the 70-year-old president and owner of family-owned Oil Chem Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act over an 8½ year period between 2007 and 2015. “That amounts to over 72 Olympic-size swimming pools. The crime was driven by greed. Oil Chem received over a million dollars to dispose of the (material),” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its sentencing memorandum to U.S. District Judge Stephanie Davis.