- Good afternoon, I'm Regina Strong
and I'm the Environmental Justice Public Advocate.
Over the last day and a half,
we've had great conversations
about environmental justice.
And I want to thank everybody for joining us
for our ''Midday Keynote.''
We're honored this afternoon
to have joining us Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Governor Whitmer created my position
as the Environmental Justice Public Advocate
very early in her administration, as well as
the Office of Environmental Justice Public Advocate.
Her focus on both the environmental work that we're doing
as well as environmental justice has been pivotal
in helping us move the needle forward
in addressing challenges
when it relates to environmental justice.
We're also working to incorporate equity
into our climate work moving forward.
And I'm looking forward to hearing the governor speak
about all of those things in counsel.
So governor, thanks for joining us.
- Thanks Regina, I appreciate it,
I'm so glad to be here with all of you,
and I want to thank all of yesterday's speakers.
So far this conference has helped us learn
about the challenges we face
and the policies we can pursue to address them.
And today I want to talk a little bit about the big picture
and the value of environmental justice.
So Regina, Director Clark, EPA Administrator Regan
and all the participants from state and federal government
we're really glad you're here, thank you for joining us.
It's great to be with you all.
When I was elected governor,
I knew that we had a lot of work to do.
The guiding principle of my administration
has been to make sure our government works
for the people of our state.
So my administration got to work immediately
to show through action, not just words,
that we would go above and beyond to regain people's trust
and deliver meaningful change
that will touch people's lives.
We have focused on making sure
that state government was both responsive and proactive
when it came to handling public health crises
and environmental challenges.
And this is about more than
just mitigating environmental health risks,
we know that we have to invest in communities
and marginalized populations who have been burdened
by environmental injustice.
We had to listen, and uplift these communities
and pave a pathway to a more sustainable, prosperous future
because we know that the health of our economy
is inextricably linked to the health of our people
and our planet.
Whether it's a global pandemic,
natural disasters caused by,
and exacerbated by climate change
or water crisis fed by government inaction,
we have seen firsthand how failing
to invest in environmental protection
and public health can devastate communities
and harm our economy.
It's important that Michigan have some partners
in state government fighting for their health,
fighting for access to clean safe drinking water
or sustainable economic opportunity.
My team and I hit the ground running on our first day.
One of our administration's first actions was
to reorganize the state's environmental agency
and set up our priorities.
We set up the Michigan Department of Environment,
Great Lakes, and Energy, EGLE
to focus on meeting communities where they are.
To facilitate this change, we launched
the Environmental Justice Interagency Response Team
to make sure that all state employees identify opportunities
to address environmental injustices in their work.
And we established a new position,
Environmental Justice Public Advocate,
to ensure that impacted communities had power
and presence in state government.
Last year Regina Strong,
our Michigan Environmental Justice Public Advocate
formed the Advisory Council on Environmental Justice.
And on the council, impacted citizens
and experts advise our administration on the front end
of decision-making on environmental issues.
The first executive directive I signed made sure
that same place immediately report any threats
to public health or welfare to their department heads,
who'll ensure that the threat is eliminated
or mitigated immediately.
It ensures public employees are empowered to speak up
when they feel that our public health is at risk.
I formalized these practices because we know
that environmental health hazards,
disproportionately impact low income communities of color.
As we have seen through COVID,
when we don't pay attention to the science,
when we don't listen
to marginalized communities, people suffer.
Over the past two years, we've made a lot of progress,
but we still have a lot of work to do.
In Michigan environmental justice is defined as,
''The equitable treatment and meaningful involvement
of all people regardless of race, color,
national origin, ability or income
to the development and application of laws,
regulations and policies that affect the environment
as well as the places people live, work,
play, worship and learn.''
Living up to this definition starts with listening to voices
that have too often been left out,
and incorporating the lived experiences
of impacted individuals and communities into policymaking.
This approach leads to better rules and laws
and stronger partnerships that'll help us
more effectively protect Michigan's environment,
safeguard public health,
and uplift marginalized communities.
Environmental justice isn't an ad-on for our administration
it's an integral foundational priority
and it's essential to our work as public servants.
Parallel to environmental justice, we have an imperative
to bring intersectionality into everything we do.
By taking steps to center racial and gender equity
in every decision that we make, the person we higher,
the statement we release we can make better policy.
We can also confront systemic racism head-on
in all aspects of government, economy,
employment, healthcare and education, everywhere.
Since I was sworn in as governor,
I've made it a priority to include more people of color
and more women, or members of the LGBTQ plus community
at decision-making tables across state government.
And I strive to give everyone an empowered role,
which goes beyond representation
for the sake of checking a box, it means a real presence
with tangible decision-making power.
Across my administration we're building
a more inclusive state government,
not only through representation,
but with our policies and services.
Last year, I signed an executive directive
mandating implicit bias training
for all state employees to help us all understand
the implicit unconscious bias that exists in every one of us
and how we as public servants need to address our bias,
because we're impacting people's lives everyday.
I appointed the executive office's first ever
Equity and Inclusion Officer, Poppy Hernandez,
to develop diversity and inclusion strategies
within my executive office and across state government
to promote a more equitable and inclusive state workforce.
So we've built the most diverse cabinet in state history
and it doesn't stop there.
We're going to continue leading by example
and making sure that Michigan state government
is a model of equality, equity, understanding, and fairness
and we also need all of our employers and institutions
to do the same thing.
By centering diversity, equity, and inclusion
for justice we can create real lasting change.
When we utilize our positions of power
and innate privileges to uplift marginalized communities
and pursue equitable solutions,
we can create a more just Michigan for all Michiganders.
I'm so thankful that Michigan is not alone in this work,
it's great to have a partner in the white house
and at the EPA.
I'm thankful that the Biden administration
is using the blueprint that we've been working from
that we created here in Michigan
around environmental justice,
and we're pursuing both policies
and investments to support it.
So I appreciate all of you for your work.
We have a lot to do, and we need more people
in this fight with us.
Because environmental justice is racial justice.
Environmental justice is economic justice.
Environmental justice is justice for all.
And I truly look forward to working
and continuing our work alongside you, thank you.
- [Regina] Thank you so much, governor.
I have a couple of questions that have come through
that I wanted to ask you.
- All right.
- [Regina] All right, so over the last day or so
during the conference you heard lot of speakers talk about
how our work in environmental justice
was born of the Flint water crisis.
What has the administration done
to help people in Flint get justice,
access to clean water
and really try to rebuild trust in government?
- Yeah, well we know that trust isn't lost overnight
and it's not earned overnight,
and it's a long important part
of our work that we're doing.
The Flint water crisis remains one
of the starkest examples of environmental injustice
in our lifetimes.
From the first month in the office
the attorney general and I made clear to our teams
that even though we inherited the legal fallout
from the Flint water crisis it was our responsibility
to achieve the best possible settlement
for the people of Flint.
Recently, the state of Michigan joined a settlement
for all Flint water simple lawsuits
totally over $600 million.
The majority of those funds will benefit children
and families who were affected
when the city water supply was switched to the Flint River.
We also took several actions across state government
as a result of the lessons learned after Flint.
One of the first actions I took in office
was establishing two new offices,
the Clean Water Public Advocate
and the Environmental Justice Public Advocate.
Both offices are focused on investigating water concerns,
improved transparency and communication,
providing solutions to water concerns across the state.
And they're critical to rebuilding trust,
which is an important part of your question.
We got to earn trust in our communities
and ensure that communities have a direct line
to the executive office when they have serious concerns
about their water.
We launched the Michigan Lead Safe Public Awareness Campaign
to ensure that the state's coordinated
with local communities on how to protect people
from lead exposure and reduce all sources
of lead found in Michigan homes.
The Michigan Department of Environment,
Great Lakes, and Energy is currently implementing
the strongest Lead and Copper Rule in the country.
In February, EGLE and I sent a letter
to the EPA opposing proposed rollbacks
of the federal Lead and Copper Rule
and called for strong comprehensive role
that aligns with Michigan's higher standards.
We also included funding for drinking water investments
and wraparound services
for people who've been exposed to lead
in all of our budgets, including $500 million
from the Michigan Clean Water Plan
to build up our water infrastructure
and new home lead prevention funds.
In the same vein, we called on the Biden administration
to invest in water infrastructure
and support the American Jobs Plan proposal
to replace all lead pipes nationwide.
Our request to the federal government highlight
that there's a $2.2 trillion need over the next 20 years
to address our water infrastructure.
We've done a lot of good work,
but I know that we'll never be able
to fully make right the injustice
that was done to the people of Flint,
but we're going to do everything we can
to make sure that we live up to our promise,
which is to treat all people with dignity
and to address the shortcomings and policy.
And certainly the incredible pain
that the people of Flint was inflicted upon them.
We remain steadfast partners
and I'm proud of the work that we're doing
but determined to continue working on this front.
- [Regina] Thank you for that governor.
I've got another question for you.
So advocates, especially in the city of Detroit,
have been fighting for years to make water more affordable
and stop injustices and practices like water shutoffs
when families can't afford their bills.
And I know that action was taken
during the COVID pandemic over the last year,
but what are the plans to provide relief to families
on water bills moving forward?
- Yeah, so before we had any COVID cases,
Mayor Duggan and I announced
the Coronavirus Water Restart Plan
to ensure that all Detroiters had access to water
in their homes.
Now under the plan for the first 30 days,
the state of Michigan covers the consumers, sorry,
the customer's cost to reconnect water service
for new traders who currently experience
or at risk of experiencing a water service interruption
due to non-payment.
After 30 days, the traders who were at risk
of water service interruption,
would be able to restore their water service
by paying $25 a month.
Now, the city of Detroit announced this year
that it will no longer use shutoffs
as a collection mechanism and that's something
of which we're really in supportive.
In March I signed an executive order
that required the reconnection of water service,
where it had previously been shut off due to non-payment
and required accountability and tracking measures
for the public water supplies.
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
worked to create the Restart Grant program
to help cities comply and pay for reconnection.
And it starts with a $500,000 grant
to the city of Detroit for that purpose.
After the actions by the Supreme Court
I worked to pass the Water Shutoff Protection Act
which makes the executive order now the law of the state.
So my administration has worked to provide emergency water
to communities to meet their needs.
We've facilitated customer complaints about water utilities
and working with people to connect them
to appropriate resources and assistance programs.
And this has really helped thousands
of families get reconnected to water service.
We're going to continue to advocate for additions
to the COVID supplemental relief funds
that we use from the federal government
to ensure that they're included
in a program focused on protecting access to water.
And we've also included $25 million from MDHHS
to create the water utility assistance program,
which reimburse water utility providers
and providing bill forgiveness for debts
and fees incurred by residential water customers
during the formal COVID-19 state of emergency.
So this has helped 70,000 Michigan families
receive water debt assistance.
Our COVID-19 recovery plan included $665 million
for rental assistance of which 70
to 80 million was dedicated to utility relief,
including water bills
to runners experiencing financial hardship.
- So thank you for that answer.
I have several questions
but I'm going to ask you one more.
Well, this question came in,
while they're entirely supportive of your directives
to move Michigan to 100% de-carbonization,
how are you going to ensure that communities
and workers don't get left behind
in the transition away from coal
and carbon heavy industries?
- Yeah, thanks for this question.
For too long there's been a misconception that,
preparing for the future comes at the expense
of economic growth and good paying jobs,
it's not a binary choice.
It's not either, or, it's a both end.
And the health of our economy is inextricably linked
to the health of our people and our planet.
Whether it's a global pandemic,
or it's natural disasters caused by climate change,
we have seen firsthand how failing to invest
in environmental protection and public health
can be devastating to our economy.
And it's industrial states like ours
that have lost jobs to automation,
excuse me, and modernization.
In the past big changes created winners and losers,
and the government didn't get involved until after the fact.
And this time we got to put workers and communities first.
We need to ensure that the people
who are threatened by change to a more sustainable future
and that have historically disproportionately been impacted
by climate change, that they are able to benefit
from our preparedness.
One of the tools that we've put in place
to ensure early interventions
for the transition to a clean energy future
is the Energy Transition Impact Project, ETIP.
This will identify communities
that will be impacted by changes
to the mix of energy production in Michigan
and minimize those impacts and dislocation,
including the loss of employment, property tax revenues,
and related community services.
ETIP must engage with those communities and workers
to discuss opportunities for new development
to offset losses of existing facilities,
identify models use everywhere
that have addressed large scale changes
and identify resources
that can benefit the adjustment strategy.
But ETIP also must explore taxation and revenue strategies
to fit our changing energy production
and report periodically on its progress.
In addition to this, we launched Futures for Frontliners
and the Michigan Reconnect,
two programs that offer tuition free education
or skills training to Michiganders who're 25 and up,
or those who served on the front lines
through this pandemic.
So even with these great programs,
we've got more work to do to ensure we bring everyone
toward a more sustainable and prosperous future.
Yesterday, we hosted President Biden in Dearborn
at the Ford F-150 electric vehicle plant.
And I think part of that message was,
yes, we can be great stewards of our economy,
we can be great supporters of our workforce
and upward mobility, and we can be the solvers
of mobility issues that don't compromise our environment
and actually put lots of good people in good paying jobs.
So we can, and we must do all of these things
at the same time.
- Thank you so much for that answer.
And thank you for joining us this afternoon.
We've had such good conversations over the last day,
today, we're looking forward to more tomorrow
and having you here midday on the second day,
that's been great.
So thank you so much for joining us.
- Thanks for the work you
and your team are doing Regina, bye everybody.
- All right, thank you.
So our next session everyone is at one 30.
It's, ''Back on the table,
a good segue about climate and equity.''
We'll be hearing from Dr. Brandy Brown,
Dr. Tony Rains and Amy Bandyk.
So until then, have a great afternoon, thank you.