By Bruni Bezati, Lake St. Clair Program Intern
I am extremely disappointed with the Michigan State Legislature’s decision to pass a package of bills that allows industrial waste, like coal ash, to be used in roads, as construction fill, and most alarming of all, to be spread over our farm fields. This poses the risk of contaminating our food and causing damage to Michigan’s farming communities. As an intern with Clean Water Action, I joined fellow staff and concerned community members this past Tuesday to inform elected officials about the dangers of coal ash and the negative effects these bills will have on our environment, agriculture, and our “Pure Michigan” standards. The potential harm that these bills will have on our water and environment is unknowable and a cause for great concern. The toxic coal ash will ultimately make its way into our waters and contaminate our Great Lakes. I feel let down by our elected officials. They do not seem to be taking the health and safety of Michiganders seriously and once again they are choosing to support big corporate polluters instead of our Great Lakes way of life.
