There is a new state department in charge of environmental protection in Michigan starting Monday. That’s under an executive order from Governor Gretchen Whitmer to create the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Liesl Clark is the director of the new department. She says the state still has to deal with the Flint water crisis, and PFAS contamination of drinking water.
Clark says the new department will also focus on environmental justice and identifying new threats.
“That’s our job. We’re here to find the problems, and I want to encourage people to find the problems,” Clark says.
Clark also says Michigan will join the US Climate Alliance – 23 states led by Republican and Democratic governors. It was formed to create a unified state response to President Trump’s plans to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement.
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