Sierra Club Job Posting: Great Lakes State Organizer

​SIERRA CLUB IS HIRING!

Sierra Club will expand its capacity to tackle environmental threats in Michigan by adding a new full-time, limited duration position to its staff in 2019. If you like a challenge, want to work for positive change and build a better world for future generations, then you could be a good fit for Sierra Club Michigan.

We are currently looking for qualified candidates for a full-time Great Lakes State Organizer position who will work on our efforts to tackle the emerging PFAS toxic threat to drinking water around the state, our fight to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline and other challenges to the Great Lakes. The job description and application information for the Great Lakes State Organizer is found here. 

Industrial dairy with history of environmental violations seeks State approval to expand in Barry County

Expansion will annually add 900 animals and generate 5,402,597 additional gallons of manure; Public Comments due November 1


Oct. 23, 2018

Media Contact:  Gail Philbin, Sierra Club Michigan Director, 616-805-3063, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org

Lansing--Prairie View Dairy LLC, a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Prairieville Township, is seeking a change in its state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit to reflect an expansion of its animal herd by 900 animals (40%) to a total of 3,150 cows. The increase means the operation will generate 27,610,432 gallons of waste per year, an annual increase of 5,402,597 gallons in a lake-filled region of the state already saturated with CAFOs and animal waste.

Concerned area residents have the opportunity to request a Public Hearing by November 1 to learn more about Prairie View’s request and the dairy factory’s handling of animal waste as well as submit comments about the proposal by emailing Megan McMahon at the Michigan DEQ,  mcmahonm1@michigan.gov. Submitting comments and having a public hearing are the only ways local residents can get their voices heard about the dairy expansion. Deadline for a hearing request and comments is November 1.

Animal waste from some of the nearly 300 CAFOs in Michigan frequently makes its way into our waterways, leading to a host of environmental and health problems. In the case of Prairie View, a significant spill in 2015 ran into West Gilkey Lake and led to the DEQ issuing a Consent Order and fining Prairie View Dairy CAFO.

Manure feeds the algae blooms that plague our inland waters and was a key factor in the growth of the toxic algae that poisoned drinking water for Toledo and southern Michigan in 2014. Water and soil pollution can occur at any point in a dairy operation, including from over-application of waste to fields of manure slurry containing untreated feces, urine, disease-causing bacteria, anti-biotics, and hazardous chemicals such as ammonia and methane.

Sierra Club has been at the forefront of battling CAFO pollution in Michigan for nearly three decades. To learn more, visit https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/why-are-cafos-bad#health-effects

For questions about submitting public comments, email gail.philbin@sierraclub.org

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PRESS RELEASE: Sierra Club Statement on Snyder - Enbridge Oil Tunnel Deal

For Immediate Release

October 3, 2018

Contact: Anne Woiwode 517-974-2112 anne.woiwode@michigan.sierraclub.org 

               David Holtz   313-300-4454  david@davidholtz.org 

Sierra Club Statement on the Disastrous Snyder-Enbridge Oil Tunnel Deal

This statement responding to a deal announced today between Governor Rick Snyder and Enbridge to build an oil tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac can be attributed to Anne Woiwode, chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.

Today Rick Snyder and Enbridge have doubled down on their dangerous backroom deal last November. The Governor has once again shut out the public, ignored the experts, failed to honor the treaty rights of Michigan’s tribes and tried to lock in a deal that forces generations of Michiganders to take all of the risk, while Enbridge reaps all the profits. 

Instead of adopting a solution that protects the Great Lakes and Michiganders from an unneeded, leaky and damaged oil pipeline crossing hundreds of waterways, Snyder and Enbridge are using the last days of a lame duck governor to lock in a short cut for Canadian oil across our state and the Great Lakes. And the Governor is putting the state's Mackinac Bridge Authority in the bulls eye of this ill-conceived scheme - putting one of Michigan's most effective and iconic agencies in the role of providing cover for a foreign, polluting corporation. 

In the five years since the dangerous condition of Line 5 was brought to public attention we have seen Enbridge lie about the condition of the pipeline to state and federal officials, grossly understating the condition of the coating and delaying reports about gouges caused by an anchor strike last April. We’ve learned that a tunnel will take up to a decade to build, leaving this dangerously deteriorating pipeline in place all that time. We’ve learned that the Coast Guard is unprepared to respond to a disastrous oil spill in the Great Lakes, and that clean up response teams could take days to get on site.  We’ve learned a clean up of a oil disaster would take many years, would cost billions of dollars, would reclaim less than half the oil spilled, and that there is no where near enough money committed now to conduct a complete clean up. And, we’ve learned that the economy of the Straits region would be left in shambles, with drinking water polluted and tourism destroyed. 

We’ve also learned that alternatives for providing propane to UP households are readily available and affordable. We’ve seen the increasing impacts of climate change in our state and around the world, arguing for keeping the oil in the ground. We’ve seen the need to invest in our state’s infrastructure - roads, water and sewer systems, schools, and much more - grow astronomically and with those investments instead see sustainable jobs and a healthier, more economically competitive state. 

The Great Lakes are too precious for Michiganders to allow an oil tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. It is time for the lame duck Governor to stop making deals with Enbridge. 

PRESS RELEASE - Sierra Club: Clear Choice for Governor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Voters Provide Clear Choice 

for the Great Lakes State

Associated Press Declares Gretchen Whitmer, 

Bill Schuette Winners in Primary Races for Governor

The following statement can be attributed to Anne Woiwode,

Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Chair

Sierra Club congratulates Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette on their apparent primary election victories today in the governor’s race. These two candidates could not be more different in their approaches and priorities when it comes to protecting the public health and Michigan’s Great Lakes environment. 

Voters have clear choices for who will shape the future of the Great Lakes and enforce our public health and environmental laws: Gretchen Whitmer, who led Michigan’s clean energy revolution, opposes oil pipelines in the Great Lakes and has fought for clean air and clean water; and Bill Schuette, who over the course of his long political career has consistently worked to weaken laws that protect wildlife and our waters and instead lined up with polluters and against consumer protections, clean energy and clean air.   As Michigan Attorney General, Schuette gained a deserved reputation as an ally of polluting industries and tried, unsuccessfully, to block clean air rules, including pollution limits on mercury and other toxins.

In 2010, Republicans nominated a candidate for governor who held out the promise of modeling himself after the legendary Bill Milliken on the environment:  a moderate who pioneered shorelands protection and conservation.   Instead Michigan saw the worst public health crisis in modern history caused by the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder that prioritized money over people and has consistently sided with the oil industry instead of acting to protect the Great Lakes from oil pipelines.  

Bill Schuette doesn’t even pretend to be a Milliken Republican but, rather, models himself after Donald Trump.  Fortunately, voters have the opportunity to choose Gretchen Whitmer, the candidate for governor whose values and priorities are more in line with a place we call the Great Lakes State.   

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PRESS RELEASE: Court Decision Victory for Michigan Democracy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Media contact:  David Holtz 313-300-4454/david@davidholtz.org

Sierra Club: Court Decision

Victory for Michigan Democracy

Ending Gerrymandering Key To

Protecting Michigan’s Environment

LANSING, MI—Sierra Club today said Tuesday’s Michigan Supreme Court decision on the Voters Not Politicians redistricting reform rejecting an attempt to block the nonpartisan proposal from the November ballot is a victory for democracy, the rule of law and citizen initiatives.

“With this decision, we the people now get the chance to vote in November to end gerrymandering,” said Anne Woiwode, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Chair.   “Michigan’s gerrymandered redistricting process is a cancer that is eating away at our democracy and eroding public confidence in our government.  What will be  Proposal 2 in November means better politics, better democracy and better government.”

Over the past three years, Sierra Club has been educating its members and supporters about Michigan’s redistricting process and earlier this year endorsed the Voters Not Politicians ballot proposal.   Sierra Club volunteers from across the state have been working with staff to organize for the fall election, said Woiwode.

“If we end gerrymandering and Michigan voters get to choose their politicians instead of the other way around in a fair election process we will have a much better chance of protecting our air, water and land,” said Woiwode. “The current gerrymandered system dilutes people power and shifts control to corporate lobbyists.  That’s bad for Michigan’s environment and bad for Michigan’s democracy.”

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.4 million members and supporters nationwide, and over 150,000 in Michigan. In addition to creating opportunities for people of all ages, levels and locations to have meaningful outdoor experiences, the Sierra Club works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation. For more information, visit http://www.sierraclub.org.

Sierra Club Endorses Gretchen Whitmer

Leading Environmental Group Is First To Endorse in 2018 Race

LANSING, MI—Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest and largest environmental organization, today announced its endorsement of Gretchen Whitmer for governor, citing the Democratic candidate’s strong record and leadership on issues impacting Michigan’s public health and Great Lakes environment. 

This is the first announced environmental endorsement of a candidate for governor in either party in the 2018 Michigan election.

“Gretchen Whitmer is an extraordinary candidate and Sierra Club is excited to announce our strong endorsement of her as the next governor of the Great Lakes State,” said Anne Woiwode, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Chair.  “She brings something we have not had for eight years, which is a strong, decisive leader with a proven track record on public health, Michigan's environment and social justice.  

“Gretchen Whitmer's voice, values and experience are what Michigan desperately needs.  Following eight years of disastrous policies that have left communities like Flint badly diminished and protection of our lakes, rivers and streams put in the hands of corporate polluters, Gretchen Whitmer will again make people and our natural heritage a priority.”

Whitmer’s public health and environmental ratings were among the highest in the  state Legislature and included helping establish the state’s first renewable and efficiency standards to promote clean energy.  As a candidate for governor, Whitmer has prioritized protecting drinking water, combating climate change, ending the threat of oil pipelines in the Great Lakes and fighting environmental injustices  impacting Michigan families.

“Gretchen Whitmer is a mom like me and wants what most of us want and that’s a healthy Michigan for our kids and our future,” said Deitra Porter, a Sierra Club member from the Detroit area.  “She cares about protecting our children and wants to make sure that government is on the side of families who need affordable, safe drinking water and early childhood education so their kids have the tools they need to protect the planet.  That’s why as a Sierra Club volunteer leader I support endorsing Gretchen Whitmer for Michigan’s next governor.”  

Patrick Egan, a Sierra Club member and resident of Brimley in the Upper Peninsula, cited Whitmer’s track record and commitment to protecting the Great Lakes.

"Michigan forests and the Great Lakes don't have a vote. Gretchen Whitmer was here and told us she will represent Michigan's priceless assets,” said Egan. “She will decommission the 65-year-old, obsolete oil pipeline that crosses over 200 Upper Peninsula bodies of water and keep all Michiganders safe from the dangers of Line 5."

Sierra Club’s endorsement of Whitmer came as a result of votes by the Michigan Chapter’s volunteer Political Committee and elected Executive Committee, both of which represent local Sierra Club groups and members throughout the state.  Under the club’s rules, a two-thirds vote is required for endorsement.  

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The Sierra Club is the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, with over 130,000 members and supporters in Michigan.

Governor Snyder Signs Bills Giving Polluting Industries Control Over Environmental Protections in Michigan

Friday, June 29, 2018

Contact: 

April Thomas, 206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org

LANSING, MI -- Today Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law two bills which allow industry lobbyists to rewrite the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) rulebook and overrule MDEQ permit decisions. Now signed into law, Senate Bills 652-653 will ultimately lead to more environmental and public health disasters like the Flint water crisis, toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie, Nestle’s massive Great Lakes water withdrawal, and toxic air pollution hot spots in Detroit. Over two thousand Sierra Club activists contacted Gov. Snyder since the bills were passed to demand that he veto these dangerous bills, but he failed to do so. These bills will prevent impacted communities and residents concerned about industry pollution from having any say in permit and rule decisions.

“Michigan, like the rest of the nation, has already been robbed of our best protections against dangerous air and water pollution since Scott Pruitt took control of EPA,” said Rhonda Anderson, Organizing Manager for Sierra Club. “Now that this legislation has been signed by Governor Snyder, we’ll have our own Pruitt right here in Michigan, with polluting industries in direct control of our state environmental agency. Communities are already facing unacceptable levels of toxins and pollution in our state. The crisis in Flint has yet to be addressed. Now that Governor Snyder has given away control of our environmental protections in Michigan to big polluters, we are facing an unprecedented crisis of environmental injustice and public health.”

Gov. Snyder has also failed to implement recommendations developed by the Environmental Justice Work Group that he himself created following direct recommendations from the Flint Water Advisory Task Force and the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee’s Policy Subcommittee. The Work Group, which includes many prominent environmental justice community leaders, submitted their recommendations in March but have yet to see any response from the Governor.

"These bills give industry lobbyists and special interest groups overreaching powers into public health decisions,” said Michelle Martinez, Statewide Coordinator for the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. “The levels of cancer and cardiovascular disease for our elders, and asthma in children, in areas of Southeast Michigan are costing our families billions of dollars every year, and for some residents forcing them to make harsh decision between medication and other life essentials. Why continue to roll back protections for clean air and clean water now after such staggering crisis like Flint? Instead we should be looking at implementing the Environmental Justice Recommendations put forth-- which have been sitting on Snyder's desk since March-- they provide real solutions, and steps to protect the Great Lakes and safeguard their residents today and in the future."

MDEQ already has a slipshod track record on public health. Allowing polluting industry officials to regulate themselves sets the state up for further health crises and long-lasting environmental degradation.

“The lack of transparency, poor responsiveness to public concerns, and continued negligence of the Michigan DEQ violates basic human rights,” said Mike Berkowitz, Legislative and Political Director for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter. “A public forum for community members to call attention to dangerous environmental problems, and to hold in check political pressure on agency staff is absolutely essential. Governor Snyder’s decision to sign these bills is a slap in the face to front-line communities dealing with environmental injustices and will further degrade the DEQ’s already terrible pattern of not listening to citizen concerns.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.