FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Tim Minotas, tim.minotas@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Commends Legislative Democrats Climate Resiliency Bill Package
LANSING, MI - Today, the Sierra Club applauds the Michigan House and Senate Democrats climate resiliency bill package. Climate change directly intersects with many key issues challenging our state including infrastructure, public health, jobs, and protecting our water.
We are seeing flooded homes, businesses, freeways, farmlands, and billions of gallons of raw sewage polluting our waterways from overloaded water systems, all costing our state billions. What would be considered 100 and 500-year flood events, Michigan is now getting every couple of years, and our infrastructure and roads aren’t built to handle them. We need to start looking at alternative, more resilient, cost-effective, and efficient green infrastructure options. These bills introduced today will begin to enact systemic changes and make climate-resilient investments where we need them most.
Included in the climate resilience package are proposals for:
A climate resiliency corps to employ Michiganders to work on resiliency projects with local governments, non-profits, universities, tribes, and businesses, with a goal of 40% of those projects being in environmental protection communities.
A disaster relief and weatherization navigator program to help assist individuals in navigating the complicated web of assistance programs related to these specific areas
A Weatherization and pre-weatherization jobs program to help low-income residents in Michigan improve energy efficiency and resiliency of their homes to combat the effects of extreme weather, repair homes that are in deferment so they can participate in weatherization assistance, all while creating good-paying jobs and apprenticeships to perform the upgrades.
Expanding the percentage of how much Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) dollars can be spent on weatherization.
A green infrastructure permit for MDOT highway projects, which would require them to consider forecasted climate conditions and green infrastructure alternatives in their projects.
Requiring water utilities in the state to have backup power sources for their water pumps if the primary source fails.
Adding environmental disasters and natural disasters to the local and state emergency alert system, to ensure our residents are prepared and aware of incoming severe weather, chemical spills, and industrial accidents.
Local municipalities to develop their own stormwater utility system
In response, Tim Minotas, a Legislative and Political Coordinator with the Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter, released the following statement:
“As we have experienced, extreme weather events will continue to bring flooding and other issues to Michigan, and to prepare for them we have to build resiliency within our infrastructure and communities, and ensure that our residents have the resources to recover from and manage these new realities. The bills introduced today, take a proactive approach to plant the seeds of an economy to sustain us over the long term -- one that will create thousands of good, family-sustaining jobs, prioritize vulnerable communities, and protect our water resources. To adapt to climate change and protect public health, we have to take action now.
“This is a time to be decisive in saving lives, and bold in charting a path to a genuinely healthier and more equitable future for all Michigan residents. Sierra Club, our members, supporters, and environmental advocates across the state will use this solid foundation to continue to push for action across the board in Michigan so that we truly tackle this crisis at the speed and scale that justice and science demand.”
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About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 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.
