Planet Detroit readers have a new way to learn about hundreds of sources of air pollution in Michigan.
These sources emit particulate matter that weighs down our lungs and clouds our skies, hazardous chemicals known to cause serious health issues like cancer, and other pollutants that pose risks to public health.
Every significant source of air pollution requires a permit to pollute, and many break the law by violating their permits. Some exceed their agreed-upon pollution levels, fail to test and maintain their equipment, allow odors or fugitive dust to disturb the community around the facility, or neglect to keep records of their emissions altogether.
This year, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), has issued at least 180 violation notices to facilities across Michigan. About 40% occurred in the highly populated counties of Kent, Oakland, Macomb and Wayne.
Most sources of air pollution operate day-to-day without public scrutiny. That is until large, noticeable problems bring them into the spotlight.
Planet Detroit has launched the Michigan Air Permit Violation Dashboard to help residents better track the non-compliance of permitted air polluters in their communities. A map of over 1,500 violation notices has been issued to over 750 Michigan facilities since 2018.
Each facility has its own report detailing:
- Address*
- State Registration Number
- Total Number of Violation Notices since 2018
- EPA Classification (Major source, minor source, etc.)
We also include a brief text description of each violation notice it received and a link to the original document.
*Addresses are usually but not consistently representative of exact locations.
Below the map is a daily digest of the 12 most recent violation notices issued. This updates each night with the newest notices uploaded to EGLE’s Air Quality Division database.
Screenshots inside the tool.
Inside the Violation Notices
EGLE issues violation notices for many reasons, including, but not limited to:
Records Violations
- Failing to keep records of its emissions
- Failing to report records to the state on an annual basis
- Failing to produce them upon request
- Failing to obtain a permit or renew it on time
Equipment Violations
- Improperly installed equipment
- Equipment malfunctions
- Operating equipment without a permit
Emissions, Odor and Fallout Violations
- Exceeding the amount of an air pollutant it’s allowed to emit
- Excessive visible emissions, which indicate air cleaning is not working
- Exposing residents to a foul odor affects their quality of life
- Allowing fugitive dust to accumulate beyond its property
The map includes a brief text description of each violation, usually extracted from the ‘Comments’ section of a table within the PDF violation notice. That table also includes the rule or permit condition violated and the process involved (i.e., specific equipment, monitoring/record-keeping, etc).
Reading the document can help provide context to the violation, as individual state inspectors write them and often include a narrative. Inside the PDF you can find the names of the inspector, facility manager, or other corresponding party.
Using the Map
The map defaults to a view of all sources. However, you can use the filter box in the top left corner to filter the map by type of source. Remember to switch back to “All Sources” when interacting with the Most Recent Violations below the map.
On a desktop, you can hover your mouse over each facility, and get a quick snapshot of :
1. The EPA class
2. The facility name
3. Number of violation notices since 2018
4. Time since last its violation notice
Clicking on a facility brings up a report of all violation notices the company has received since 2018 along with the address, State Registration Number and EPA class for the facility.
You can find a copy of the original document by clicking on the date of the violation notice.
At the bottom of each facility profile, you can find links and instructions for how to browse more documents related to that company, like staff reports, enforcement notices, violation notices before 2018, and more.
Please note this map and data was created with the help of automation technology that is wonderful but imperfect. Report any issues to this form.
Read more about our methodology, get the data, and inspect the code on Github.