Overview:
- Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit's senior reporter, has been recognized for his impactful journalism with the 2025 Outstanding Media Coverage in Civil Engineering Award.
- His work sheds light on how aging infrastructure systems shape the lives of Michigan residents, delving into policy, environmental, and economic challenges.
- Allnutt's investigations into persistent pollution at BASF's Wyandotte facility, flooding in Detroit's Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood, and tax breaks for energy-intensive data centers highlight systemic issues affecting local communities.
Brian Allnutt, senior reporter at Planet Detroit, has been awarded the 2025 Outstanding Media Coverage in Civil Engineering Award by the Southeast Michigan Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The award was presented on April 25 during ASCE’s annual meeting at The Hub in Novi.
The award honors journalists whose work helps the public better understand infrastructure systems — such as flood prevention, energy delivery, and pollution control — and the civil engineering behind them. Allnutt was recognized for a body of reporting that explains how aging systems affect Michigan residents and examines policy, environmental, and economic pressures on these systems.
“This award helps people connect the dots between the built environment and their quality of life,” said Sarah Barrett, Vice President of ASCE’s Southeast Michigan Younger Members Group.
“Engineers often operate behind the scenes, and this is a way to highlight how their work impacts everyday life.” Barrett noted that this is the third year the Southeast Michigan Branch has presented the award.
“Planet Detroit works hard to show the way the built environment impacts Detroiters’ quality of life, putting a spotlight on issues like basement flooding, legacy contamination, and power outages,” Allnutt said. “It’s an honor to be acknowledged by engineers who work on these issues every day.”
Allnutt’s award-winning reporting includes investigations into BASF’s Wyandotte facility’s persistent pollution of the Detroit River, Detroit’s flood-prone Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood, and Michigan’s controversial tax breaks for energy-intensive data centers. His work highlights both systemic challenges and the communities impacted by them.
“All of us rely on civil and environmental infrastructures to provide critical services like wastewater collection and treatment, flood control, drinking water, and power utilities,” said William Shuster, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Wayne State University, who nominated Allnutt.
“It is significant to recognize Mr. Allnutt for his work with Planet Detroit to pull apart and explain the infrastructure systems involved … and how we can better understand the processes at work when these services are not delivered, or become disservices.”
The ASCE Southeast Michigan Branch includes members from Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, Lenawee, and St. Clair counties. The media award is part of an annual recognition program that also honors engineering excellence, student leadership, and professional service.
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