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The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is proposing new rules regarding air-pollution permits, but at least one environmental group doesn’t like them.
The proposed rules would bring the number of automatically regulated contaminants down from about 1,200 to 756.
DEQ spokeswoman, Barb Rosenbaum, says the new rules exclude low-toxicity non-carcinogens and other substances that have no scientific toxicity information.
She says it would streamline the process so the department can focus on the pollutants of more concern.
But Sean Hammond of the Michigan Environmental Council says that’s a backwards approach.
He says it’s better the err on the side of caution and assume those chemicals without toxicity information are harmful rather than assuming they’re harmless.
The DEQ says there will be a period for public comment on the proposed rules.
