Michigan Senate and House Democrats introduce legislation to update cleanup rules, ensure transparency, and make polluters pay for contamination costs

LANSING, Mich. — June 7, 2025 — A sweeping legislative package introduced this week by Michigan Senate and House Democrats seeks to overhaul the state’s pollution cleanup laws, shifting financial and legal responsibility onto polluters. The legislation would close key loopholes that environmental advocates say have enabled corporations to avoid accountability for decades, particularly for legacy contamination and newly recognized threats such as PFAS.

Backed by more than a dozen lawmakers from Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, and other Michigan communities, the 2025 “Polluter Pay Package” includes provisions to increase transparency, strengthen cleanup requirements, and make medical monitoring accessible to residents exposed to hazardous substances. Michigan pollution law in House Bills 4636–4640, with additional measures forthcoming, targets both legal and regulatory failures that have allowed over 4,500 polluted sites to remain in limbo, often fenced off but not truly cleaned.

Michigan Lawmakers Say Current Rules Let Polluters Off the Hook

Under current Michigan law, companies responsible for chemical spills or toxic waste leaks are not always required to report releases, remove contamination, or compensate affected residents unless narrowly defined conditions are met. According to Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who is spearheading the Senate effort, the state’s environmental policy has long been biased toward protecting polluters.

“It’s shocking that Michigan law doesn’t require polluters to actually clean up their mess or even report all spills,” Irwin said in the announcement. “These bills put liability where it belongs: with the polluters, not the public.”

Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor), co-sponsoring the companion legislation in the House, added, “If you pollute our water, poison our soil, or threaten public health — you pay to clean it up.”

Michigan Pollution Law Address PFAS and Delayed Toxic Exposure Claims

One of the more notable components of the legislative package is a provision that would reset the statute of limitations for pollution claims. Current Michigan law starts the clock at the time of the contamination, even if victims don’t know they’ve been exposed. That means residents harmed by substances like PFAS—often called “forever chemicals”—may have no legal recourse if symptoms appear years later.

Michigan pollution law House Bill 4639, sponsored by Rep. Phil Skaggs (D-East Grand Rapids) and Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), would adopt a “discovery rule” similar to federal standards, allowing lawsuits to proceed when the plaintiff becomes aware of the harm. A companion bill, HB 4637, would also require polluters to pay for medical monitoring for exposed individuals before a diagnosis is made, helping detect pollution-linked illnesses early.

Environmental and Public Health Groups Back EGLE-Refined Reform Plan

The legislative effort is informed by work conducted through a 2024 stakeholder group led by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Participants included representatives from environmental organizations, local governments, and brownfield developers. The result is a reform package that balances accountability with redevelopment opportunities by ensuring that cleanup responsibilities fall on those who caused the damage—not future site owners.

The Michigan pollution law bills include requirements to:

Report all hazardous material releases and contaminated sites, even if privately managed.
Increase post-cleanup groundwater monitoring to track contaminant migration.
Prohibit reliance on land or water-use restrictions as a substitute for actual cleanup.
Enable EGLE to regularly update health-based cleanup standards based on new science.
Restore the public’s right to sue for environmental damages tied to previously unregulated chemicals.

Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) said the status quo has allowed industries to manipulate cleanup standards and suppress exposure risk data. “We need this legislation so EGLE can update inputs to cleanup criteria as scientists learn more,” she said.

Lawmakers Push Back Against “Honor System” Approach to Contamination

The Democratic sponsors frame the legislation as a response to decades of industrial negligence compounded by weak regulatory enforcement. Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) criticized current law for allowing self-managed, unreported cleanups, saying House Bill 4640 would bring much-needed transparency.

“Michigan enacted pollution cleanup laws because we had all too many examples of polluters who failed to do the right thing,” Koleszar said. “People have a right to know.”

Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo), who chairs the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, plans to hold a hearing on the bills in the coming week.

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