Many companies conduct an environmental compliance audit to identify areas of non-compliance and to address the identified areas. The MDEQ recognizes the importance of these audits. As a method of encouraging environmental compliance audits, the MDEQ gives companies incentives to conduct and disclose the audit results by offering immunity against violation, fines, and penalties. Environmental compliance audits are internal evaluations with the purpose of identifying past or c

To properly understand when to report spills per the MDEQ’s Industrial Storm Water Program, it is necessary to pick through some rules. The Part 5 rules, Spillage of Oil and Polluting Materials, contain the basis for reporting spills in the general storm water permit for discharges associated with industrial activity. Specifically, certain spills of “polluting materials” are reportable. Note that polluting materials are limited to oil, salt and any material specified in Tab

As a lifelong Michigan resident and an avid backpacker, Isle Royale has always been the holy grail for me, like many of Michigan’s outdoor lovers. Isle Royale is an island in northwest Lake Superior and is the state’s only National Park (Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks are considered a National Lakeshore). Because of this isolation, the fauna on Isle Royale is significantly limited compared to the mainland (e.g. there are no bears, raccoons, or skunks). I recently