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Water Resources Division
Water Resources Division
The Water Resources Division (WRD) protects and monitors Michigan's waters by establishing water quality standards, assessing the health of aquatic communities, issuing permits to regulate wastewater dischargers, and overseeing aquatic invasive species concerns and water withdrawals. The division processes permit applications and provides technical assistance to local soil erosion and sedimentation control programs, as well as activities like dredging or filling, constructing or dismantling dams, constructing marinas, seawalls, or docks, building in a designated critical sand dune, wetland, or floodplain, and protecting underwater shipwreck resources. The Division oversees and issues construction permits for all public wastewater infrastructure, requires asset management in NPDES permits to ensure proper maintenance and oversees critical large-scale infrastructure improvements in the area of CSO/SSO control vital to health of Michigan's waterways.
Meet Director Teresa Seidel
Before becoming the WRD director, Teresa Seidel spent 16 years in EGLE’s Air Quality Division in positions including field operations supervisor and acting assistant division director. She worked on difficult compliance and permitting issues such as steel mills, power plants, and the state’s only petroleum refinery. She also worked on environmental justice concerns and served as a multimedia coordinator. For two years, she worked as an animal agricultural specialist at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, drafting legislation, writing rules, and working with farmers on feedlot issues