A complete list of all programs within the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
Community involvement and public participation are an essential part of EGLE’s mission, vision, and values.
SARA Title III establishes requirements regarding emergency planning and "Community Right-to-Know" reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals for federal, state, local, and tribal governments, as well as regulated facilities.
Resources and information on utilizing RRD's data exchange and the Inventory of Facilities.
An interactive map displaying contaminated sites throughout Michigan regulated under Parts 213, 201, and 211.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Water Well Viewer (WWV), is an interactive mapping system that displays water wells along with other information, such as wellhead protection areas, underground storage tanks, and sites of environmental contamination. Water well locations have been identified by address matching, the use of global positioning systems (GPS), and by legal descriptions.
This system allows water well drilling and pump installation contractors to submit water well records.
EGLE's interactive calendar is designed to provide timely information on decisions before the Director, proposed settlements of contested cases, administrative rules promulgation, public hearings, meetings and comment deadlines, and environmental conferences, workshops and training programs.
Anyone wishing to formally serve legal documents upon the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), or its officers or employees, may do so by the following methods.
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
October 03, 2025
Heritage Landing after restoration at Muskegon Lake. Credit: Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership. Blue waters sparkle in the afternoon sun. Sailboats catch gentle breezes. Cattails and other native wetland plants hug a shoreline ringed by recreational trails. Patient anglers cast for bass, bluegill, or pike.
This is not the Muskegon Lake that Kathy Evans once knew.
“I grew up in Muskegon, and I remember when this was an industrial shoreline, and it was smoky and smelly, and there were open-burning fires,” she said. “If you were in downtown Muskegon shopping, you wouldn’t even know there was a shoreline of a lake here – unless you or your parents worked in one of the factories.”
Evans, who has advocated for the lake’s revival since the 1980s, was on hand Wednesday, Oct. 1, to celebrate its official removal from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern. She and other local supporters joined city, state, and federal officials at Muskegon’s Heritage Landing park to celebrate the delisting.
EGLE Director Phil Roos listens as Kathy Evans describes the restoration of a former dumping ground in the delisted Muskegon Lake Area of Concern. Coincidentally, the celebration took place 34 years to the day after the first meeting of the public advisory committee that later became the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership (MLWP), a restoration partner Evans serves as treasurer.
“Being able to access the shoreline and know that the water is so much healthier is more than gratifying,” Evans said. “It means a lot to me. Sometimes I start crying when I think of all the people that were involved. … It is kind of emotional.”
AOCs are designated areas in the Great Lakes Basin marked by high levels of historical legacy pollution requiring cleanup. The Great Lakes AOC Program was established in 1987 under the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to tackle the worst pollution hot spots.
Muskegon Lake was named an AOC even earlier, in 1985, following more than a century of contamination from industrial and municipal waste and environmental degradation.
Over the next 40 years and beginning in earnest in the late 1990s, governments and other supporters invested more than $84 million in remediation and restoration: $67 million in federal funds and $17 million in state, local, and private contributions. Funding mechanisms included the Clean Michigan Initiative, Great Lakes Legacy Act, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and more. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is among the governmental partners.
The work is already paying dividends. According to a Grand Valley State University (GVSU) study, the remediation and restoration of Muskegon Lake will increase local home values by nearly $8 million and boost the local recreation economy by $28 million a year. Muskegon already has seen a 19% increase in marina customers and a 45% increase in county hotel room tax collections. The projections anticipate a nearly six to one ratio of return on investment.
“Completing this long journey of recovery, restoration, and renewal is a tremendous community achievement that EGLE has been proud to assist,” said EGLE Director Phil Roos. “Along with many partners, we celebrate today’s success and look forward to supporting tomorrow’s stewardship and growth.”
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager Anne Vogel called the delisting “a significant milestone in our ongoing work to restore and protect the Great Lakes.”
Additional partners include the Muskegon Conservation District, the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Valley State University (GVSU), the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, and local governments and tribes.
By 2024, each of Muskegon Lake’s beneficial use impairments, or BUIs, under the AOC program was formally removed. Signoff by the U.S. State Department on Sept. 26 made the delisting official.
Participants in Wednesday’s celebrations spoke of the importance of ongoing work to clean, restore, and revive the lake and shoreline as good stewards.
“Let us not forget there’s still work to be done,” said WMSRDC Executive Director Erin Kuhn.
Muskegon Lake covers 4,149 acres and flows into Lake Michigan from the west coast of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
It is the eighth U.S. Area of Concern to be delisted and the fourth in Michigan, after Deer Lake in the Upper Peninsula and White Lake along Lake Michigan were delisted in 2014 and the Lower Menominee River, shared with Wisconsin, was delisted in 2020. More information is available on the EPA’s Muskegon Lake Area of Concern website.
Ten AOCs remain in Michigan, all in various states of restoration: Torch Lake, Manistique River, and St. Marys River in the Upper Peninsula; Kalamazoo River in West Michigan; Saginaw River and Bay in the Thumb area; and St. Clair River, Clinton River, Rouge River, Detroit River, and River Raisin in the Detroit metropolitan area.
Here’s what others had to say about the Muskegon Lake delisting:
Media Contact:
Author:
The award honors schools, districts, early learning centers, and post secondary institutions for reducing environmental impact and costs, improving health and wellness, and offering effective environmental sustainability education.
Nonpoint source pollution is Michigan’s leading cause of water pollution.
The need for regulatory reforms and sustained investment in dam safety has never been more urgent.
The event gives people the opportunity to dispose of their unused, expired, or unwanted prescription medications anonymously at thousands of collection sites nationwide.
The Great Lakes PFAS Summit will focus on sharing new methods of addressing contamination and presenting innovative technical solutions developed to address “forever” chemicals.
In recognition of Firewood Month, Michigan’s Invasive Species Program is taking a few minutes to unpack some firewood facts to help you make safe firewood choices to protect Michigan’s trees and forests.
EGLE invites Michiganders to learn, act, and help protect the Great Lakes from tiny plastic pollution
EGLE has partnered with the EPA and five Michigan communities to accelerate lead service line replacement.
State and federal funds support transition to benefit air quality, student health, school budgets
The passage of the FY26 state budget ensures that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) can continue its vital work protecting our state’s air, land, water, and energy resources. While this year’s budget reflects a modest reduction for EGLE, it maintains core funding and staffing levels necessary to deliver on our mission to protect Michigan’s natural resources and safeguard public health. We appreciate the Governor and Legislature’s continued support for environmental protection and public health.
