Environmental cleanup in Michigan has already cost $760 million and is not over yet

The state of Michigan has spent $760 million over the last 20 years attempting to erase Michigan’s legacy of industrial contamination. But it has been estimated that Michigan would have to spend $100 million every year for 20 more years (a total of $2 billion) to completely remove pollution from Michigan’s soil and water. Bonds approved in 1988 and 1998 to fund environmental have been nearly depleted. And the longer the cleanup is delayed, the more there will be to clean up, as pollution migrates through the water and soil, spreading dangerous contamination. The contamination at issue includes asbestos, chemicals and PCBs left behind when industrial plants close down.