US Ecology violated federal law for five years, and state officials only recently discovered the problems.
Jena Brooker
Jena Brooker is BridgeDetroit's environmental reporter, covering food and agriculture, pollution and climate change. She has held three fellowships: a ProPublica fellowship, where she led an investigative project on heavy industry in Detroit neighborhoods; a Data Fellowship at the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, where she produced award-winning coverage of Detroit's automotive industry and environmental racism; and a Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowship through CASW, AHCJ and SEJ. Her work has also earned the Michigan Press Association public service award three years in a row and recognition as Young Journalist of the Year in 2023. Before joining BridgeDetroit, she covered environmental issues across the Midwest as a Reporting Fellow for Grist.
Jena holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in The Guardian, Mother Jones, Salon, Slate, Grist, Next City, Chalkbeat and Planet Detroit.
Posted inArts & Culture
Free techno festival this weekend in Detroit
Tec-Troit is a free two-day festival featuring local DJs held at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.
Posted inCivic and Community Information, Uncategorized
Incinerator demo on track for Sunday despite some resident pushback
Detroit officials met with residents Wednesday to answer questions about personal safety, the demolition process, how pollution would be controlled, and efforts to inform residents.
Posted inHealth and Welfare
Canadian wildfire smoke puts Detroit among most polluted major cities
Due to wildfire smoke Detroit and New York City have temporarily moved to top five most polluted across the world.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
DNR: notices about Belle Isle beach closure were ‘above and beyond’
Hundreds of people were swimming over the weekend at the Belle Isle beach despite beach closure due to high levels of E.coli.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Planned implosion of Detroit’s incinerator has neighboring residents concerned
Residents worried about health and safety, cite a lack of communication from the city.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Detroiters are closer to parks, but investments lag
The Trust for Public Land’s annual park ranking for Detroit dropped this year from 57 to 60, out of 100 U.S. cities.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Mapping the evolution of Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood
New interactive map chronicles the history of Woodbridge from the time of French settlement, using historical maps, property records, newspaper archives, photos, oral histories, and more.
Posted inEnvironment
Detroit recycling rates double, but barriers remain
An opt-in program, high contamination rates, and a lack of infrastructure are some of the challenges Detroit faces.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
What national railway merger means for Detroit
The city could see an additional 87 trucks per day to the railway’s facility on the west side.