Officials want Detroiters’ input on how to spend public money on environment

Hoping for a new micro-forest, rain garden or air filters in your neighborhood? 

Government officials are asking Detroiters to submit their ideas for “beneficial environmental projects” to reduce pollution and increase residents’ health amid an influx of federal funding for environmental justice issues. 

Raquel Garcia, executive director of Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, said it’s the first time residents in her community have been asked for feedback on environmental project options throughout years of grant-funded initiatives and community benefits negotiations at the state and local levels. 

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), and the city of Detroit are partnering to compile the ongoing list, which will be referred to when funding opportunities arise. 

Project leaders hosted an online meeting about the initiative on Jan 17. 

Garcia said the nonprofit has advocated for residents surrounding numerous environmental issues, such as heavy truck traffic, and called it a “fantastic opportunity” during the comment portion of the meeting. 

Project officials said the idea stemmed from the Detroit Community Initiative Project, which began in August 2022, to work with community members to address concerns about air quality violations from factories on the city’s east side. 

“We heard from people that community members need to have more power in deciding environmental projects in their own community,” Camden Ogletree, project officer for the EPA’s Region 5, said during the meeting. 

Any individual or organization can send in project ideas that will be added to a running list for government officials to refer to when grant funding is available or when state supplemental environmental projects or city community benefits agreements are being formed. Ideas must benefit Detroiters by reducing pollution in air, in water, or on land. Submitting an idea isn’t a guarantee that it will be funded, officials noted.

Some potential examples of qualifying projects might include windows and insulation for homes near air pollution sources, flood mitigation efforts for homes in high-risk areas or home retrofits to mitigate the impacts of heavy truck traffic. 

Projects with specific details are more likely to be implemented, officials said at the meeting. The list will be published publicly every quarter, according to Jack Akinlosotu, director of the city’s Office of Sustainability.

Garcia said she wants to submit a rezoning project.

“Something that would reduce pollution in residential areas is really having an up-to-date zoning plan,” she said. 

District 6 Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero has expressed a desire to downzone industrial lots in her Southwest district to residential. 

“How do we submit ideas that are not shovel-ready or physical projects, but ideas that require planning and maybe some policy change?” Garcia asked officials on the call. 

Akinlosotu said ideas like Garcia’s can be submitted to the list. 

“I don’t think it would hurt to have that idea on the table and for us to be able to at least communicate it with other people internally to move those things forward,” he said. 

Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, also asked about submitting a project with a large research component: evaluating whether dust on roads that aren’t properly maintained contains harmful pollutants. 

Jenifer Dixon, a specialist for EGLE’s air quality division, said residents should submit environmental projects even if they aren’t positive that they qualify. 

“I would err on the side of entering a project if you think it could work,” she said. 

Another resident asked during the meeting how much engagement there will be with individuals who submit ideas. Dixon said “it depends” on the funding mechanism, the project and if those people want to be involved. 

Ogletree said he thinks it’s important for project developers to reach out to residents who submit ideas, but that they can’t require it. 

“That’s paramount for this project to succeed on everyone’s end – for folks who are implementing it to reach out to people who submitted a project. If nothing else, just to say ‘thank you’ for taking the time to put a project here,” he said. 

Ogletree said the EPA will reach out to various Detroit community groups to set up a time to share the project list. 

If a community group is interested in having the EPA present the list to their group, they can email EA@detroitmi.gov.  An in-person meeting on the project list is being planned for the spring.

Idea submissions can be made online at the City of Detroit’s website, by emailing EA@detroitmi.gov, by calling 313-628-2312, or by attending a public meeting.