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Governor Whitmer replaces DEQ with DEGLE

To help streamline state government, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she is changing the Department of Environmental Quality to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says too many people are afraid to drink their tap water and don’t trust state government to make it better.  

To help fix both problems the governor has announced what she calls a “significant reorganization” of state government. She is changing the name of the Department of Environmental Quality to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.  At a ceremony in Lansing on Monday she said it was time for a new approach. 

“There are parents who cannot bathe their kids or give them a glass of water at the dinner table with confidence,” she says. “It is time for that to change.” 

Most divisions of the DEQ will remain, a few will be eliminated or consolidated, and a few new offices will be added.

“Many of the problems communities are facing can be solved by streamlining state government and eliminating unnecessary and ineffective offices and commissions,” says DEQ Director Liesl Eichler Clark. “The new chapter we are embarking on will help us build a better Michigan for families.”

"Which is why today I am signing an executive order to strengthen the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team,” explained Governor Whitmer. "Just this month more PFAS sites have been reported.”

The governor says the cost to re-brand the DEQ with new logo and letterheads is minimal. The reorganization takes effect April 7 unless the Republican controlled legislature votes to block the changes announced by the Democratic governor.

“Communities across the state don’t trust the drinking water coming out of their tap and there is a real lack of trust in state government,” she says. “We need to be laser focused on cleaning up the water in our state.”

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