The Environmental Protection Agency has released a laundry list of policies related to climate change and pollution it wants to roll back.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is calling it the “greatest day of deregulation our nation has ever seen,” but Michigan environmental groups don’t see this as a cause for celebration.

The EPA announced 31 actions that it says will “unleash” energy, lower costs for consumers, create jobs and give decision-making power back to states.

Some actions include rolling back mercury and air quality standards, loosening regulations on wastewater from power plants and reconsidering mandatory greenhouse gas reporting, among others.

In a video statement, Zeldin called these rules “suffocating” and said the “green new scam” ends with this announcement.

Conan Smith, president of the Michigan Environmental Council, said he’s disturbed by the EPA’s shift in priorities.

“From caring for our natural resources and environment to exploiting and extracting them — it’s not the purpose of the EPA, not since the 1970s when it was founded,” Smith said.

Smith said other federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Energy are concerned with economic interests, while the EPA is meant to serve as “checks and balances.”

“I think the EPA administrator has fundamentally misunderstood the purpose of the agency he’s been selected to lead,” he said.

Christy McGillivray, with the Michigan Sierra Club, said the EPA’s promise to lower consumer costs through these actions is based on a false premise.

“It is going to make already incredibly rich people a little bit richer for a short amount of time because they won’t have to actually account for the full cost of doing business. That’s it,” she said.

Instead, McGillivray said weakening regulations will only worsen air and water quality, racking up long-term public health costs.

“It’s a terrible long-term strategy,” she said. “All of our fates are tied together, so what’s the point of being a trillionaire if we destroy one fifth of the world’s freshwater in the Great Lakes?”

The EPA’s specific plans are still unclear such as whether environmental rules will be scaled back or eliminated entirely, but regulatory changes typically go through a lengthy process with public feedback and input from other federal agencies.

Southeast Michigan’s trees are facing growing threats from disease, pests, and climate change.

Zach Lacombe with Davey Tree Expert Company in Canton, says tree health issues are on the rise, affecting both residential and urban landscapes. Fungal infections, extreme weather, and environmental stressors are making trees more vulnerable than ever.

Common Tree Diseases in Michigan

Local trees are particularly susceptible to three major infections:

• Apple Scab – A fungal disease that weakens apple and crabapple trees, causing leaf loss and reducing their ability to absorb sunlight.
• Oak Wilt – A deadly vascular infection that spreads through beetles and root grafts, cutting off water and nutrients to oak trees.
• Dutch Elm Disease (DED) – A persistent fungal disease that has devastated American elm populations in Michigan for over a century.

“These infections often go unnoticed until it’s too late,” says Lacombe. He says thinning foliage, premature leaf drop, and unusual discoloration can all be warning signs of tree disease. 

Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns are also increasing the spread of tree pests and diseases, according to Lacombe. 

Milder winters mean fewer insect die-offs, allowing pests like the picnic beetle (which spreads oak wilt) to thrive. Stronger storms and heavy rainfall can cause tree root damage, increased fungal growth, and weakened trees. Road salt runoff forces trees to release moisture from their leaves, leading to drought stress and weakened defenses.

Preventative care and early intervention can go a long way, Lacombe advises.