The Marathon refinery 

DETROIT — The city is pushing back against a request by Marathon Petroleum Refinery to increase emissions in Southwest Detroit. 

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which is already under fire for its handling of the Flint water crisis, is considering granting Marathon a permit that would allow it to release more pollutants into the air. 

But Mayor Mike Duggan threatened to sue the state’s environmental agency if the permit is approved.

“This is indefensible,” Duggan said at a public hearing on the matter. “You cannot raise the pollutant levels on a poor area and the most polluted to benefit everybody else. I believe that’s a civil rights violation.”

Abdul El-Sayed, director of the Detroit Health Department, has written two editorials for the Detroit News, urging the state to reject the refinery’s request. 

El-Sayed said Marathon wants to increase emissions that “cause asthma, lung cancer and heart disease in a city wracked by some of the highest rates of all three in the country.”

“If Marathon is serious about its commitment to improvement, it will withdraw this application and reapply with emissions-reducing projects for a net overall reduction in emissions,” he wrote. “And if the MDEQ is serious about its responsibility to protect public health in Detroit and its surroundings, it will force Marathon to do so. In the wake of Flint, the MDEQ’s actions must be considered in a new light.”

Residents in Southwest Detroit and Dearborn’s Southend are suffering from high rates of asthma and other respiratory and lung problems because of the factories in the area. 

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans also spoke out against raising emission rates. 

Evans said he is “disturbed” by the effects of such a permit after consulting with air quality experts. 

“Permitting increased levels of sulfur dioxide and other harmful chemicals into the air would further threaten the quality of life of thousands of Wayne County residents,” he said in statement. 

The Wayne County CEO demanded that the state listen to residents before making a decision. 

“As we’ve learned from Flint, ignoring a community’s environmental concerns can have tragic consequences,” he added. “I will attend tonight’s Detroit City Council public hearing to support concerned residents and to help, in any way I can, ensure their voices are heard.”

Steel plant Severstal (now AK Steal) in the Southend was granted a similar permit by the MDEQ despite protests from residents, who went as far as suing he state for endangering their health.

In contrast with Detroit officials, Dearborn leaders remained silent and did not voice opposition to the new permit that allowed Severstal to raise emissions.

In fact, Dearborn received $8 million from Severstal, as a part of a tax deal, in 2014.