Year in Review: EGLE continues work to protect state’s natural resources and promote public health, resilience, and economic opportunity

As 2025 draws to a close, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has released its End of Year Report.

This year’s report highlights the work the EGLE team has accomplished in partnership with communities, businesses, and other government agencies to protect Michigan’s natural resources and promote public health, resilience, and economic opportunity.

“In 2025, we celebrated a historic milestone: the delisting of Muskegon Lake as a Great Lakes Area of Concern,” said EGLE director Phil Roos. “This achievement reflects decades of collaboration, investment, and community engagement to restore one of Michigan’s most treasured waterways. It is a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together to protect our environment.

“EGLE’s accomplishments are not just statistics,” Roos added. “They represent safer communities, healthier families, and a more sustainable future for all Michiganders.”

Throughout the year, EGLE continued to make progress on its core priorities:

• Ensuring Safe Drinking Water, with more lead service lines removed and increased inspections of public water systems.
• Cleaning Up Contamination, with record-breaking progress on leaking underground storage tanks and orphan wells.
• Maintaining Clean Air, with Southeast Michigan achieving and maintaining ozone attainment levels and expanded resources for household radon.
• Building Clean and Affordable Energy, with expanded electric vehicle infrastructure, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the launch of the MI Home Energy Rebates Program.
• Protecting Waterways through the state’s first Maritime Strategy, wetland protection, and continued reductions to contaminants like PFAS.
• Supporting Economic Development, including support for recycling entrepreneurs and redeveloping brownfield sites into housing and businesses

For more details, check out the report and watch for the “By the Numbers” stories in MI Environment in the coming days.