In June 2025, Michigan lawmakers introduced a comprehensive Pollution Cleanup Package aimed at modernizing the state’s cleanup laws, restoring polluter pay principles, and reducing long-term reliance on institutional controls. The package includes several Senate Bills along with companion House Bills, each targeting a different gap in Michigan’s current cleanup framework.
Key Bills in the Package
- SB 385 – Cleanup Criteria Modernization
Streamlines EGLE’s ability to update and strengthen cleanup criteria, enabling faster responses to emerging contaminants such as PFAS. - SB 368 & SB 387 – Transparency and Oversight Enhancements
These bills focus on strengthening EGLE oversight, increasing public access to site information, and requiring cleanup records and environmental performance documents are made publicly available. - SB 392 – Cleanup to Residential Standards
Requires contaminated sites to be remediated to residential cleanup criteria wherever technically feasible. This bill specifically targets long-term “dead zones” and limits the use of deed restrictions, fencing, and other institutional controls. - SB 391 – Expanded Reporting & Due Care Documentation
Creates new obligations for operators to report past pollutant releases, self-managed cleanups, and post-remediation groundwater monitoring. Also requires detailed due care plans outlining how public health will be protected. - SB 393 – Medical Monitoring Cause of Action
Allows residents exposed to hazardous substances to pursue medical monitoring costs, even before symptoms appear, expanding potential legal liabilities for polluters. - HB 4636 – Cleanup to Residential and Drinking Water Standards
Requires contaminated sites to be remediated to residential and safe drinking water standards unless technically infeasible. It also enhances reporting, planning, and remediation obligations for property owners and operators. - HB 4637 – Supporting Cleanup and Transparency Reforms
Functioning as a companion bill, this bill supports broader reforms focused on cleanup, accountability, and transparency. - HB 4638 – Administrative Procedure & Cleanup Criteria Updates
Amends Michigan’s Administrative Procedures Act to exclude cleanup criteria and detection limits from the definition of a “rule,” allowing EGLE to update standards more quickly. - HB 4639 – Revised Statute of Limitations for Contamination Claims
Changes the statute of limitations so that claims begin when contamination is discovered, rather than when it originally occurred. - HB 4640 – Cleanup Criteria Strengthening and Public Transparency
Works in conjunction with HB 4636 and HB 4638 to strengthen cleanup criteria, increase transparency, and improve enforcement. It is designed to make cleanup standards more protective while improving public access to environmental data.
Together, these bills represent the most significant effort to strengthen Michigan’s cleanup laws since the 1990s. Full bill text can be reviewed on the Michigan Legislature website.
How Are Polluters Impacted
If enacted, the Pollution Cleanup Package would significantly reshape the regulatory landscape for operators, property owners, developers, and municipalities. The requirement to clean sites to residential standards in many cases would sharply increase remediation obligations, especially for sites currently managed through institutional controls such as groundwater use restrictions and capped areas. These stricter physical cleanup requirements could elevate project costs, extend remediation timelines, and increase technical complexity during due diligence, site redevelopment, and property transfer processes.
Expanded reporting obligations would increase public and regulatory visibility into historical releases, past cleanup activities, and current site management practices. This increased transparency may heighten reputational risks and expose operators to additional regulatory reviews. The introduction of medical monitoring claims would broaden legal liabilities, enabling exposed individuals to seek damages even without diagnosed illness, a major shift for industries with historical pollution liabilities. Additionally, financial assurance requirements discussed within the legislative framework may require companies handling significant quantities of hazardous materials to demonstrate their ability to fund cleanup activities, potentially altering capital planning, insurance strategies, and long‑term budgeting.
Overall, the package signals a policy shift toward more stringent cleanup expectations, stronger environmental accountability, and greater transparency. These changes carry substantial implications for both legacy‑contaminated properties and active industrial operations.
What to Expect Next
As of early 2026, all bills remain introduced and awaiting further committee action, with no recorded hearings, amendments, or legislative votes since their introduction in June 2025. Several legislative pathways remain possible. The Legislature may initiate committee hearings, during which revisions are likely to address feasibility concerns, cost implications, and implementation timelines. Lawmakers could also choose to advance less controversial portions of the package while continuing negotiations on more complex components.
Alternatively, the package could be broken into smaller standalone bills or integrated into state budget negotiations. Should the package fail to move forward this session, it may be reintroduced in a revised form in future legislative cycles. In the meantime, operators and property owners should proactively prepare by reassessing their reliance on institutional controls, strengthening due care compliance programs, evaluating historical liabilities, and updating financial planning strategies to reflect potentially stricter cleanup mandates.
Conclusion
Michigan’s Pollution Cleanup Package represents a major turning point in how the state approaches environmental contamination. While the bills have not yet advanced beyond initial committee referral, they signal a clear shift toward stronger cleanup requirements, greater transparency, and renewed polluter pay principles. As lawmakers consider next steps, operators and property owners should remain aware of the potential for heightened cleanup obligations and expanded liability and begin preparing for a more stringent regulatory landscape. Trinity will continue to monitor the status of the package and is happy to assist with industries with current and future compliance. Please visit the Trinity Consultants website and reach out to our team.
