Alex Sagady, an environmental consultant who has served on a number of state committees on air quality, writes at Michigan Liberal that Gov. Granholm’s proposed budget does away with state inspections to enforce Clean Air Act requirements regarding the release of asbestos:
 

Governor Jennifer Granholm’s proposed Fiscal 2009-2010 budget eliminates Michigan inspections and enforcement of Federal Clean Air Act emission control requirements on asbestos-related demolition, renovation and waste disposal operations.

Although the federal rules requiring control measures would remain legally binding, neither Michigan DEQ nor U.S. EPA would run effective inspection, enforcement and complaint response to ensure compliance with the rules after the Granholm asbestos program cut is made.

Demolition and renovation operators would not face effective enforcement since U.S. EPA is not prepared to field an asbestos inspection/enforcement program that would approach the present state efforts.

Sagady argues that the federal EPA simply cannot enforce these rules without the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The policy thus “means a de facto deregulation of the demolition and renovation industry from the current asbestos rule requirements in Michigan.”