Justin Onwenu

1. Environmental justice and cumulative pollution Environmental justice is the most pressing environmental issue facing the communities I seek to serve. I got my start as an organizer with the Sierra Club, standing with residents in Detroit and Downriver against some of the most powerful interests in our state, located in our most heavily polluted zip codes. In that work, we secured air filtration systems for homes and schools, protected our drinking water by helping pass the Detroit River Protection Ordinance, fought water shutoffs as a member of Governor Whitmer’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and connected residents to resources they needed. Communities like 48217, River Rouge, Ecorse, and other frontline neighborhoods have carried the burden of pollution for generations. The state should implement cumulative impact assessments to better protect our public health. In the State Senate, I will fight to require cumulative health impact assessments for new or expanded permits in overburdened communities. I will also support stronger air monitoring, lead service line replacement, drinking water infrastructure, and a requirement that environmental fines paid by polluters support impacted communities through Supplemental Environmental Projects, including lead remediation, air filtration, neighborhood cleanups, and public health investments.

2. Utility affordability, water infrastructure, and rising energy costs The second most pressing environmental issue is the cost of living tied to utilities. For too many families, environmental policy is not abstract. It shows up every month in unaffordable water bills, electric bills, gas bills, and shutoff notices. We have to take every available step to lower water and energy costs while improving reliability and infrastructure. In communities like Lincoln Park, aging infrastructure contributes to major water loss, which keeps bills high for residents who are already stretched. At the same time, Michigan still has not passed statewide water affordability legislation. I support a statewide water affordability program, continued investment in lead service line replacement and water infrastructure, and stronger support for communities dealing with aging pipes and system losses. The same is true for electric bills. I policies like multi-year rate setting to stop yearly rate hikes, as proposed by Senator Kevin Hertel, stronger investments in energy efficiency and weatherization, and pushing the Michigan Public Service Commission to consider energy burden in rate cases. Detroit and Downriver families face some of the highest energy burdens in the state, and our regulatory system should reflect that reality.

3. Building a climate agenda that creates jobs, improves housing, and expands transportation The third priority is making sure climate and environmental policy are connected to the rest of our agenda. Too often, environmental policy is treated as separate from jobs, housing, transportation, and economic development. For working families, these issues are all connected. A serious climate agenda should create good-paying union jobs, lower household costs, build healthier homes, and give people more affordable ways to get around. That means investing in energy-efficient housing, home repair, weatherization, and lead remediation. It means expanding reliable public transportation so families are not forced to spend more and more of their income on cars and insurance. It means making sure clean energy and infrastructure projects are built with strong labor standards, project labor agreements, apprenticeships, and local hiring. For Detroit and Downriver, climate policy should not just be about reducing emissions. It should be about improving daily life: cleaner air, lower bills, safer drinking water, healthier homes, better transit, and good union jobs. That is the kind of environmental leadership I will bring to Lansing.