GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- MLive reporter Garret Ellison has been named Michigan's "journalist of the year" in recognition of his work on environmental issues ranging from a bottled water company's plan to increase its withdrawal of groundwater to the hazards posed by an aging underwater oil pipeline.

Ellison was announced as the 2017 Richard Milliman Michigan Journalist of the Year Monday, April 2, in a press release from the Michigan Press Association Foundation, which underwrites the annual award.

Dave Clark, one of the judges and director of student publications at Central Michigan University, called Ellison's work "brilliant, important reporting."

"Garret's work symbolizes the importance of watchdog journalism," Clark said in a statement. "These stories highlight the work reporters can contribute to the public good when they go beyond standard municipal/government coverage."

Ellison is the fourth winner of the competition since its inception in 2014. He will receive a $1,000 prize.

"We are proud of Garret for this well-deserved honor," said Mickey Ciokajlo, MLive regional news manager who nominated Ellison. "His focus on deeply reported public service journalism has kept the people of Michigan well-informed on some of the most important issues in our state."

An environmental and Great Lakes reporter for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press, Ellison has been with MLive since 2008.

It's not the first time Ellison has been honored for the series of stories he wrote about bottled water giant Nestle's application to pump more ground water from its Michigan wells.

Earlier this year, Ellison won a national journalism award recognizing his work on the topic, and was honored at a March 15 dinner at the National Press Club.

Michigan Press Association Foundation judges also recognized Ellison's work on stories exploring the hazards posed by the twin 65-year-old oil and gas pipelines passing beneath the Straits of Mackinac. He also distinguished himself in 2017 by breaking the story of groundwater contamination near Grand Rapids caused by Wolverine World Wide's tannery waste.

Detroit News reporter Christine MacDonald was named runner-up. MacDonald was recognized for work that exposed unfair evictions of Detroit tenants who withheld rent as a way to get landlords to fix unsafe living conditions.

Previous winners of the award include a Detroit News team, Karen Bouffard and Joel Kurth, in 2016; Curt Guyette of the American Civil Liberties Union in 2015 and Jennifer Dixon of the Detroit Free Press for her work in 2014. MLive reporters Ron Fonger and Julie Mack were named runners up last year.

Ellison's award will be presented on May 10, during the Michigan Press Association's annual convention in East Lansing.

The award is named for Richard Milliman, a founder of the Michigan Press Association Foundation and longtime Michigan journalist and publisher. Milliman, who died in 2016, was a lifelong advocate for community journalism and launched the foundation's annual scholarship awards program for journalism students.

Read more of Ellison's work from 2017: