Port of Monroe received the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, a recognition given to domestic shipping industry leaders by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. Read the full story by The Monroe News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200623-port-award
Three months after Ontario declared its COVID-19 emergency, nixing crowds and shutting down many public spaces, Southwestern Ontario’s two biggest beach enclaves – Grand Bend and Port Stanley – threw open their lakeside stretches of sand for the first time Monday since the pandemic began. Read the full story by The London Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200623-ontario-beaches-open
“The Forever Chemicals” examined the impact of PFAS contamination in west Michigan communities: private wells that tapped into groundwater near industrial dump sites were delivering PFAS-laden drinking water to unsuspecting residents for years until the contamination was detected and reported. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200623-forever-chemical
Conditions across the Lake Superior were drier than average in May and the water level rose less than it typically does. Nonetheless, an exceptional volume of water remains in the system and all of the Great Lakes remain near or above record-high water levels for this time of year. Read the full story by Sault Online.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200623-superior-water-levels
It’s now looking like Lake Erie might not break its record high water level from last year, but any bad storm could still cause erosion and flood damage. Read the full story by CBET-DT – Windsor, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-erie-shoreline-damage
When historic floods breached two mid-Michigan dams in May, emptying Wixom Lake and Sanford Lake, a Central Michigan University researcher saw a consequence few others might have considered: the loss of water-filtering mussels by the tens of thousands. Read the full story by Morning Sun.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-mussels
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and its partners on the High Water Action Team warn those who recreate on the water to watch out for debris in lakes or rivers or along the shores due to the high water levels. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Muskegon, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-debris-in-water
Records continue to be broken on the Great Lakes in 2020, with connected lakes Michigan and Huron, Lake Erie and non-Great Lake St. Clair all setting their all-time highs in May. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-water-levels
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s reestablished Great Lakes Advisory Board, which was first established in 2012 by the EPA to ensure “transparent, credible and diverse views in guiding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative’s investments,” will be co-chaired by a Northeast Ohio-area leader. Read the full story by The Morning Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-great-lakes-advisory-board
Stormwater runoff and sewage overflow issues after heavy rains this week have caused problems at some popular beach spots across Michigan, closing at least 17 beaches across the state. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-beach-closures
Record high water levels on three Great Lakes upstream of Niagara Falls mean water is barreling over the Falls right now. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-niagara-falls
As PolyMet’s proposed copper mine, NorthMet, has moved forward, Minnesota tribal communities and environmental advocacy groups who have long grappled with the problems caused by taconite mining are now arguing against a copper-nickel project that could be even more damaging. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-copper-nickel-mine
The popular car ferry, which makes a four-hour trip from Manitowoc to Ludington, Michigan, and back throughout the summer months, already delayed its 2020 season by about a month because of shelter-at-home orders in both Wisconsin and Michigan to avoid the spread of the virus. Read the full story by the Herald Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-ferry
Dredging will continue to be the way Oman’s Creek, in Michigan’s Gogebic County, is kept open to Lake Superior after the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced it was no longer pursuing a project to construct a groin east of the creek’s mouth. Read the full story by Your Daily Globe.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200615-oman-creek
Three Michigan state senators have introduced legislation aimed at protecting major waterways and public health in Michigan by requiring state-wide risk assessments of contaminated properties along major waterways. Read the full story by WILX-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-waterways-public-health-bill
High water levels in the Great Lakes can not only flood low-lying areas, but can also endanger critical infrastructure, like wells and drinking water systems. Read the full story Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-high-water-threatens-wells
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will expand their environmental impact investigations to include high-capacity wells used in large farms, municipalities, and industry. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-high-capacity-wells
More details of a planned Lake Michigan park have been released by Muskegon County, Michigan, which has applied for a $10 million state grant for the project that would convert a former sand mine into a public recreation area. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-lake-michigan-park
U.S. Congressman Fred Upton joined E.P.A. Administrator Andrew Wheeler in Benton Harbor, Michigan, to discuss issues facing the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WDNU – St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-water-quality-meeting
Residents of Midland County, Michigan, that were impacted by the catastrophic flooding in mid-May are now left to decide if they should stay and rebuild or start over somewhere else if they can. The only sure thing is that nothing will return to exactly as it was before. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-flood-restoration
Two class-action lawsuits were filed against Edenville and Sanford dam owners and the state of Michigan on behalf of 19 mid-Michigan residents that sustained catastrophic damage from the dam failures. Read the full story by WEYI-TV – Midland, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-dam-lawsuits
The Crystal Lake and Watershed Association in Benzie County, Michigan, is still planning to treat invasive Eurasian milfoil in Crystal Lake. The herbicide treatment will be applied by boat and applicators will use a drone to help locate treatment areas. Read the full story The Laredo Morning Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-watermilfoil-treatment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking the public’s input on its plan to clean up groundwater contamination at a Superfund site in Indianapolis that’s tainted with chemicals used by a dry cleaning company. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-superfund
The National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Economic Analysis found the nation’s ocean and Great Lakes-dependent activities contributed about $373 billion to the overall U.S. economy in 2018. Read the full story by the Treasure Coast Palm.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200603-great-lakes-economy
