An impounded section of the Kalamazoo River, which drains a portion of southwest Michigan, will become a lake again now that repairs are finished on a hydroelectric dam that allowed huge quantities of sediment to wash downstream after the reservoir was drained. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201216-morrow-lake
There are over 4,000 types of PFAS chemicals and most researchers study a handful of these chemicals at most. Carla Ng, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, is one of the few scientists trying to find an approach that works for all of them. Read the full story by Public Source.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201216-pfas
There are over 4,000 types of PFAS chemicals and most researchers study a handful of these chemicals at most. Carla Ng, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, is one of the few scientists trying to find an approach that works for all of them. Read the full story by Public Source.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201216-pfas
Human remains, which likely date back to prehistoric times, were found at Sleeping Bear Dunes, park officials confirmed Tuesday. The park service is now giving notice to the local Native American tribes and organizations as required by law and aims to turn the remains over to the appropriate tribe or tribes once the legal process is completed. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201216-prehistoric
Great Lakes steel production rose by 3,000 tons last week, but remains depressed by more than 18% this year with U.S. steel mills only operating at two-thirds of capacity, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201216-steel-production
A Montreal-based company released a new dog food formula that includes Asian carp, an invasive species in both the United States and Canadian waterways. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-carp-kibble
Record high lake levels, flooded beaches, and endangered buildings along Lake Michigan are driving residents around the lake to take on projects big and small to try to hold back the water. Read and listen to the full story by Illinois Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-beaches
Legislation sponsored by Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow would help shoreline communities address rising water levels and erosion by setting up funding mechanism to carry out mitigation projects and reduce natural disaster risk associated with high lake levels. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-peters-bill
The International Joint Commission (IJC) has announced approval to deviate from the controversial Plan 2014, allowing for increased outflow from Lake Ontario’s waters through the Moses-Saunders dam on the St. Lawrence River to help avoid flooding on Lake Ontario shorelines. Read the full story by Rochester First.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-ijc
The Michigan DNR relocated a historic shelter building to keep it safe from eroding shoreline on Lake Michigan. The Orchard Beach State Park’s historic shelter building now sits a safe 230 feet back from the eroding Lake Michigan shoreline. Read the full story by Click-On Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-orchard-beach
With the aquifer that supplies drinking water to Joliet, Illinois, expected to dry up by 2030, the community is in talks with both the city of Chicago and the city of Hammond to provide water from Lake Michigan. Read the full story by CBS Chicago.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-joilet
Decades after they gave up the adventure of searching for shipwrecks, two underwater explorers with Alpena roots made a thrilling find in the waters of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary by discovering a Civil War-era shipwreck not seen in nearly 160 years. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-shipwreck
Dickinson County, Michigan adopted a resolution Monday in support of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, urging completion of a tunnel replacement project with no disruption of service. The resolution comes in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent demand the company shut down its oil pipeline that crosses the bottom of the waterway connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-dickinson
Threatened with a court injunction by a prominent Canadian environmental law organization, the town of South Bruce Peninsula in Ontario has postponed its dune excavation project at Sauble Beach. Read the full story by the Stratford Beacon Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-sauble
Another future U.S. Navy warship has completed acceptance trials on Lake Michigan. Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 23, the future USS Cooperstown, passed several trials in advance of its commissioning to the US Navy in 2021. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201215-navy-ship
Crews have started emergency construction work on a portion of a central Michigan dam that collapsed last spring and contributed to flooding that destroyed homes and forced the evacuations of about 10,000 people. Read the full article by WDIV- TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-dam-construction
In anticipation of high volumes of water entering Lake Ontario in 2021, the International Joint Commission has granted pre-emptive permission to deviate from its controversial Plan 2014 and increase outflows in an attempt to avoid flooding. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-ijc-lake-ontario
A bipartisan task force that brought together environmentalists, the energy industry and others released its recommendations Wednesday for how Wisconsin might bolster its economy while addressing climate change. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-wisconsin-climate-task-force
The Great Lakes Commission has issued a grant to Ohio’s Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation District to address runoff concerns into Lake Erie through the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-nutrient-trapping
A project aimed at reducing the number of invasive quagga mussels in Lake Michigan near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has proved successful, providing important takeaways for groups involved in the ongoing effort to combat Great Lakes invasive species. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-invasive-mussels
A new report outlining a common agenda for protecting the Lake Erie watershed in Pennsylvania was recently released by the conservation nonprofit organization PennFuture with the help of a dozen environmental and community groups and advisors. Read the full story by The Alleghany Front.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-pennsylvania-erie-watershed
The Southland Water Agency in South Holland, Illinois sent a letter Thursday to the mayor and City Council of Joliet, Illinois, contending that the city could reduce its water delivery costs by joining the system the agency is already developing to distribute Lake Michigan water to the south Chicago suburbs. Read the full story by The Herald-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-joliet
The city of Muskegon, Michigan, is considering spending $13,600 on a new alert system to warn beachgoers of hazards. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-muskegon-hazard-lights
Indiana’s plans to clean up coal ash sites are insufficient, leaving toxins that could further poison drinking water and the environment, according to a new report by the Hoosier Environmental Council. Read the full story by The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-indiana-cleanup
Some University of Minnesota students, faculty, and alumni have been fighting development of the Enbridge Energy Line 3 pipeline for years, citing concerns about the environmental impacts of oil spills and the health risks and effects on Indigenous communities. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201214-line-3
The International Joint Commission’s Triennial Assessment of Progress Report calls on the U.S. and Canada to study nutrient runoff entering Lake Superior and its role in the formation of blue-green algae blooms on the Lake. The chair of the IJC called Lake Superior a “canary in the coal mine” regarding climate change in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-superior-habs
Legislation that would have helped Michigan and other states force the U.S. Department of Defense to comply with stringent state laws governing military pollution cleanup has been stripped from an annual defense bill moving through Congress. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-pfas
Enbridge Energy’s attempts to get the permits it needs to build a new section of its controversial Line 5 oil and natural gas pipeline were stymied yesterday as an administrative law judge will now reconsider the scope of the permit application. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-line5
For decades, tourism-oriented development and high-end waterfront housing have slowly been supplanting working waterfront infrastructure, threatening local family businesses that rely on easy access to the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Conversation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-coastal-gentrification
A new report by the International Joint Commission found that public concern about climate change is escalating in the Great Lakes region. Chemicals of mutual concern and runoff were also among the top concerns for residents. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-ijc-public-opinion
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewerage District agreed modify a $3 billion plan to reduce sewage in waterways following rainstorms. The plan saves costs for construction of tunnels around Cleveland that would remove polluted storm water and raw sewage and prevent untreated flows from entering Lake Erie and its tributaries. Read the full story by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-neorsd
Several lawmakers from New York requested the IJC immediately authorize the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board to deviate from Plan 2014 water level management procedures through October of 2021 to mitigate risks of flooding and protect shoreline communities. Read the full story by the Oswego County Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-ijc-deviation
Federal, state and local officials on Wednesday celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that’s pumped $2.75 billion into cleaning up toxic hotspots and restoring habitat along the region’s most degraded waterways. Read the full story by the Superior Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-glri-10yr
A bipartisan bill to address rising water levels and shoreline erosion in the Great Lakes has passed the Senate. The bill would provide support for local communities facing rising water levels, coastal erosion, and flooding that have put homes and property at risk, and caused millions of dollars in damages. Read the full story by WSYM – TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201212-senate-bill
Members of Congress touted the passage of the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2020 as a victory in preventing the introduction of invasive carp into the Great Lakes. The bill authorizes a greater federal cost-share of funding for Brandon Road lock and dam project in Joliet, Illinois. Read the full story by the Herald News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201211-wrda
Ducks Unlimited has joined with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and more than 40 other organizations to implement H2Ohio, a data-driven water quality plan to reduce harmful algal blooms, improve wastewater infrastructure and prevent lead contamination across Ohio. Read the full story by Richland Source.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-h2ohio
The Ohio Senate voted unanimously this week to strip away a House-approved, long-term funding plan for cleanup of Lake Erie and other waterways. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-ohio-senate-bill
The small Michigan regulatory panel charged with deciding whether to let Enbridge build a tunnel-encased pipeline under the Mackinac Straits is shifting gears, announcing that it has ordered a rehearing for Enbridge’s application now that the company’s 1953 easement has been revoked by the state. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-enbridge-permit
Michigan lawmakers planned to begin swiftly passing a plan to borrow $600 million to fund the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint, who sued after their municipal water supply was contaminated with elevated levels of lead for 18 months. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-flint-water-settlement
The U.S. House voted to authorize the Brandon Road Lock & Dam project in Illinois as part of the final Water Resources and Development Act, an infrastructure bill that’s among several major year-end pieces of legislation moving right now through Congress. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-carp
Farmers use underground systems to manage rainwater, including many located where a massive swamp once made up the Ohio landscape. All those farms face challenges managing fertilizers and water in their fields with drainage systems. The level of success at managing those challenges can be seen in the size and severity of the yearly harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-field-tiles
The Great Lakes Water Authority will unveil a long-range, 40-year plan aimed at keeping more of the unmentionable stuff we flush out of our waterways while also keeping a lid on water and sewer rates. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-detroit-sewage
Flint has taken important steps toward resolving the lead contamination crisis that made the impoverished Michigan city a symbol of the drinking water problems that plague many U.S. communities, officials said earlier this week. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-flint-water-crisis
A decision is near on whether the monarch butterfly, an iconic and beloved pollinator that migrates through the Great Lakes region each year, warrants listing as an endangered species in the U.S. as its population counts dwindle due to habitat loss. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-monarch-butterfly
If the permitting and development go just right, the site of a former iron ore mine closed in 1981 could be generating enough solar power by 2023 to power 4,000 homes. Read and listen to the full story by WXPR Rhinelander.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-redeveloped-mine
With the announcement earlier this fall that Ontario’s Prince Edward County’s South Shore could be designated as a conservation reserve, the South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) hosted the first of a new webinar series where people learned not only what a conservation reserve is, but also what it’s not, and how it differs to a conservation area and a nature reserve. Read the full story by Countylive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-convservation-webinar
A plan to create a corridor of multimodal industrial hubs along the Welland Canal took its first step last week with a partnership between the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority and Bioveld Canada Inc. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-multimodal-hub
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the Niagara River ice boom installation is planned to begin December 10. Each winter, the Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom has been installed near the outlet of Lake Erie to reduce the amount of ice entering the Niagara River. Read the full story by WKBW-TV- Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-ice-boom
New York’s two U.S. senators joined the call for faster outflows from Lake Ontario Tuesday, as the International Joint Commission met to discuss whether to grant permission to send more water down the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by the Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-ontario-outflows
A crowd of 50 people were up bright and early Tuesday morning, prepared to stop heavy equipment from removing a part of Sauble Beach’s sand dunes, which are located alone Ontario’s Lake Huron shoreline. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-sauble-beach
