To excavate or not to excavate: With toxic coal ash, that is the question

Eighty-eight-year-old Hilda Barg hunched her shoulders and rested her forearms on her hardwood dining table, talking fiercely about coal ash contamination in her neighborhood. Barg, a lifelong resident and former supervisor of Prince William County, Virginia, is leading a local fight against how Dominion Energy — the state’s largest electric utility — is dealing with toxic coal ash at its Possum Point plant 3 miles from Barg’s home. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/excavate-toxic-coal-ash-question/

Hayley Starshak and Mrinali Dhembla

“Poisonous Ponds: Tackling Toxic Coal Ash” featured on One Detroit program

A special segment for Detroit Public Television’s public affairs program, “One Detroit,” features Great Lakes Now’s collaborative reporting project about coal ash.

A toxic substance, coal ash is what’s left over after burning coal. While the use of coal is declining across the Great Lakes region, the ash that remains from decades of producing energy with it is a problem.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/poisonous-ponds-featured-on-one-detroit-program/

GLN Editor

Coal ash contaminating groundwater near Joliet to stay, despite residents’ and activists’ concerns

Joliet, Illinois, a city of about 150,000 people southwest of Chicago, has long depended on a deep sandstone aquifer for drinking water – an increasingly strained resource that city officials hope to supplement with a billion-dollar pipeline from Lake Michigan.

But while this highly publicized search for a new source of municipal water unfolds, some residents who rely on private well water face a different threat.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/coal-ash-contaminating-groundwater-near-joliet-to-stay/

Sarah Aie

Rising waters, sinking feeling: From the Great Lakes to the Ohio River, climate change puts coal ash impoundments at risk

Just upstream of Alabama’s Mobile Bay sits a vast region of wetlands known as the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the United States. As well as 21 million cubic yards of wet coal ash. 

The J.M. Barry Power Plant has been a flashpoint between environmental advocates and the state utility, Alabama Power, for years.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/climate-change-puts-coal-ash-impoundments-at-risk/

Joshua Irvine

In the Finger Lakes, a bitcoin mining plant billed as ‘green’ has a dirty coal ash problem

The village of Dresden is nestled amid charming vineyards and the placid blue waters of Seneca Lake, the largest of Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes. 

Wineries, breweries, dairy farms, and state parks dot the lake’s shoreline, making it a picture-perfect vacation destination.

But for local residents, the three auburn-colored smokestacks of Greenidge Generation’s plant towering above the trees are an unnerving reminder that their natural resources are at risk.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/bitcoin-mining-plant-dirty-coal-ash-problem/

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan

Leaking landfills: Unregulated coal ash poses a buried, brewing threat to Lake Michigan and beyond, new lawsuit says

At almost 300 sites on the Great Lakes and coast to coast, unregulated buried and landfilled coal ash is putting water supplies at risk, alleges a federal lawsuit filed August 25. 

This threat is in addition to contamination from up to 700 coal ash repositories that are covered by 2015 federal coal ash rules.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/unregulated-coal-ash-poses-brewing-threat-to-lake-michigan/

Diana Leane and Sarah Aie

Energy News Roundup: Green jobs, solar farms and the value of trees

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

Illinois

Solar, storage projects set to bring jobs, tax revenue to Illinois coal communities — Energy News Network

Six retired coal plants in downstate Illinois will soon receive solar panels and become renewable energy storage sites.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/energy-news-roundup/

Kathy Johnson

Can shipping on the Great Lakes take the next step toward transporting high-value container cargo?

A common question for casual observers of Great Lakes vessels is “Where are the big container ships?” The reference is to the massive ocean-traversing ships with containers stacked stories high.

The container ships have been absent from the Great Lakes where cherished lake freighters dominate the waterways hauling bulk cargo.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/shipping-update-great-lakes-container-cargo/

Gary Wilson

Industries and public water supplies top list of main consumers of Great Lakes water

Overall water usage in the Great Lakes is dropping, largely due to water conservation and management efforts, according to the Great Lakes Commission’s most recent water use report.

The GLC compiles annual water use data, a stipulation outlined in the 2008 regional water use agreement known as the Great Lakes Compact.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/industries-public-water-consumers-great-lakes-water/

John McCracken

Michigan panel wants more details on Great Lakes oil tunnel plan

By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan regulatory panel said Thursday that it needs more information about safety risks before it can rule on Enbridge Energy’s plan to extend an oil pipeline through a tunnel beneath a waterway linking two of the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/ap-michigan-panel-details-great-lakes-pipeline-tunnel/

The Associated Press

New laws and tech are changing the tides for hydroelectricity in Indiana

By Christopher Parker, National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellows Program

Great Lakes Now is publishing this story in conjunction with the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s News Fellows Program. In March, during NNA’s Community Newspaper Leadership Summit, a group of student journalists met with experts and policy leaders in Washington D.C.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/laws-tech-hydroelectricity-energy-indiana/

Christopher Parker

Indiana might be changing its tone toward wind energy

By Kyla Russell, National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellows Program

Great Lakes Now is publishing this story in conjunction with the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s News Fellows Program. In March, during NNA’s Community Newspaper Leadership Summit, a group of student journalists met with experts and policy leaders in Washington D.C.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/indiana-changing-tone-toward-wind-energy/

Kyla Russell

Energy News Roundup: Indiana sees price hikes, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio struggle with solar

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

 

Illinois:

  • A decade after ‘EVTown,’ Rivian is making an Illinois city’s electric vehicle vision a reality – Energy News Network

Officials in Normal, Illinois, see Rivian’s growth and corporate culture as a key part of the city’s long-term sustainability plan.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/energy-news-roundup-prices-hikes-solar-struggle/

Natasha Blakely

Soaring Fertilizer Prices Could Deliver ‘Silver Lining’ For Emissions, But Farmers Struggle to Limit Use

By Christopher Bonasia, The Energy Mix

This story originally appeared in The Energy Mix and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

The sudden rise in fertilizer prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have implications for global emissions by reducing how much of it farmers use in their fields.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/soaring-fertilizer-prices-emissions-farmers/

The Energy Mix

Water test: a long history and hopeful future of human impact on Great Lakes ecology

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Kurt Williams, Great Lakes Echo

Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of stories about profound ecological changes that test our ability to manage the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/history-future-human-impact-great-lakes-ecology/

Great Lakes Echo

Feds issue draft assessment that could doom Minnesota mine

By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service issued a draft environmental assessment Thursday to lay the foundation for a proposed 20-year moratorium on copper-nickel mining upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Formally, the proposal would “withdraw” from new mineral leasing for 20 years about 352 square miles within the Rainy River watershed in the Superior National Forest around the town of Ely.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-feds-draft-assessment-minnesota-mine/

The Associated Press

How will tire chemicals affect Great Lakes fish? Some scientists hope to find out

Just a couple years ago, nobody had heard of 6PPD-quinone, a chemical by-product of car tires. Until it was discovered that it can kill fish, including species in the Great Lakes.

Researchers with the University of Washington discovered in late 2020 that 6PPD-quinone was washing off roadways and into Seattle’s urban creeks during rainstorms – a death sentence for coho salmon.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/tire-chemicals-great-lakes-fish/

Sharon Oosthoek

State: Chemical company likely source of Flint River spill

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Authorities focused on a chemical company Thursday as the likely source of a spill that has left a dark oily sheen for miles on the Flint River.

Lockhart Chemical in Flint was cooperating with state regulators and removing material from underground storage areas, said Jill Greenberg, spokeswoman at the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-chemical-company-flint-river-spill/

The Associated Press

JEWEL OF THE GREAT LAKES: Keeping pollutants out

By Julie Riddle, The Alpena News

This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.

ALPENA — Spring showers may bring spring flowers, but they can also carry pollutants into the lake that provides Alpena’s drinking water and many tourism dollars.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/keeping-pollutants-out/

The Alpena News

Several thousands of gallons of oily material in Flint River

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Several thousands of gallons of an oil-based, dark black material with a petroleum smell spilled into the Flint River in Flint, authorities said Wednesday.

The spilled appeared to be 5 miles (8 kilometers) miles long, Jill Greenberg, a spokeswoman for Michigan’s environmental agency, told MLive.com.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-oily-material-flint-river/

The Associated Press

EXCLUSIVE: Ontario Regulator Refuses New Pipeline, Tells Enbridge to Plan for Lower Gas Demand

By Mitchell Beer, The Energy Mix 

This story originally appeared in The Energy Mix and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

The Ontario Energy Board sent minor shock waves through the province’s energy regulatory and municipal energy communities earlier this month with its refusal to approve the final phases of a $123.7-million pipeline replacement project in Ottawa proposed by Enbridge Gas.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ontario-regulator-refuses-pipeline-enbridge-gas/

The Energy Mix

Coast Guard: Oil spill closes shipping on St. Mary’s River

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario. (AP) — An oil spill temporarily closed shipping traffic on the St. Marys River between Ontario and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

The 5,300-gallon (20,063-liter) spill originated from Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, around 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

The 75-mile (121-kilometer) river connects Lake Superior and Lake Huron and serves as part of the border between Michigan and Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-coast-guard-oil-spill-shipping/

The Associated Press

Ohio residents fight to get radioactive oil and gas waste off their roads

By Diana Kruzman, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.

Joe Mosyjowski has watched a decade-long boom in oil and gas drilling unfold in the region surrounding his 50-acre farm in northeast Ohio.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ohio-residents-radioactive-oil-gas-waste-roads/

Grist

In Minnesota, the PolyMet mine pits renewable energy needs against tribes and the EPA

By Diana Kruzman, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.

Northeastern Minnesota’s Iron Range has been a major mining hub since the 1860s. Nestled among thick forests and many of the state’s famed “10,000 lakes,” open-pit mines there produce low-grade iron ore that’s shipped to steel mills around the country.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/minnesota-polymet-mine-renewable-energy-tribes/

Grist

Line 5 shutdown would increase gas prices by half a cent

One of the latest updates in Enbridge’s ongoing Line 5 court cases is a report from Neil Earnest, president of an energy consultancy firm, filed by Enbridge.

In the report, Earnest estimates that in the event of a Line 5 shutdown, gas, jet fuel and diesel prices would increase by half a cent per gallon in Michigan and Wisconsin, and 5 cents per gallon in Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/line-5-shutdown-gas-prices-half-cent-increase/

Natasha Blakely

Landmark bill to limit cryptomining passes NY Legislature

By Michael Hill, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a milestone environmental measure designed to tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations that burn fossil fuels.

Both supporters and opponents say that the closely watched bill, approved early Friday by the state Senate, is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-landmark-bill-limit-cryptomining/

The Associated Press

Mapping tools help Ohio cities chart course for environmental justice

By Kathiann M. KowalskiEnergy News Network

This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.

Ohio cities are using new data mapping tools to identify and respond to disparities in energy burdens, climate risks, and pollution impacts.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/mapping-tools-ohio-environmental-justice/

Energy News Network

Citizens Energy launches lead service line replacement program

By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter

Citizens Energy Group announced it would begin a multi-year program to replace thousands of lead service lines owned by its customers.

The company said it received an order from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission granting it permission to launch a five-year, $22.7 million effort to replace customer-owned lead service lines at about 2,500 homes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/citizens-energy-lead-service-line-program/

Indiana Environmental Reporter

Pressure growing to remove PFAS from fast food wrappers

By Michael Casey, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Brenda Hampton first came across the toxic industrial compound PFAS after finding it was part of the cocktail of contaminants that tainted the drinking water in her North Alabama community.

Hampton, who believes the contaminated water contributed to kidney problems she and other residents suffer, soon learned the chemicals were found in another source that hit close to home — fast food wrappers, boxes and plates.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-pressure-growing-remove-pfas-wrappers/

The Associated Press

“Thank God that smell is gone”: Detroit incinerator to be demolished after decades of complaints

By Briana Rice, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/detroit-incinerator-demolished-complaints/

Michigan Radio

Energy News Roundup: Illinois 6th in clean energy capacity, debate over Michigan risk of brownouts, the world’s potential impending energy crisis

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

Illinois:

  • Keeping Illinois nuclear plants open is saving some customers $237 a year on average – CNBC

In September, Illinois lawmakers passed a watershed clean energy law which established the state as a leader for its efforts to decarbonize.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/energy-news-roundup-impending-energy-crisis/

Natasha Blakely

Marshfield, Adams shut down wells due to PFAS pollution

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Marshfield and Adams have joined the list of Wisconsin cities that have shut down municipal wells due to PFAS contamination.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the state Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday that sampling in the two cities has detected PFAS high enough to concern state health officials.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-wisconsin-wells-pfas-pollution/

The Associated Press

EPA: Two toxic hot spots in Michigan will take longer to clean up than many others in Great Lakes states

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/toxic-hot-spots-michigan-great-lakes-states/

Michigan Radio

Massive salmon farm gets green light from Ohio DNR

Despite overwhelming public opposition based on public comments received by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the agency approved a water withdrawal and consumptive use permit for Massachusetts-based Aquabounty on March 14.

The permit will allow operators to pull about 28 million gallons from the Michindoh Aquifer to fill tanks at its state-of-the-art Atlantic salmon rearing facility in Pioneer, Ohio.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/salmon-farm-ohio-dnr/

James Proffitt

Infrastructure plan: $33M to clean up hundreds of oil wells

By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About $33 million of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan recently signed into law by President Joe Biden will go toward cleanning up 277 of an estimated 15,000 abandoned oil and gas wells on federal land, the nation’s interior secretary said Wednesday.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-infrastructure-plan-clean-up-wells/

The Associated Press

Soo Locks project no longer fully funded

After a big announcement in January celebrating $479 million directed to fully fund the construction of a new lock, the Army Corps of Engineers has had to walk it back, according to a report by The Detroit News.

The billion-dollar project, authorized by Congress at $922 million in 2018, is now estimated to be “somewhere between two times and three times” the cost, Sen.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/soo-locks-project-no-longer-fully-funded/

Natasha Blakely

Mapping the Great Lakes: Power up

Love staring at a map and discovering something interesting? Then “Mapping the Great Lakes” is for you. It’s a monthly Great Lakes Now feature created by Alex B. Hill, a self-described “data nerd and anthropologist” who combines cartography, data, and analytics with storytelling and human experience.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/mapping-the-great-lakes-power-up/

Alex Hill

Dam Accounting: Taking Stock of Methane Emissions From Reservoirs

By Tara Lohan, The Revelator

This story originally appeared in The Revelator and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

This month regulators greenlighted a transmission line that would bring power generated from Canadian hydroelectric dams to New York City.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/stock-methane-emissions-reservoirs/

The Revelator

National Guard to help with northeastern Minnesota flooding

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday activated the National Guard to help control record flooding in areas of northeastern Minnesota.

Emergency management officials in St. Louis and Koochiching counties requested the assistance to deal with high water caused by heavy spring rains and rapid snowmelt throughout the Rainy River Basin.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-national-guard-minnesota-flooding/

The Associated Press

Drinking Water News Roundup: $3M invested in Illinois water system, coal ash rule means safer water in Indiana

From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.

Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

 

Illinois:

  • Illinois American Water Announces Investment of Over $3 Million in Sterling Water System During National Infrastructure Week – Business Wire

Illinois American Water is investing over $3 million to replace over 8,600 feet or 1.6 miles of water main throughout the Sterling Water System.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-water-system-coal-ash-indiana/

Tynnetta Harris

Canada ranks dead last among G7 on climate progress: Earth Index

By Shawn McCarthy, Corporate Knights

This story originally appeared in Corporate Knights and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

Canada must make up for lost ground if it’s going to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 45% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-ranks-last-climate-progress/

Corporate Knights

FRESH: EPA Recommends Against Minnesota Mining Permit

Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.

— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

  • The U.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/fresh-epa-minnesota-mining-permit/

Circle of Blue

The Catch: Tribal fishermen in the Great Lakes region

In Traverse City, Michigan, Anishinaabe journalist Sierra Clark has been reporting about tribal fishermen throughout the Great Lakes region.

“The story I have been covering came out of talking to a few tribal fishermen in past stories that I had done, and it covers harassment regarding tribal fishing,” Clark said.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-tribal-fishermen-great-lakes-region/

GLN Editor

Energy News Roundup: Numerous Great Lakes states grapple with outages and rising rates

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

Click on the headline to read the full story:

Illinois:

  • Warnings of summer brownouts downstate spur scrutiny of Pritzker’s energy law – Crain’s Chicago Business

Electricity costs will soar beginning in June in central and southern Illinois, due to inadequate power supplies following coal-fired plant closures.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/energy-news-roundup-numerous-great-lakes-outages-rising-rates/

Natasha Blakely

PFAS News Roundup: 20M acres of farmland polluted, PFAS found in ‘nontoxic’ children’s clothes and car seats

PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.

Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/pfas-news-roundup-farmland-polluted-pfas-childrens-clothes/

Natasha Blakely

The Catch: A Great Lakes Authority?

Aiming to better coordinate efforts to restore the Great Lakes, promote related educational opportunities, and boost the region’s economic prospects, an Ohio legislator crafted a bill to create a federal Great Lakes Authority.

Since Rep. March Kaptur, D-Toledo, and several other Democrats introduced the bill in Congress this spring, not much has happened.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-great-lakes-authority/

GLN Editor

Michigan’s ‘Very Big Opportunity’ in Infrastructure Windfall

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue

This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-infrastructure-windfall/

Circle of Blue

Some Michigan water systems are overbuilt, underfunded. Are mergers the answer?

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigan-water-systems-overbuilt-underfunded/

Bridge Michigan

Short-changing Michigan local governments has resulted in deteriorating water systems and other services

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/short-changing-michigan-local-governments-deteriorating-water-systems/

Michigan Radio

AP analysis finds growing number of poor, high-hazard dams

By David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Michelle Minkoff, Associated Press

Constructed four generations ago, the massive rock and clay dam at El Capitan Reservoir is capable of storing over 36 billion gallons of water, enough to supply every resident in San Diego for most of a year.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-analysis-growing-number-of-dams/

The Associated Press