May 16, 2023
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/fresh-wisconsin-law-protect-watersheds-farm-runoff/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/pfas-news-roundup-home-blood-test-developed-detect-pfas-earlier/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/lawsuits-stalled-michigan-nessel-seeks-line-5-shutdown-wisconsin/
By Ashley Zhou, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/more-fallout-from-midland-dam-failures-blood-sucking-parasites-in-rivers/
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
Jury convicts all four defendants in ComEd bribery trial — and fires a warning shot at Michael Madigan — Chicago-Sun Times
A jury finds all four defendants guilty of bribery conspiracy in a case involving former ComEd executives accused of arranging jobs, contracts and money for allies of former democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/energy-news-roundup-hydrogen-fuel-plant-michigan-un-recommends-shutting-down-line-5/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/anishinaabe-tribes-work-save-fish-significant-culture-important-source-protein/
Veteran fishers on Lake Erie fondly recall the late 1980s as a heyday for walleye – a time when Ohio anglers were allowed to catch 10 fish a day and the big-eyed apex predators seemed an endless resource.
At its height in 1988, the Ohio charter fishing industry supported 1,221 licensed captains and nearly 5 million walleye were taken.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/lake-erie-charter-industry-rebounding-from-slump/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/i-speak-for-the-fish-whats-the-most-popular-freshwater-fish/
What is President Abraham Lincoln’s connection to a current vexing Great Lakes threat? Traveling south to Canada, right? And why would France go to court over a Great Lakes issue?
Those are some of the questions Traverse City author Dave Dempsey asks in his latest book, The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/great-lakes-book-challenges-readers-mystery-facts-whimsy/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/epa-native-american-tribes-implement-water-quality-standards-clean-water-acts-requirements/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/once-beset-industrial-pollution-rouge-river-slow-path-recovery/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/pfas-news-roundup-nations-first-pfas-annihilator-being-used-michigan/
By Kelly House and Lauren Gibbons, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/flush-with-cash-michigan-lawmakers-try-again-to-pass-state-septic-code/
By Katherine Roth, Associated Press
Many beaches won’t open for weeks, but already one dedicated group is quietly pacing the shore.
You might not have noticed them, but these quiet few are the ones who seem most keen on noting the shifting tides, the current, the wind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/open-water-swimmers-chilly-choppy-water-beckons/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/pfas-news-roundup-west-michigan-pfas-levels-higher-than-national-average/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
For over a century, vast amounts of toxic contaminants were discharged by industries into the Detroit and Rouge Rivers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/great-lakes-moment-solving-the-contaminated-sediment-remediation-funding-puzzle/
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
Chicago’s Blacks in Green gets a major boost from a $10 million EPA grant — Energy News Network
Chicago’s Blacks in Green receives a five-year, $10 million U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/energy-news-roundup-line-5-negotiations-michigan-funding-clean-energy-illinois/
TORONTO (AP) — Gordon Lightfoot, the folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died Monday. He was 84.
Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not immediately available.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/ap-folk-singer-songwriter-gordon-lightfoot-dies/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A company that tears down closed nuclear power plants wants to do in Michigan what has never been done in the U.S.: restore a dead one to life.
Holtec Decommissioning International bought the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station last June for the stated purpose of dismantling it, weeks after previous owner Entergy shut it down.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/ap-company-seeks-first-time-restart-shuttered-nuclear-plant/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/forest-to-mi-faucet-using-trees-to-keep-water-sources-pristine/
By Kelly House and Lauren Gibbons, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/michigan-brine-brouhaha-proposed-limits-for-unpaved-roads-prompt-dustup/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/mapping-the-great-lakes-flood-risk/
Climate change continues to have an impact on some residents in Southeast Michigan. For the average homeowner, when it rains, one may grab a good book, kick their feet up and relax under the gloomy skies. For Detroit resident Semone Alexander, every time it rains, it’s anything but relaxing.
As heavy rains have become more frequent in the last half-decade, so has the flooding of Alexander and other residents’ homes— so much so that many of the homes have fallen into disrepair.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/climate-change-could-spell-catastrophe-for-detroits-older-homes/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/i-speak-for-fish-eyeballing-walleye/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/i-speak-for-fish-eyeballing-walleye/
Some residents in Vickery, including Ohio State Rep. Gary Click, were upset to learn that hazardous wastewater from a Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment was being sent to their area for disposal. But the reality is that Vickery Environmental (VE), a Class 1 deep well injection site about five miles from Sandusky Bay, has been receiving and disposing liquid waste for nearly a half century.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/deep-dive-disposing-waste-east-palestine-derailment/
By Kathleen Foody, Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Michigan researchers have found the wreckage of two ships that disappeared into Lake Superior in 1914 and hope the discovery will lead them to a third that sank at the same time, killing nearly 30 people aboard the trio of lumber-shipping vessels.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/ap-michigan-researchers-find-1914-shipwrecks-in-lake-superior/
There were two differing visions on how to deal with the global water crisis at the recent United Nations World Water Conference, according to former U.N. water adviser Maude Barlow.
One, would “treat water as a commodity like oil and gas and put it on the open market for sale,” Barlow said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/former-adviser-warns-water-futures-trading-water-crisis-level-climate/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya, Great Lakes Echo
Laptops, phones, keys, a drone, a picnic table, a meat slicer, axes, spoons, chairs, a horseshoe, guns and a 90-year-old condom are among the items Michigan’s Magnet Man has fished out of the state’s rivers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/michigans-magnet-man-attracts-river-trash/
Across Detroit the effects of climate change are evident. In the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood on the city’s lower east side, overflowing stormwater drains, contaminated waterways and flooded basements are just a few examples of how the city’s aging infrastructure struggles to keep up with our changing climate.
The city’s combined sewer system is the crux of the problem.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/detroit-neighborhood-faces-uncertain-future-due-to-climate-change/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/frogs-salamanders-fairy-shrimp-appearing-vernal-pool/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/pfas-news-roundup-questions-about-the-epas-nationwide-pfas-rule-answered/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Daniel Schoenherr, Great Lakes Echo
The ecological success of artificial reefs in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay could teach people how to restore fish populations across the world.
Ellen Marsden, a fisheries and wildlife expert from the University of Vermont, spearheaded the construction of 29 reefs built with small stones – cobble aggregate – in Thunder Bay in 2010.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/artificial-reefs-bring-wild-lake-trout-to-lake-huron/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/enbridge-line-5-tunnel-project-michigan-delayed/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/mapping-the-great-lakes-benefits-of-blue-spaces/
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
Cook County, Illinois, contributes more to smog pollution violations in other states than anywhere else in the country, according to federal data.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/energy-news-roundup-power-outages-in-michigan-future-of-nuclear-power-in-illinois/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/restoration-projects-proposed-saginaw-bay-watershed-settlement-money-corporate-polluters/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/i-speak-for-the-fish-playing-follow-the-leader-with-diving-ducks/
Baraga County, Michigan
CCO Meeting – CCO Meeting Presentation [.pdf]
Thursday, March 9, 2023, from 2-4pm ET
Open House:
Thursday, March 9, 2023, from 6-8pm ET
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2023/03/16/lake-superior-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-baraga-county-michigan/
Menominee County, Michigan
CCO Meeting – CCO Meeting Presentation [.pdf]
Tuesday, October 4, 2022, from 1-2:30pm CT
Open House:
Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 6-8pm CT
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2023/03/16/lake-michigan-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-menominee-county-michigan/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/pfas-news-roundup-all-fish-tested-from-michigan-rivers-contain-forever-chemicals-study-finds/
It’s a mistake, environmental law attorney Nick Leonard says, for Michigan to invest so heavily in private auto transportation in place of public transit options.
Leonard was referring to the billions of dollars in subsidies Michigan has recently budgeted primarily for electric vehicle (EV) production. Investment in public transit better serves lower income groups who don’t have resources to purchase EV’s and it’s the better option to deal with climate change, according to Leonard.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/environmental-justice-expert-questions-michigans-subsidies-electric-vehicles/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/few-good-options-for-shrinking-michigans-problem-deer-herds/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
On that September day in 1998, more than 1,000 rain-soaked and determined people stood up for what they felt was right.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/great-lakes-moment-the-event-that-saved-humbug-marsh/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya, Great Lakes Echo
The city of Detroit and a nonprofit agency recently added 1,125 gallons of water per person per month to a program that prevents water shut-offs in low-income households.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/detroiters-can-get-another-1125-gallons-of-water-under-discount-program/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
As spring comes to Saginaw Bay, a group of elementary school students are preparing to play an important role in a long-term scientific study.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/science-says-what-how-5th-graders-counting-plants-can-lead-to-positive-change/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/flint-5-months-finish-lead-pipe-replacement/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Even for the Thunder Bay area, a perilous swath of northern Lake Huron off the Michigan coast that has devoured many a ship, the Ironton’s fate seems particularly cruel.
The 191-foot (58-meter) cargo vessel collided with a grain hauler on a blustery night in September 1894, sinking both.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/ap-long-lost-ship-found-in-lake-huron/
In the spirit of rehabbing my relationship with Midwest winters, it was high time I found recreation to keep me outside and moving.
After a summer of hiking, off-roading and even eFoiling I was in dire need of some fresh air adventure, but didn’t know where to start.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/ian-outside-lets-go-ice-climbing/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/i-speak-for-the-fish-courting-sunfish/
