Michigan Water Shutoffs: A test of governor’s commitment to social, environmental justice
Water authority transfers funding for bill assistance
DETROIT (AP) — The Great Lakes Water Authority is transferring more than $1.6 million to Detroit and Flint for conservation education and to help customers pay past-due water bills.
Board members transferred the Water Residential Assistance Program funding from uncommitted 2019 bill assistance funds from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-water-authority-transfers-funding-bill-assistance/
Enbridge hires companies to design, build Great Lakes tunnel
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Enbridge Inc. said Friday it has hired companies to design and build a disputed oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel linking Lakes Huron and Michigan, despite pending legal challenges.
The Canadian company is forging ahead with plans to begin construction work next year on the tunnel, which would replace twin pipes that have lain across the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac in northern Michigan since 1953.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-enbridge-hires-contractors-design-build-great-lakes-tunnel/
Struck Down: Federal court rules Lake Erie Bill of Rights unconstitutional
Michigan Supreme Court hears case over Flint water liability
By Ed White, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Lawyers urged the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday to clear the way for Flint residents to sue state officials over lead-contaminated water.
The case at the state’s highest court is one of many in state and federal courts over the scandal.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-michigan-supreme-court-flint-water-liability/
Piping Plovers: Film fest spotlights endangered bird’s return to Chicago’s Lake Michigan shore
Who’s in charge: Lack of storage facility oversight puts waterways at risk
Environmental groups sue to speed up lake sturgeon status
CHICAGO (AP) — Environmental groups in Illinois and Indiana have filed a federal complaint in hopes of forcing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete a review that could designate lake sturgeon as a federally endangered species.
Lake sturgeon are a prehistoric fish that were once plentiful in the Great Lakes but have been reduced to extremely low levels by pollution, overfishing and habitat destruction.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-environmental-groups-sue-lake-sturgeon-status/
Great Lakes Moment: Decline of bird species should serve as a warning
Warm winter changes — but can’t stop — outdoor fun
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Danielle James, Capital News Service
From ski slopes to dog sled races to snow carving contests, warmer weather this season has forced Michigan’s winter sports and tourism groups to adapt to keep participants and spectators coming.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/02/warm-winter-changes-outdoor-recreation/
Snowed in: Upstate NY area could see 4 feet through weekend
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — More than 2 feet of snow has fallen on upstate New York’s largely rural Tug Hill Plateau and another 2 feet is possible through the weekend.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said he was dispatching 15 additional snow plows to region east of Lake Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/02/ap-snow-lake-ontario-new-york-4-feet-weekend/
Michigan oversight panel OKs limits on ‘forever chemicals’
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan oversight panel Thursday endorsed drinking water standards designed to limit exposure to a group of household and industrial chemicals linked to a variety of health problems.
The proposed rules would apply to seven compounds in a category known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/02/ap-michigan-oversight-panel-pfas-limits/