MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Friday signed an executive order creating a new office of environmental justice, announcing the move on Earth Day.
Republicans last year removed the office from Evers’ proposed budget. But the Democrat up for reelection this November got around them by creating it through an executive order.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-evers-office-environmental-justice/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes.
Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/climate-change-pricing-carbon/
By Beth Edwards, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Some northern Indiana residents remain skeptical that communities in the area will be free of contamination from toxic coal ash, despite a renewed commitment by government agencies and one of the state’s biggest energy companies to clean up polluted sites and transition to renewable energy sources.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/indiana-residents-coal-ash-cleanup/
By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer
With climate change, plastic pollution and a potential sixth mass extinction, humanity has made some incredible messes in the world.
But when people, political factions and nations have pulled together, they have also cleaned up some of those human-caused environmental problems, including healing the ozone hole, clearing perpetually smoggy air and saving many species from the brink of extinction.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-healing-ozone-hole-smog-eagles/
By Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press
Michigan’s Democratic governor wants a nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan to stay open and she’s asking the federal government to pay for it.
But the owner of the Palisades Power Plant says it’s too late — the plant will be shut down in May as scheduled.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-whitmer-federal-aid-nuclear-plant/
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:
On April 15, 2022, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA, IEPA, or Agency) approved a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for Williamson Energy, LLC Pond Creek Mine No.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/energy-news-roundup-ontario-natural-gas-energy-department-cybersecurity/
By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear a challenge by environmentalists over portions of a lower court ruling involving a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals in January reversed a 2018 decision by state regulators to issue PolyMet Mining Corp.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-minnesota-supreme-court-polymet-case/
Michigan has reached a 19.3% recycling rate, an increase of 35.4% from prior to 2019, according to an analysis the state of Michigan released Monday ahead of Earth Day on Friday.
Before 2019, the state estimated Michigan’s recycling rate, the rate at which recyclable materials are recycled from waste, was 14.25%.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-michigan-increases-recycling/
In less than a decade, Joliet, Illinois, could run out of water.
The city of 150,000 people, roughly 45 minutes southwest of Chicago, is facing a looming water crisis as the patchwork of underground wells and aquifers it currently uses for municipal water is drying up.
Joliet currently relies on the Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone aquifer system for its water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/build-new-pipeline-illinois-lake-michigan-water/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources has restarted efforts to set standards for bacteria in groundwater after conservatives on the agency’s policy board killed the attempt in February.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the board on Wednesday authorized a public hearing and comment period on a new rule-making process to set groundwater standards for E.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-dnr-effort-bacteria-standards-groundwater/
The Biden administration made secret plans to weaken protection for whooping cranes, and documents obtained through an open records request show officials “seem to have been deliberately misleading the public,” an environmental group says.
The documents show that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to propose changing the only natural flock’s status from endangered to threatened, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release linking to some of the papers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-weaken-whooping-crane-protection/
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:
On March 11, IDOC and the Illinois Department of Public Health released a joint press release announcing that Legionella bacteria had been detected in two prisons—Stateville Correctional Center and Joliet Treatment Center.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/drinking-water-news-roundup-epa-rocket-fuel-prison-water-contaminated/
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has asked the state’s highest court to let the centerpiece of his plan to fight climate change take effect and make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy.
The filing late Thursday in the state Supreme Court appealed a two-day old decision by the lower Commonwealth Court which, in a one-line unsigned order, barred the official publication of the Democratic governor’s regulation “pending further order.”
The regulation had been scheduled to be published on Saturday, making it official.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-governor-appeals-court-order-carbon-emissions/
By Marc Levy, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican Bill McSwain pledges to be a pro-energy governor by “turning on the spigot of natural gas.” Another hopeful, Dave White, says he wants Pennsylvania “to be the energy capital of the world.” A third candidate, Lou Barletta, says having a glut of natural gas in the ground without a pipeline is “like being in college and having a keg of beer without a tap.”
In Pennsylvania, the No.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-energy-promises-face-limits/
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/2022/04/pfas-news-roundup-pennsylvania-regulations-climate-change-defend/
By Jonathan Oosting and 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/2022/04/michigan-infrastructure-problems/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
Benton Harbor’s water problems aren’t new.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/the-catch-benton-harbor-lead-pipes/
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/2022/04/vow-remove-lead-benton-harbor-homes/
This article, first posted here, was republished with permission from Wisconsin Watch.
By Mario Koran, Wisconsin Watch
This story is part of a collaborative series, “At the Crossroads,” from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Indian Country Today, Wisconsin Watch and eight other news partners, examining the state of the economy in Indian Country.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/pandemic-shock-pushes-wisconsin-tribes-to-diversify-economy/
By Marc Levy and Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania court on April 5 blocked the centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change, the latest challenge to the Democrat’s effort to make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/pennsylvania-court-blocks-governors-carbon-emissions-plan/
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — State regulation of streams that flow temporarily after rainfall would be restricted under proposed Ohio legislation months in the works.
Construction companies, the mining industry and other business groups say removing so-called ephemeral streams from regulation would make Ohio’s practice consistent with federal law.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ohio-legislation-state-regulation-streams/
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 fossil and transportation sectors get a relatively free ride and electricity producers do the most to decarbonize in the much-anticipated 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan released March 29 by Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/climate-funding-ottawa-2030-plan/
By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials slated millions of dollars for rural water projects in several states, with the Biden administration looking to shore up infrastructure needs made more urgent by long-term drought conditions that have been exacerbated by climate change.
The U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-420m-water-supplies-climate-change/
By Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
Illinois activists who led fights to close coal plants and ban petroleum coke storage are now leading the charge for a bill that would provide new powers and funding to environmental justice communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/illinois-environmental-justice-bill-prevent-pollution/
By Frank Jossi, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
A lack of state funding to help Minnesota homeowners clean up mold, asbestos and other hazards is limiting the reach of federal weatherization programs in the state, preventing some of those most in need from accessing benefits.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/minnesota-bill-funding-pre-weatherization-work/
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.
The Great Lakes represent one-fifth the standing freshwater on the Earth’s surface, provide ecosystem services or benefits to approximately 34 million people living in the basin, and serve as the foundation for the $5 trillion regional economy that would be one of the largest in the world if it stood alone as a country.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/great-lakes-moment-historic-great-lakes-agreement-anniversary/
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is investing more than $4.7 billion to improve infrastructure, including drinking water upgrades, internet access and fixing roads, bridges and dams.
The spending plan includes some of the biggest infrastructure investments in state history, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday before signing the bipartisan legislation in Grand Rapids.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-gov-whitmer-signs-4-7b-infrastructure/
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/2022/03/climate-change-threatens-michigan-chemical-sites/
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/2022/03/pfas-advisory-lake-superior-rainbow-smelt/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced March 25 it will issue a permit that will make it harder for a Kewaunee County factory farm accused of contaminating drinking water to expand.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the permit caps the number of cows at the Kinnard Farms facility at about 8,000 head, the number of cows the farm currently houses.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/dnr-issues-expansion-permit-for-kewaunee-county-factory-farm/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Danielle James, Great Lakes Echo
Great Lakes invasive species cling to shipments and navigate canals to migrate, but one aquatic invader – sea lamprey – benefitted from border closures instead.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/border-opened-invasive-sea-lamprey/
By David Eggert, Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers approved $4.8 billion in spending March 24, mostly for infrastructure upgrades, with an influx of federal pandemic and other funds that will go toward water systems, roads, parks and other priorities including affordable housing.
The huge supplemental budget plan, which Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-michigan-legislature-approves-infrastructure-plan/
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:
The Village of Gladstone is warning residents with infants younger than 6 months of high levels of nitrate in the town’s drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/drinking-water-news-roundup-best-tasting-water-ohio-worst-waterways-indiana/
On a cool fall day in 2007, Robin Pacquing slipped on a wetsuit, grabbed a surfboard and headed into Lake Ontario.
As a teenager, Pacquing had been a huge Baywatch fan and learned to love surfing during a family trip to Hawaii. As an adult, she went on to surf the waves off Tofino, British Colombia, never dreaming she might do the same just outside her door.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/surfing-great-lakes/
By Audrey Henderson, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
For many city kids, flowers have cut stems and vegetables are packed in styrofoam and plastic on shelves in the grocery store.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/chicago-educator-empowers-students-climate-connections-communities/
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.
In September the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing 23 species from the federal list of endangered species — not because they’d rebounded, sadly, but because they are believed to be extinct.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/reasons-to-love-freshwater-mussels/
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/2022/03/pfas-news-roundup-indiana-new-ohio-pfas-regulation-bill/
By Kimberly M. S. Cartier, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Residents of New Orleans are no strangers to floods and the losses that follow.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/black-neighborhoods-future-flood-burden/
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and several other officials must testify in a civil trial involving engineering firms being sued over liability for lead-contaminated water connected to the Flint water crisis, a judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy denied motions by Snyder, his former advisor, two former state-appointed emergency managers and an ex-Flint city official to quash subpoenas compelling them to testify.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-ex-governor-testify-flint-water-civil-trial/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Shelby Frink, Great Lakes Echo
A scientist may have found a native aquatic plant in Ohio that was once thought to be wiped out in the state.
The watermilfoil species has not been seen in Ohio in at least 20 years, said Mark Warman, the scientist who found the plant on private property last September after his friend posted photos on the social network iNaturalist.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/native-aquatic-plant-ohio/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Shelby Frink, Great Lakes Echo
A scientist may have found a native aquatic plant in Ohio that was once thought to be wiped out in the state.
The watermilfoil species has not been seen in Ohio in at least 20 years, said Mark Warman, the scientist who found the plant on private property last September after his friend posted photos on the social network iNaturalist.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/native-aquatic-plant-ohio/
By Suman Naishadham, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In southwestern Pennsylvania, eight locks and dams that for decades helped barges move goods along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers will in a few years also generate enough power for 75,000 homes.
Rye Development, a Boston-based hydropower company, is retrofitting the dams with turbines to generate electricity and says the upgraded structures will limit damage to the rivers’ water quality and fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-hydropower-bigger-energy-role-less-environmental-harm/
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — The city council in La Crosse has decided to spend another $25,000 on bottled water for town of Campbell residents with PFAS-contaminated wells.
The La Crosse Tribune reported March 11 that the council voted March 10 to pull the money from the city’s contingency fund.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-la-crosse-25k-bottled-water/
During the March “Great Lakes Week” organized by the Great Lakes Commission, Rep. Marcy Kaptur talked about the Great Lakes Authority.
The Great Lakes Authority, which would be a federal entity focused on the economic interests of the Great Lakes region, is an idea that the congresswoman has fought to put into legislation for a few years already.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/legislation-great-lakes-authority-federal-entity/
By Todd Richmond, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Thursday at conservative members of the Department of Natural Resources policy board for refusing to set limits on a group of chemicals known as PFAS in Wisconsin’s groundwater.
The board in February adopted limits for drinking water and surface water but rejected the Department of Natural Resources’ recommendations to impose a 20 parts per trillion limit for groundwater after conservative board members voiced concerns about the cost of replacing or remediating wells with contamination that exceeds that bench mark.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/evers-conservatives-pfas-standards/
When it comes to dealing with Michigan’s regulators on environmental justice issues, Detroit environmental law attorney Nick Leonard wants to change the narrative.
Too often when confronted with decisions that impact environmental justice communities, regulators focus on limitations and what they can’t do, Leonard recently told Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/substantive-change-federal-state-local-agencies/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Arya Dara, Great Lakes Echo
New legislation in Ontario can result in a fine if boats are not cleaned properly when they are moved from one body of water and into another.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ontario-watercraft-regulations-invasive-species/
By Todd Richmond, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s swing justice appeared skeptical Thursday about whether to remove a conservative Department of Natural Resources board member who refuses to step down even though his term ended almost a year ago.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul sued in August to oust Fred Prehn from the board.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-key-justice-dnr-board-member/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The comment period on a draft analysis of the environmental impact of rerouting an oil and gas pipeline around an American Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin will run for an additional month, state regulators announced Wednesday.
The Enbridge Line 5 pipeline carries oil and natural gas liquids from Superior to Sarnia.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/ap-dnr-extends-comment-period-enbridge-reroute/
By Timberly Ferree, Indiana Environmental Reporter
In the first direct analysis of its kind, a study by Indiana University researchers has found a link between lead in drinking water, specifically from private wells, and juvenile delinquency.
“There’s not been a direct analysis on lead exposure and children’s outcomes later in life before.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/study-lead-exposure-juvenile-delinquency/
