The New York Power Authority announced Wednesday that preparations are underway to remove the Niagara River Ice Boom. Since 1964, the 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/20230301-ice-boom-removal
A water monitoring system called MiWaterNet is powered by participatory community scientists and provides real time data for researchers across northern Michigan. These data on small stream quality helps researchers answer important questions about a watershed’s condition. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230301-water-monitoring
The State of Michigan continues to hold Community Resource Fairs in Benton Harbor for residents to learn about how they can keep themselves safe from lead in their homes. More than 100 people attended a fair Tuesday at the Virginia Edwards Community Center. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230301-lead-resources
U.S. District Judge David Lawson has ordered Flint, Michigan, to replace any remaining lead or steel water lines by Aug. 1, the latest intervention after a series of missed deadlines. Judge Lawson signed off on an agreement between the city and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which represents residents in long-running litigation that began in 2016. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230301-flint-litigation
In August, Amy Stout of Petersburg, Michigan, became the second woman to complete the Lake Erie Solo Challenge in the event’s 16-year history. The 455-mile sailing event began in 2007, with just three women having attempted it thus far. Read the full story by The Monroe News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230301-sailing-challenge
PFAS are the latest concern in Lake Superior, where fishing is central to the lifeways of the Red Cliff Band and other Indigenous nations. Read the full story by Wisconsin Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-native-fishing-rights
Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra last week announced funding of C$12.5m ($9.2m) to launch the Ballast Water Innovation Program, part of its Oceans Protection Plan. Read the full story by Splash 24/7.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-canada-ballast-water
Gov. Tony Evers is hoping to use some of Wisconsin’s 2023-25 budget to address environmental issues. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-wisconsin-budget
The relationship between residents of coastal communities and their local water heritage can advance restoration efforts, create recreational opportunities and promote tourism and economic growth, a new study says. At the same time, that relationship can create tensions between environmental and economic interests, it says. Read the full story by the Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-coastal-tourism
Eleven environmental groups are urging the Michigan Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that stops the state from placing more permit restrictions on manure and other animal waste from large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-cafo-litigation
About $74 million in taxpayer dollars aims to slow down the impact of erosion at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois. The project is the largest capital project in the Department of Natural Resources history. Read the full story by The Center Square.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-erosion-protection
An Ohio island conservancy and park district are asking for donations to preserve a historic home site and nearly 30 acres of forest, meadow and bayfront property on South Bass Island. Read the full story by the Fremont News Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-put-in-bay
A recent study has revealed just how toxic eating fish from lakes in New York State can be. Read the full story WYRK – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-fish-contamination
The public is invited to give their input on a proposal that sets the stage for environmental cleanup and restoration in the Saginaw Bay watershed. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-restoration-settlement
A decline of ice cover on the five Great Lakes is becoming a normal occurrence over the years. NOAA has been documenting this since 1973. Read the full story by WITI – TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230227-low-ice
A federal judge has given Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel another chance to argue that her lawsuit seeking to shut down the Line 5 petroleum pipeline is best heard in state court. The issue of which court holds jurisdiction over the lawsuit has become a crucial detail in the legal battle over Enbridge Energy’s pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-line-5-litigation
The governors of Michigan and Illinois are proposing to jointly pay $114 million toward an infrastructure project that would stop invasive silver and bighead carp from moving into the Great Lakes via Chicagoland waterways. Combined, the two state appropriations would cover the total non-federal share of current estimated project costs for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-carp-funding
Last year the Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board made a formal request to begin netting lake trout on Lake Michigan. To that end, the Wisconsin DNR formed the Lake Michigan Lake Trout Commercial Harvest Stakeholder Group, made up of about a dozen state residents, to provide input on the commercial harvest of lake trout. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-lake-trout-netting
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Detroit District and Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) have announced the completion of a $1.67 million permanent sea lamprey trap on the East Branch AuGres River in National City, Michigan. The finalization of the project represents a long-standing partnership between USACE and GLFC to control invasive sea lampreys and protect the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery. Read the full story by Oscoda Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-lamprey-trap
A restoration plan is close to being finalized for the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River, and Saginaw Bay watershed to compensate the public for the loss of natural habitats and recreation opportunities, due to decades of industrial activity and pollution. The project, which will restore and preserve thousands of acres of wetlands and other natural habitats is funded by a nearly $6 million settlement with Dow Chemical and General Motors. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-watershed-rehabilitation
A special training program will take place over the weekends of April 22-23 and May 20-21, 2023 in South Haven, Michigan and is free with membership in the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. Participants who complete both weekends will be eligible to join the crew of the museum’s own tall ship, “Friends Good Will.” Read the full story by MLive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-tall-ship-training
Last September, Hoverlink Ontario Inc. held an open house to announce its plan to build the first-ever hovercraft transit service in North America. It plans to carry 180 passengers at a time across Lake Ontario between Toronto and Niagara Falls in just 30 minutes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-hovercraft-travel
On Feb. 15, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) sent the U.S. Air Force a request for installation of several new interim cleanup systems to remove toxic PFAS chemicals from the groundwater and soil. Advocates and state officials are now pushing the U.S. military to build more stopgap systems to clean up groundwater contamination around the former Wurtsmith Air Force base while a slow-moving investigation continues. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-pfas-cleanup
In his new book, “The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World out of Balance,” Dan Egan sounds alarms on both the scarcity and overabundance sides of the phosphorus-human equation. Thanks to heavy use of phosphorus in fertilizers, many experts foresee it becoming a scarce resource. But too much phosphorus in the wrong places — in the runoff to lakes, ponds and rivers — leads to toxic algae blooms that ravage bodies of water, kill tourism and make people sick. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-phosphorus-book
Using trail cameras, FOX 2 photojournalist Coulter Stuart spotted a beaver at an inlet on Stony Island in the Detroit River. Once the home base for a massive project that transformed the Detroit River and Great Lakes shipping traffic, the 100-acre plot of land is slowly being reclaimed by wildlife; the reemergence of beavers is a sign of that progress. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230224-beaver-habitat-restoration
The Erie County Water Authority in New York state said it has begun daily sampling and testing of its source water following the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled hazardous chemicals in early February. So far, daily testing of water in Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and treated water supplies has not detected chemicals involved in the train derailment, including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen that was burned following the accident. Read the full story by WIVB-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-chemical-testing
In Ohio, the Cleveland Water Alliance announced the launch of the Freshwater Innovation Fund in an effort to promote new water technology in the city. The fund was created to address water stress in the region, which can include drought caused by climate change, aging infrastructure, and water contaminants. Read the full story by the WKSU – Kent, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-cleveland-fund
In a notice issued last week, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. and the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. announced that ships will be permitted to enter the system on March 22. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-seaway-reopen
Alpena, Michigan, area third graders arrived at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center bright and early Monday to start a three-week learning session on human connections to the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-school-program
In a recent interview, Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang discussed the early days of trying to secure support from her colleagues on water equity and how the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on water shutoffs. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-water-equity
The Great Lakes Boat Building School recently completed a large fundraising campaign and is poised to break ground on a 10,000-square-foot Marine Technology Center, a $3.8 million project that will double the school’s size and eventually quadruple its enrollment capacity. Read the full story by UPword.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-boating-school
Preventing a harmful algal bloom in Michigan’s Muskegon Lake is the focus of a free film screening of “The Erie Situation” and discussion about toxic algae, community awareness, and environmental activism. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-muskegon-lake
The Indiana Senate Committee on Natural Resources unanimously passed a bill on Monday that would require life ring stations on piers and at public access points on Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WNDU-TV – South Bend, IN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-life-rings
While Ontario quakes are common but mild, scientists say more research is needed on whether natural water level fluctuations correlate with regional seismic activity. Read the full story by CBC Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230222-water-levels
Macomb County Public Works Commissioner and member of the Great Lakes Commission Candice Miller believes Michigan’s fresh water resources will become even more important in the future, as the world’s climate continues to change. Read the full story by the Macomb Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-protectingmiswater
For years, region environmentalists have demanded that NIPSCO remove every last bit of coal ash from the Michigan City, Indiana generating station property. Now a potential settlement in a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could force NIPSCO to complete the “clean closure” the groups have been asking for. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-coalashrestrictions-cleanupefforts-epa
Plans for a redeveloped DL&W Terminal call for music and a public market. Could they also include cruise ships? That prospect will be considered when a consultant is chosen in the next couple of months to conduct a feasibility study. Read and listen to the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-buffalo-greatlakescruiseshipport
Scientists have long known rising temperatures favor growth of potentially harmful algal blooms, but a new study finds increasing evidence that they also form in cold and even ice-covered waters. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-harmfulalgalbloom-coldweather
A historic off-shore lighthouse near the Mackinac Bridge may host a one-of-a-kind summer camp next year that aims to teach teens about career opportunities in the trades while on location at the remote White Shoal Lighthouse, a rare Great Lakes crib light that sits 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-greatlakeslighthouse-summercamp-2024
The latest shipowners joining the growing number ready to explore methanol fueling are Canada’s Algoma Central Corporation and CSL Group. They announced a newbuild order for four methanol-ready Kamsarmax-class self-unloading vessels to replace the oldest vessels in their CSL International Pool. Read the full story by Marine Log.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-methanolready-oceanselfloaders
A stretch of Lake Huron from just east of the Mackinac Bridge to the Presque Isle Lighthouse could see gusts to 40 knots and waves as high as 11 feet, with the gale watch expected to stay in effect from Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon. Read the full story by the Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-galewatch-greatlakes
To learn more about the erosion situation and how it’s changing, a team of researchers from the University of Windsor is studying the effects of lake ice on Lake Erie’s shores. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-erosion-shoresoflakeerie-southwestontario
The search for small balloons shot down recently by US and Canadian fighter jets over Alaska and Lake Huron has been called off, military commanders have said, days after balloon hobbyists in northern Illinois indicated that one of the stray unidentified flying objects could belong to their group. Read the full story by The Guardian.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-unidentifiedobject-lakehuron-searchends
The winter of 2022-2023 has been extraordinary with record warm temperatures in the eastern United States. Great Lakes ice coverage is about 30% below average for this time of year. Read the full story by WKBN-TV – Youngstown, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230220-greatlakes-icecoverage-recordlow
Plans to divert water from the Great Lakes to other states date back more than a century. But in 2008, the eight Great Lake states signed a formal agreement, known as the Great Lakes Compact, outlining how states will manage and protect the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-water-access
A release provided by the Wisconsin DNR on Wednesday states that over six million fish were stocked in the past year to fill stocking quotas that are established by fisheries biologists for Wisconsin’s inland waters and the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WFRV -TV – Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-dnr
The Detroit District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Great Lakes Fishery Commission announced Monday the completion of the permanent sea lamprey trap in Iosco County, Michigan. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-lamprey
PolyMet Mining and Teck Resources finalized a joint venture Wednesday to complete the copper-nickel mine that PolyMet has been developing in northeastern Minnesota, and the partnership hopes to eventually build a separate mine next door in an even larger ore body that Teck controls. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-polymet
A Canadian energy firm said Wednesday there’s no “credible scenario” where a significant rupture on a proposed reroute of its oil and gas pipeline would reach Lake Superior. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-line5
The Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan will be stocked with more chinook salmon in 2023 but all other salmon and trout species will be unchanged, according to a plan recently announced by the Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230217-chinook-restock
