Experts from Quebec’s Department of Forests, Wildlife and Parks are closely monitoring the Richelieu River, which flows from Lake Champlain into the St. Lawrence River, after a sport fisher caught a grass carp there on July 16. Read the full story by the Montreal Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200803-grass-carp
An elk skull with antlers discovered in a lake near Fenton, Michigan, is around 220 years old and may be from an extinct subspecies of elk. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200803-extinct-elk-skull
Clean water activists hope that public water suppliers will remove an industrial pollutant, 1,4-Dioxane, from the New York public water supply under new water standards adopted by the state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200803-drinking-water-pollutants
A third inspector is expected to be hired for Michigan’s Dam Safety Program, with the hopes that a new senior environmental engineer will improve the safety of state-regulated dams. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200803-dam-inspector
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has scheduled a public webinar for this for August 6 to help keep the public informed about the application permitting process for Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 tunnel project. Read the full story by WILX-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200803-pipeline-webinar
Biology experts are warning beachgoers and swimmers of harmful algae blooms that have been springing up throughout the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WNEM-TV – Saginaw, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200803-algae-blooms
The International Joint Commission has started an early review of its Lake Ontario water management plan. The review is overseen by a board that includes some of its most ardent critics who are upset by the extensive flooding along the lake’s shoreline last year. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-ijc
A landmark case over how hard the state of Ohio must crack down on farmers and others who allow algae-feeding phosphorus to flow off their land finished Thursday and awaits a decision. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-lake-erie-case
A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers from Northeast Ohio sent a letter to the Ohio Power Siting Board requesting that they reconsider the terms of the permit granted to the Lake Erie Energy Development Company’s 20.7-megawatt demonstration offshore wind project. The permit restricts the hours of the year the proposed wind farm can operate. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-ohio-wind
In a victory for Flint, Michigan, residents whose health and homes were harmed by lead-contaminated water, the Michigan Supreme Court allowed a class-action lawsuit against public officials to proceed. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-flint
A study of fish diets in Lake Michigan salmon and trout revealed changes in diets in response to changing lake ecosystems and available food sources. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-lake-salmon
With warmer than average surface water temperatures on the Great Lakes this year, researchers are asking the public to help spot any harmful algal blooms on Lake Superior. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-warm-waters-habs
A new research and monitoring buoy installed by University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee researchers allows the public to view lake conditions and underwater footage of Lake Michigan near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Traverse City, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-sleeping-bear-buoy
The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Museum is live-streaming virtual events this weekend to showcase the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary as part of NOAA’s annual Get Into Your Sanctuary event. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-nms
The approval of the Water Resources Development Act authorizes federal funding for measures intended to help keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-invasive-carp
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday unveiled a new, 10-year plan for further examination of acidification of the country’s oceans, coastline and Great Lakes. The plan includes expanding monitoring and research on the impacts of Great Lakes acidification. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-noaa-plan
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, awarded more than $2 million to a Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, company to dredge the Duluth-Superior Harbor and use the dredged material to rebuild eroded shoreline and dune habitat in Minnesota. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200731-dredge
Lac Supérieur is the Twitter handle for Lake Superior, an account run by a human who speaks not on behalf of the lake but as the lake, in a brash, anthropomorphic way, brimming with a mix of swagger and silliness. Read the full story by WTTW -TV-Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-lake-superior
Scientists have focused on ocean acidification, called “climate change’s evil twin,” while overlooking the acidification of lakes and rivers, so not much is known about what carbon pollution means for the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Nexus Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-carbon-pollution
Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of Enbridge’s spilling almost a million gallons of heavy tar-sands oil into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River from its 41-year-old Line 6B — causing one of the worst inland oil spills in U.S. history. Now Enbridge is touting its proposed oil pipeline tunnel under the Great Lakes as a quick-and-simple fix to Line 5. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-kalamazoo-spill
After suburban communities like Lake Forest, Winnetka and Evanston were established in the mid-19th century, the North Shore became a haven for summer visitors. But the North Shore’s engineered shoreline and man-made beaches have proved to be no match for Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Pioneer Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-erosion
Some water-quality groups say Michigan needs to take a stronger stance against Enbridge for its refusal to assume responsibility for losses related to a Line 5 oil pipeline failure in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WHMI – Howell, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-line-5
Senator Tammy Baldwin and Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes were among the Wisconsin politicians taking part in a climate change town hall on Wednesday. Read and view the full story by WAOW – TV – Wausau, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-wisconsin-town-hall
Young plovers born near Green Bay Wisconsin this summer were transferred Friday to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion to avoid an outbreak of botulism at the plovers’ Wisconsin nesting site. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-piping-plovers
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will use a $1.1 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support the work of Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program, fund three significant local projects and continue the program’s quarterly short-term action request grants, according to a news release from the DNR. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-coastal-program
Algae blooms on Lake Superior have caused a lot of public concern in recent years and now researchers from the University of Minnesota – Duluth believe they know why they’ve been happening. Read and view the full story by WDIO – TV- Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-algal-blooms
The city of Joliet, Illinois will hold a virtual stakeholders meeting Thursday on its alternative water source program. Read the full story by The Herald-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-joliet
Thirty-two Northeast Ohio lawmakers from both parties asked a top state utility regulator Wednesday for a reconsideration of a ruling they claim would doom the construction of Icebreaker Wind, the nation’s first freshwater offshore wind farm, in Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-wind-farm
A bill that authorizes various water projects and contains several important provisions for central New York has been approved by the House of Representatives. Read the full story by The Auburn Citizen.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200730-water-bill
Representatives of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Niagara County Soil and Water Conservation District will meet with members of the public, albeit virtually, from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday to discuss lifting the longstanding ban on dredging Eighteen Mile Creek. A Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) previously placed on Eighteen Mile Creek restricts dredging activities in the creek. Read the full story by Lockport Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-eighteen
An investigation into the collision between two vessels on the Welland Canal earlier this month could take to 450 days to complete, says the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-welland
A group of property owners seeking to gain control of a system of dams that released catastrophic floodwater across mid-Michigan anticipates repairs to the dam and surrounding lakes to cost upwards of $340 million. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-dams
The Coastal Stewardship Coordinator with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says many of their team of Coastal Watchers are reporting the loss of large trees along the Lake Huron shoreline to erosion. Read the full story by the Blackburn News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-trees
Upwelling events can dramatically change water temperatures quickly. Buoys from University of Minnesota-Duluth Lake Superior provide real time water temperatures that can help beachgoers decide if it is a good time to swim. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-buoys
Toxic algae blooming in Lake Erie is creating safety concerns for humans and aquatic life prompting the state of Michigan to work with farmers to reduce the phosphorus levels in field runoff. Read the full story by WKAR- Lansing, Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-michigan
Steel production has dropped by 20% for the year, while steel capacity utilization is down more than 20 percentage points as compared to the same time last year, largely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that greatly gutted demand for steel in the short term. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-steel
Surface water temperatures on the Great Lakes have been warmer than average this year, prompting researchers to ask the public to be on the lookout for harmful algal blooms on Lake Superior. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-blooms
A report from the Government Accounting Office says that the agency that helps regulate water levels on Lake Ontario needs to do a better job communicating with the public.. Read the full story by WBFO.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-ijc
Overall, total rainfall over the Great Lakes drainage basin hasn’t been dry. The southern half of Lower Michigan has been drier than average, but northern Lower and especially the U.P. have been hammered with heavy rain. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200729-dry
This week Traverse City will begin construction of a temporary containment area around the low point of the city’s sewer system that will hold up to 3,700 gallons; the system has seen sanitary sewer overflows totaling 57,000 gallons in three rain events since late May, many more than the single overflow in 2019. Read the full story by Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-traverse-city-sewer
The 118-year-old S.S. Columbia holds a special place in history as it once traveled throughout the Great Lakes, but now sits in a state of disrepair along the Buffalo River. Read and listen to the full story by WBFO-Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-buffalo-history
Some potentially harmful blue-green algal blooms have been spotted in recent days in New York’s Chautauqua Lake; the discovery of a bloom at Long Point State Park prompted officials to post “no swimming” signs at the beach. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-algal-bloom-new-york
New York State’s environmental restrictions on dredging in Olcott Harbor may be lifted as plans come into focus for construction next year of a long-awaited breakwall to protect the harbor from Lake Ontario’s rising waters. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-harbor-dredge-dec
A major project to stop PFAS discharges from reaching the Flint River has restarted; the project entails rerouting 3,600 feet of a storm sewer line through Buick City. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-pfas-flint-river
Milwaukee’s harbor plans to install a trash interceptor in the Kinnickinnic River to catch floating trash before it reaches Lake Michigan. Read and listen to the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-milwaukee-harbor-trash
Color and material design students at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI have come up with an ingenious way to repurpose zebra mussel shells. Read the full story by Fast Company.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-zebra-mussel-glass
The controversial proposed Back Forty open pit metallic sulfide mine on the Michigan-Wisconsin border has suffered major financial and permitting setbacks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and increasing public concerns over the safety of tailings dams to store mine waste. Read the full story by Urban Milwaukee.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-mine-pollution-concern
A group of Port of Montreal workers plans to walk off the job for four days next week as negotiations over a new labor contract drag on. The walkout will also affect operations at the port’s Contrecoeur terminal. The port serves Canada and several U.S. states. Read the full story by the Montreal Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-montreal-dock-walkout
This latest grant announcement includes $1.83 million for FishPass, a project in Traverse City, MI that allows native fish to pass through the waterways while blocking invasive species. FishPass is expected to be operational in 2023. Read and view the full story by WWTV-TV-Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-funding-traverse-city
A warm winter followed by a hot spell in early summer for the Great Lakes region has left Lake Michigan nearly 10 degrees hotter than normal. Read and listen to the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200728-warming-lakes-michigan
