Tall waves hit Lake Michigan piers Tuesday during a gale warning. Waves ranging from 6 to 8 feet tall battered the Lake Michigan shoreline from Holland to Muskegon in Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-lake-michigan-gale-warning
A committee is being put together by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Ninth District headquartered in Cleveland to explore whether another vessel is needed to help with ice breaking in the Great Lakes. The process is expected to take at least a couple of years. Read the full story by Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-cheboygan-ice-breaker
At a Flint, Michigan City Council committee meeting today, Flint’s mayor will ask the council to reconsider a delay in moving forward with the construction of a secondary water system. Read the full story by WSMH-TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-flint-city-council
The Joliet City Council in Illinois approved a $3.5 million engineering contract for the Lake Michigan water project even as it cuts elsewhere to prepare for a collapse in revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full story by The Herald-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200422-joliet-water-project
Normally at this time of year, the Plover Lovers would be seeking volunteers to help monitor and educate the public about the birds this spring and summer, but the volunteer program has been has been cancelled until further notice. Read the full story by Owen Sound Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-piping-plover
The Air Force (AF) is allocating $13.5 million toward per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remediation at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (WAFB) in Oscoda, MI many assumed this would be used for PFAS clean up – it was learned that the AF plans to use the funds for more research and not on direct cleanup. Read the full story by Iosco County News Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-pfas
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $752,933 in funding to Mackinac Island Ferry Company in St. Ignace; the shipyard is one of 24 U.S. small shipyards receiving part of a $19.6 million in grants through the Small Shipyard Grant Program. Read the full story by UpNorthLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-shipyard
The City of Cheboygan is being considered as a stop for cruise ships touring the Great Lakes along with several other Michigan cities along the coast including Traverse City and Alpena. Read the full story by Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-cruise
Social distancing has caused the annual Michigan Ludington Lake Jump, which has raised nearly $600,000 for various causes over the past 20 years, to record themselves jumping into chilly water at home instead of the frigid Lake Michigan waters. Read the full story by 9 & 10 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-lake-jump
Having gathered public input from boaters and anglers, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will not develop the Silver Lake Basin boating access site in Marquette County as a walk-in-only facility. Read the full story by WLUC- TV – Nagaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-dnr-boating
The Van Buren Conservation District has been awarded a $413,000 grant to help prevent runoff into Michigan’s Pine and Mill Creeks. Read the full story by 94.9 WSJM – St. Joseph, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-runoff
New York Assemblyman Brian Manktelow has been tapped by Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay to advocate for homeowners and businesses along the Lake Ontario shoreline whose properties have suffered thousands of dollars in flooding damage two of the past three years from record lake levels. Read the full story by Finger Lake Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-ontario-flooding
A new report shows the number of industrial facilities reporting water pollution violations in the Midwest has spiked since 2017, which could be due to a decline in enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by WFIU Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-epa-pollution
From the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River in the east to the shores of Lake Superior in the west, the communities that grew up along the Great Lakes and weathered so many transitions along the way are bracing for what could be the biggest transition of all. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200421-climate-change
President Donald Trump’s administration has scaled back enforcement of environmental regulations in the Great Lakes region — and it’s having a noticeable, negative impact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s own data. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-great-lakes-pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed a $2.9 million agreement to remediate contaminated sediment along Detroit, Michigan’s east riverfront. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-detroit-river
A $400,000 federal grant for green infrastructure projects was awarded to Elk Rapids, Michigan, a small village along the Lake Michigan shoreline near Traverse City. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-green-infrastructure
Now that winter is over, freighters are fanning out around the Great Lakes. But much has changed since the Soo Locks closed. Read the full story by The Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-freighters
Birds flocked around Minnesota’s Interstate Island while construction workers distributed dirt around the island on Wednesday, April 15, in an effort to double the size of the island and expand the dwindling nesting sites of the common tern. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-tern-nesting
Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.-26) announced on Monday that the Smith Boys Shipyard in North Tonawanda, New York will receive a federal grant worth over $300,000. Read the full story by WKBW – TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-shipyard
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ weekly report released Friday shows Lake Michigan is four inches above the April record set in 1986. Read the full story by WOOD – TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-lake-michigan
A series of projects on Wisconsin’s Menominee River, funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, have enhanced fish passage, added fish and wildlife habitat and helped reconnect its upstream tributaries with Lake Michigan. Read the full story by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-menomonee
A coalition of watchdog groups have filed a formal petition to stop Fermi 2 nuclear reactor in Michigan from further operations, claiming long-required repair work needs to be fully completed in order to avoid a potential “major nuclear accident.” Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200420-nuclear
The cancellation of outreach programs and academic conferences is a blow to education and research collaboration in the Great Lakes. COVID-19 has also left scientists uncertain about conducting summer research on the Great Lakes this year. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-research
High water levels last summer couldn’t knock the west side Port Dalhousie, Ontario piers off their completion schedule, but the coronavirus can. Rehabilitation of the piers on Lake Ontario is temporarily shut down due to the province’s COVID-19 state of emergency restrictions on construction projects. Read the full story by the St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-port-dalhousie
The Common Council of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, approved funding to construct a new drinking water intake in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-infx-bond
A barge was freed three days after running aground in Lake St. Clair with minimal damage and no evidence of hazardous waste release. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-st-clair
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch populations remain steady this year after doubling from the levels in the previous year. Read the full story by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-walleye
Shoreline residents in West Michigan are erecting sea barriers and moving their homes further inland as Lake Michigan inches towards record heights and swallows even more property this year. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-lake-mi-defense
The Wisconsin DNR is shifting its stocking plans for trout and salmon this year due to coronavirus concerns, cancelling offshore stocking efforts and instead releasing more salmon in nearshore locations. Read the full story by the Door County Pulse.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-salmon
Researchers from the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research are monitoring sewage at wastewater treatment plants to evaluate the rate of coronavirus infections in Windsor, Ontario. Read the full story by the CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-sewage
Record-setting lake levels and sustained winds worsened erosion along Lake Erie this week, destroying previous efforts to mitigate erosion damage and protect roads near the lake. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200417-ashtabula
More than $1 million was spent last year on temporary, emergency shoreline repairs in Sarnia, Ontario, mostly in Bright’s Grove. Storms last week battered revetments in Bright’s Grove, adding six more cracks to the failing shoreline. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-shoreline
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a tug and barge that ran aground in Michigan waters in Lake St. Clair. Officials say the barge was carrying 3,990,000 gallons of diesel fuel, but report that there are no hazardous substances entering the waterway, no suspected damages, and no reported injuries. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-barge
Four century-old shoreline wells revealed by Lake Michigan erosion will be removed from the beach at Grand Haven State Park this summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-wells
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ fisheries and creel surveys have been suspended, as have all other department-led habitat projects. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-fisheries
A portion of Beach Street at Pere Marquette Park in Muskegon, Michigan, has reopened to traffic after being closed for more than six months due to ongoing high water and erosion. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-street
The 2020 Lake Michigan sailing season for the S.S. Badger won’t start on May 8 as originally planned, as the carferry’s target date to resume service between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is pushed back to May 29. Read the full story by WZZM-TV – Ludington, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-ferry
Interstate Island in the Duluth-Superior Harbor is one of only two tern nesting sites remaining near Lake Superior, but it’s being covered by rising waters. A $1.4 million effort to raise the tiny island is underway this week to keep it high and dry enough for the terns to continue nesting there. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-terns
Hopes that a major cash infusion would accelerate groundwater cleanup at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan, were dashed when military engineers reported they plan to spend several more years investigating the PFAS pollution. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-cleanup
The Great Lakes are a recreational mecca, but they’re also a gigantic graveyard – of shipwrecks. Read the full story by the Daily Mail.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-shipwreck
While a record Lake Erie walleye population has attracted a bumper crop of anglers to public boat ramps in Ohio, the global coronavirus pandemic has led Ohio to halt non-resident fishing license sales and municipalities to reduce parking after anglers ignore social distancing rules and stay home orders. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200416-fishing
Minnesota fisheries managers canceled all spring egg-taking operations, the Department of Natural Resources announced, leaving a void of walleye stocking in more than 330 lakes. The fisheries chief said the field work to produce 281 million baby walleyes can’t be done in a way that would keep employees safe from the transmission of COVID-19. Read the full story by Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-walleye-stocking
The EPA announced Tuesday a $2.9 million project to clean up contaminated sediment in the Detroit River which will allow the expansion of the city’s Riverwalk. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-detroit-river-clean-up
Plans for building a pipeline that connects Flint, Michigan, to its emergency backup water source are in limbo. Flint City Council was split 4-4 on awarding a $14.7 million to build a 5.5-mile pipeline connecting Flint to its a backup water supply. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-flint-emergency-pipeline
An Ohio fishery has been charged with wildlife violations after investigators observed abuse and waste of game fish, officials from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-ohio-fishery-charged
The City of Erie, Pennsylvania, will receive $336,500 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to install 25 soil cell and plant 25 new trees that will help prevent pollutants from flowing directly into Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-preque-isle-grant
The first ocean-going ship arrived Monday at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, kicking off the international shipping season during which Northwest Indiana trades goods with the world. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-shipping-trade
After several decades of burning coal to meet Michiganders’ electricity needs, Consumers Energy is retiring its coal plants near the Saginaw Bay shoreline and elsewhere, but its coal ash, a form of industrial waste known to contain toxins, will linger there indefinitely. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-toxic-ash-landfills
A section of the Little Traverse Wheelway in Petoskey, Michigan, is closed until further notice after erosion caused a 100-foot section to fall into Little Traverse Bay. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200415-bike-trail-erosion
