The announcement of an expedited review of Plan 2014 comes following the awarding of $1.5 million from the U.S., plus $1.5 million from Canada, to address the continuing water outflow problem that exists in Lake Ontario, according to the IJC Great Lakes Connection monthly newsletter. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-ijc-lake-ontario
Indiana lawmakers have passed legislation to embrace a landmark state Supreme Court decision affirming that the Lake Michigan shoreline is publicly owned and open to all for recreation. Read the full story by the Daily Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-lake-michigan-ruling
The U.S. and Ohio environmental protection agencies need to stop resisting their clear responsibility regarding Lake Erie: Enforce the Clean Water Act. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200316-ohio-clean-lake
The decrease in ice cover is having culture impacts in addition to environmental impacts in Lake Superior’s coastal towns. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-ice-culture
Sarnia, Ontario’s water pollution control facility is one of a handful being used for Environment Ministry testing this year to potentially help ease the amount of phosphorous entering the Great Lakes and contributing to toxic algae blooms. Read the full story by The London Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-phosphorous-removal-study
The Michigan Senate finalized legislation Thursday that would provide $2 million toward the estimated $20 million cost of the Detroit Zoological Society’s proposed 30,000-square-foot Great Lakes Center for Nature in Macomb County. Read the full story by Macomb Daily.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-nature-center
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin asserted that the Menominee River has the right to exist naturally, flourish, evolve, remain unpolluted and carry out its natural ecosystem functions. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-menominee-river-rights
Two engineers who live on the Lake Ontario, and study its levels on the side, worry it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Read the full story by Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-lake-ontario-high-water
The Niagara County (New York) Legislature voted Tuesday to chip in $221,000 for three projects designed to protect Olcott Harbor from rising water levels in Lake Ontario. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-high-water-protection
People in southeast Michigan felt the effects of that severe rainfall last year and again in January 2020, from high water levels in lakes and rivers to roads eroding and flooding neighborhoods and are planning preparing for high water to continue this spring. Read the full story by Second Wave Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-spring-high-water
Near record water levels in the Great Lakes have been rapidly eroding our lakeshore and Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says, it’s likely to continue. Read the full story by WWUP-TV – Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-erosion-presentation
Flooding concerns across Ontario with spring approaching have opposition MPPs and MPs demanding government action at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-ontario-flooding-action
The ArcelorMittal steel mill in Burns Harbor, Indiana has started the process of pursuing ISO 50001 certification, a global standard for energy management. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200313-steel-mill-energy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today it is awarding almost $49 million to help state and tribal governments encourage private landowners to allow public access to their land for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-michigan-dnr
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has officially declared the Jan. 10-12 storm that hit southeastern Wisconsin an emergency, opening funding avenues for repairing the estimated $10 million in regional damage — $2.58 million in Racine County. Read the full story by The Journal Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-fema-shoreline
H2Ohio, described as a data-driven plan to reduce harmful algal blooms, creates the opportunity for Ohio farmers to adopt measures designed to reduce nutrient runoff, while mitigating the financial burden of these actions. Read the full story by the Putnam County Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-h2ohio-farmers
Rome Fish Hatchery is undergoing work to mitigate zebra mussels discovered in late January in a lake that supplies water to the hatchery, one of the largest of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s dozen hatcheries. Read the full story by the Rome Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-hatchery-mussels
After several houses toppled into Lake Michigan, Wisconsin homeowners in Racine County are taking costly preventative measures to avoid becoming the next casualty. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-shore-erosion
People in southeast Michigan felt the effects of severe rainfall this past year, from high water levels to roads eroding and flooded neighborhoods. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers forecasts heavy rains are likely to strike again this spring and summer. Read the full story by Metromode.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-detroit-flooding
A landmark Indiana Supreme Court decision certifying state ownership and guaranteeing public recreational use of the Lake Michigan shoreline is set to be codified in Indiana law. Read the full story by The Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-indiana-beaches
Plans for Traverse City, Michigan, to be a stop for massive international cruise ships beginning in summer 2022 have been halted after Discovery Center’s board of directors voted on the decision Monday. Read the full story by The Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200312-cruise-traverse
The provincial government needs to come up with a better plan to help communities affected by flooding along Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River, Kingston and the Islands. Read the full story by The Kingston Whig Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-Kingston-MPP
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown shares why Lake Erie is a vital asset to Ohio. Read the full story by the Delaware Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-Lake-Erie
Putnam County farmers view H2Ohio as an opportunity to take the high road, to adopt measures designed to reduce nutrient runoff, but to do so while mitigating the financial burden inherent in such action. Read the full story by the Putnam county Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-H2Ohio
High water conditions on the Great Lakes are delaying by 12 days the opening of a stretch of the St. Lawrence Seaways, but it should not impact the Port of Thunder Bay. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-shipping
Summit Metro Parks near Cleveland, Ohio is inviting members of the public to a community meeting later this month about the status of the project to remove the 420-foot-wide, 60-foot-tall dam in Gorge Metro Park. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-gorge-dam
This edition of WKSU’s OH Really? answers a listener question about how climate change might affect Northeast Ohio in the future. Read the full story by WKSU-Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-Climate-Change
A tiny insect could prove to be just as harmful in causing erosion along the lakeshore as Lake Michigan’s record-high water level. Read the full story by The Herald-Palladium.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-invasive-species
The Detroit City Council unanimously supported a resolution urging Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and city and county leaders to direct their representatives to ban residential shutoffs against low-income residents. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-water-shutoffs
Springtime in Duluth is signaled by the return of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder, which began its annual icebreaking activities, dubbed “Operation Taconite.” Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200311-ice-ritual
Macomb County is overrun with disposable wipes washing ashore from nearby Oakland County’s sewer overflow. Read the full story by WJBK – TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-disposable-wipes
Wreckage from a freighter that sank in Lake Huron around 115 years ago has moved toward Michigan’s shoreline due to high water levels and waves, weakening the ruins further, officials said. Read the full story by WNEM – TV – Bay City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-shipwreck
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced a $4.9 million Harbor Assistance Program grant on February 24 to support the construction of a new agricultural commodity bulk vessel transload facility at Port Milwaukee. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Independent.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-port-milwaukee
The plentiful, dramatic formations at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore that lured 138,000 ice cave trekkers to northern Wisconsin in 2014 haven’t been accessible in recent years because of unsafe lake ice conditions but intrepid trekkers can often still get an ice cave fix. Read the full story by the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-ice-caves
The lake’s clobbering of the shore has left Chicago waterfront home owners on edge — and put doubts in buyers’ minds. Read the full story by Chicago Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-chicago-real-estate
As temperatures start to warm up on northwest Ohio’s second consecutive 60-degree day, so does the number of fishermen wading into the river hoping to catch some walleye. Read the full story by WNWO – TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-walleye
The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation is holding an online public meeting on March 18 to discuss changes in the 2020 Chinook salmon stocking locations on Lake Ontario. Read the full story by New York Upstate.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-ontario-salmon
The Ontario government has launched a new strategy to help communities impacted by flooding but did not state how much of a financial commitment it includes. Read the full story by Global News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-ontario-flooding
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Erik Kulleseid emceed a gathering inside the New York Power Authority’s Power Vista Community Room, providing additional information on the proposed $3 billion Environmental Bond Act. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-environmental-bond-act
The city of Flint, Michigan won’t be fined for failing to test enough homes that qualify for lead in water during the last six months of 2019, but it must fix the problem or face penalties of up to $1,000 per day in the future and must notify the public of its violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200310-flint
Four of the five Great Lakes set a new monthly record for water levels this February. Read the full story by TV – WBAY – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-water-records
Walleye catches in Wisconsin have declined in recent years as climate change and warming water have altered aquatic food webs and walleye habitat. Read the full story by the Ashland Daily Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-wisconsin-walleye
Politicians running for office this year are using water issues like PFAS, water affordability, and Line 5 to rally support for their campaigns in Michigan. Read the full story by HuffPost.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-michigan-water
Ohio’s recent announcement to set a daily limit on the amount of pollution entering Lake Erie is a critical acknowledgement that voluntary farmer actions are insufficient to protect Ohio’s most critical resource. Read the full story by the Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-oepa
Lake Erie is vital to Ohio and creates jobs for the state. In an editorial, Senator Sherrod Brown outlines how Congress is acting to support efforts to clean up the lake. Read the full story by The Daily Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-sherrod-brown
Lawmakers in Oswego, New York, proposed a new law that allows communities to sue the International Joint Commission for damages from flooding along Lake Ontario. Read the full story from Oswego County Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-oswego
The Michigan cities of Detroit and Flint received $1.6 million from the Great Lakes Water Authority to assist customers with past-due water bills and water conservation education. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-detroit-glwa
The town of Ogden Dunes, Indiana, filed a lawsuit against federal agencies accusing them of inappropriately interfering with their shoreline protection plans and causing erosion that threatens to destroy homes and infrastructure in their community. Read the full story by WFLD-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-indiana-erosion
With the longest freshwater coast in the United States, the landscape of Michigan is defined by water. These photos highlight its diverse beauty. Read the full story from The Atlantic.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-michigan-photos
The Town Council of Beverly Shores, Indiana, voted to procure a $5 million bond to help address erosion along Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Times of Northwest Indiana.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20200309-beverley-shores
