The Erie Coke Corporation based in Erie, PA, and its former plant superintendent have come under federal indictment for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230113-clean-air-act
The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan will close to marine traffic beginning January 15, or until commercial traffic ceases, through March 25 to perform critical maintenance. Read the full story by WDMJ – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230113-soo-locks-closing
A wetter atmosphere and slower freezing of the Great Lakes has made wintertime temperature increases in Wisconsin cities Milwaukee and Green Bay among the highest in the nation as research projects that rises will continue. Read the full story by PBS Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230113-climate-change-wisconsin
Michigan officials advise people to limit how much rainbow smelt they eat from the Great Lakes and some inland lakes due to elevated PFAS contaminant levels. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230113-fish-advisory
The EPA has not been active at Wurtsmith since 2014, when it ended participation in cleanup after the Department of Defense (DOD) stopped funding its involvement. The state has struggled to obtain compliance from the Air Force, which has pushed back strongly on EGLE’s oversight and enforcement attempts. The result has been years of poor communication, technical and legal disputes and Air Force refusal to accept responsibility for PFAS in many areas. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-epa-fortwursmith-pollutioncleanup
A proposed 18-kilometre pipeline from Oneida Nation of the Thames would connect to the same system that supplies treated Lake Huron Water to London and other municipalities. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-oneida-lakehuronwater
Experts have found that ice contains oil spills, making for an easier cleanup, but there’s a catch – it also makes it harder to detect. Read the full story by Iron Mountain Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-ice-oilspills-containment
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released a study saying the economics don’t support putting wind turbines in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. The Great Lakes Wind project, as proposed, doesn’t offer the same benefits to the electric grid as other offshore wind projects while relying on unproven technologies that call the project’s effectiveness into doubt. Read the full story by the Observer Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-statestudy-windturbines
The Lower Fox River basin covers four counties including Brown, Claumet, Outagamie and Winnebago. The clean-up on the Lower Fox River focused on polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs). Although the clean-up itself was completed in 2020, a final stage known as a state closure was only recently approved. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-lowerfoxriver-pcbcleanup
It is well known that birds are constantly shifting their migration patterns to adjust to many factors from coastlines to industrial and other constructed structures, but the Great Lakes have now been found to be another factor. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-greatlakes-birdmigrationpatterns
The damage from the Blizzard of 2022 is evident along many sections of Buffalo’s waterfront. Some experts think that more natural barriers, such as vegetation, should be used along the shoreline, versus hardened walls. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-protectinglakeerie-shoreline-storms
The city of Hamilton, Ontario, says it has uncovered another sewage leak that has been dumping waste into Lake Ontario for more than two decades. The revelation comes after the city reported in November that a leak discovered to be from 1996 had dumped 337 million liters of sewage into the Hamilton harbor in the 26 years it went undetected. Read the full story by the Toronto Sun.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-hamilton-sewageleak-lakeontario
Captains from across the Great Lakes area gathered in Traverse City, Michigan, for the annual Industry Days conference. The conference focuses on learning from each other and how to keep passengers on ferries, tour boats and other mid-sized boats safe while out on the water. Read the full story by WPBN – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-captains-greatlakes-traversecity
Michigan author and Great Lakes historian Ric Mixter is speaking in Bay City this month on his latest book, “Tattletale Sounds: The Edmund Fitzgerald Investigations,” which promises new information on the wreck nearly half a century later. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230111-newinfo-edmundfitzgerald
The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant organization learned in a scientific study, that other sorts of invaders may not be affected by the electric barrier technology. That means risk for damage to the Great Lakes food web remains from other aquatic invertebrates, such as mussels, crayfish, snails, zooplankton and more. Read the full story by Mlive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-electric-barrier
The Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio will be receiving funds through the U.S. Forest Service that will help the nonprofit operate a seed bank and promote forest restoration across the lower Great Lakes region. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-seed-bank
Lake Superior declined 2 inches from November 30, 2022 to December 30, 2022, a fairly typical decline for December that now puts the lake approaching its average water level. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-lake-levels
The Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay, Michigan made an announcement that they have acquired a new vessel. The schooner “Alliance” will be joining the fleet on West Grand Traverse Bay. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-tall-ship
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources stocked 624,205 fish at 85 locations across the state during fall 2022. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-mi-fish-stocking
The federal government is spending millions of dollars to repair damage to the West Arrowhead Breakwater in Oswego Harbor, New York. The breakwater runs 2,700 feet out to the historic West Pierhead Lighthouse and protects the deep draft, commercial harbor. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-oswego-harbor
Chicago has an opportunity to envision a holistic view of what Lake Michigan’s shoreline should look like far in the future. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District is seeking input through Jan. 17, which allows a great opportunity to express what the Chicago shoreline needs. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-shoreline-restoration
Recent rollbacks of Trump-era federal water laws are unlikely to change much about how Michigan’s waterways are regulated, though experts say the move will enhance water protections around the Great Lakes and across the rest of the country. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-water-laws
Named after one of the first women to serve as a federal cabinet minister, the Canadian Coast Guard’s newest light icebreaker made its way up the Welland Canal last week, docking in Port Colborne. CCGS Judy LaMarsh, formerly Mangystau-2 and home-ported in Turkmenistan, was purchased in November 2021 from Atlantic Towing Ltd. for $45.2 million to supplement operations in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and Atlantic regions. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-welland-canal
An Ohio group has called on governments and citizens to heed the findings of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Great Lakes Wind Feasibility Study. That study, which was released before the New Year holiday weekend, casts doubt on the justification for building wind turbines in Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230109-lake-turbine
For the past few years, the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota has had a goal of boosting its attendance to break the 200,000-visitor mark. The organization just announced that it surpassed that goal in 2022, welcoming over 206,000 visitors through its doors. Read the full story by Fox 21 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-greatlakesaquarium-newrecord
Wisconsin’s Great Lakes ecosystems are graded in a new international report. The analysis from the International Joint Commission noted Lake Superior’s forest watershed and coastal wetlands help maintain high water quality. Read the full story by WHBL – Sheboygan, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-greatlakes-scorecard
There are tens of thousands of abandoned wells throughout the Great Lakes region. Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania have each received a $25 million grant from the federal government through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plug orphan wells. Orphan wells can contaminate groundwater through the leakage of chemicals like hydrogen sulfide and arsenic, both of which are harmful to humans. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-federalfunds-orphanwells
Invasive black carp are spreading through the U.S. Midwest and are threatening Illinois waterways. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources believes black carp have moved up the Illinois River as far as central Illinois. Read the full story by the Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-invasive-blackcarp
The City of Detroit has been awarded $5.8 million in funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to redevelop four contaminated properties in the city. EGLE has awarded $2.8 million in funding from brownfield grants and loans and has approved $3 million in brownfield tax increment financing. Read the full story by CBS Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-egle-redevelop-contaminatedsites
What happens if oil spills under ice in freshwater? Researchers have determined the ice can contain the oil, making for an easier cleanup — but it’s harder to detect. Read the full story by the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-line5-oilspills-ice
A new letter clarifies why Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is urging the state’s Department of Natural Resources to reject a National Guard proposal to expand Camp Grayling. Read the full story by the Petoskey News Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-pfascleanup-egle-dnr-campgrayling
To better guide the interventions of emergency services, scientists from the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Quebec have mapped underwater vegetation in the St. Lawrence River to prioritize places to protect during maritime incidents. Read the full story by The Saxon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-underwatervegetation-oilspill
High chloride levels in freshwater can be toxic to aquatic life, increase the potential for harmful algal blooms, disrupt the ecosystem of a river or lake and seep into groundwater, which can corrode pipes and other infrastructure. In other words, that handful of extra salt you’re throwing onto the sidewalk could eventually, in a different form, damage a fish in a nearby river. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-roadsalt-impactsonfreshwater
The U.S. Coast Guard said the tow boat Michigan started to sink in the Port of Milwaukee on Monday this week. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan was notified by the National Response Center that the tow boat sank in 26 feet of water. As of Wednesday, the Coast Guard said there is no pollution from the boat and they have deployed safety measures for containment. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230106-milwaukee-tugboat
A feasibility study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released late last week does not support the placement of turbines in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. Read the full story by The Post-Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-turbines
The beaches of Lake Erie will be occupied by more than people this spring as plastic cleaning robots BeBot and PixieDrone help clean up the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-beach-robots
Researchers at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission believe they have found a tool to help provide spawning habitat access to native fish, without allowing access to invasive species: combining new technology with an ancient tool, the Archimedes screw. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-lamprey
A new study seeks to measure the economic impacts of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, including effects on the housing market. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-algae
A large plume of toxic chemicals produced by a plant that manufactures firefighting foam has seeped through groundwater to Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, scientists said Tuesday. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-pfas
Ottawa County, Michigan, received grant funding for improvements and restorative work of the wetlands at a local park. Read the full story by the Grand Rapids Business Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-restoration-funds
The federal government will spend $2.4 million to continue developing a long-term strategy to better manage and protect the coastlines of the Great Lakes, including Lake Ontario. Read the full story by the Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-coastal-resiliency
An international report on the Great Lakes shows that two of the five Great Lakes have a strong ecosystem, while three others have notable room for improvement. Read the full story by WOOD-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-great-lakes
The $1.7 trillion dollar spending plan recently passed by Congress includes money for a number of environmental issues in Michigan and the Great Lakes region, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230104-glri-funding
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is to be funded at $368 million, which is $20 million more than the current funding level, for the next fiscal year if the federal $1.7 trillion budget being presented to Congress on December 22 is approved. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-glri-funding
Researchers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory are building a sensor network to measure and detect Lake Huron water chemistry and acidification due to ongoing absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-atmospheric-carbon
This week 3M announced that it will stop the production of PFOS and PFAS compounds by 2025. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a class of toxic fluorochemicals that pose serious health risks and have polluted water supplies, food systems, and other natural environments in the Great Lakes and across the globe. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-3m-pfas
Residents of the Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario are being asked to halt all non-essential water usage for the foreseeable future amid a state of emergency that was declared by the community last week. Oneida officials declared a state of emergency on Dec. 15 after an “all-time low” water level was recorded in the community’s water tower, its main source of water. Read the full story by CFPL – London, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-michigan-pfas
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit against a paper manufacturing company alleging the company transported waste contaminated with harmful PFAS and PFOS chemicals to a nearby landfill where contaminants spread for more than 20 years. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-michigan-pfas
The last ocean-going cargo ship, or “saltie,” of the 2022 shipping season is expected to depart Duluth, Minnesota, on its way to Italy on Thursday, Dec. 22, which would tie with 1984, 2016, and 2019 as the latest departure date of an ocean-going vessel in port history. Read the full story by Duluth News-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-last-saltie
Santa took time out of his busy December schedule on Saturday to participate in the Santa Splash to Pick Up Trash at Rockport State Recreation Area located on the northeastern coast of Michigan’s lower peninsula. Santa and several other divers took to the Lake Huron waters in search of debris, while others picked up litter along the shoreline. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221221-santa
