TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan, Illinois and a federal agency have agreed on funding the next phase of an initiative to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by strengthening defenses on a Chicago-area waterway, officials said Thursday.
The two states and the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-deal-reached-brandon-road-project-asian-carp/
By Jane Johnston, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/years-after-flint-water-crisis-lead-lingers-school-buildings/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge has overruled state regulators who approved a key permit for a proposed open-pit mine in the Upper Peninsula, another delay for a project that has been debated for nearly two decades.
Administrative Law Judge Daniel Pulter invalidated a wetlands permit granted in 2018 to Aquila Resources Inc.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/michigan-judge-nullifies-crucial-permit-for-mining-project/
By Amy Diaz, Flint Beat, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Flint, MI– A Flint activist and a Flint attorney are each taking action regarding the $641.25 million water lawsuit settlement the City joined two weeks ago.
Flint City Council voted to approve the city joining the settlement with $20 million of insurance funds, to the dismay of many citizens who were disappointed in the terms and amount of the settlement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/demands-change-requests-information-flint-water-settlement/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
If you gaze off to the east from Detroit, Grosse Pointe or Downriver, chances are you will see bright lights adrift in the night sky.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/great-lakes-moment-leamington-greenhouses-lights/
This is part of a series in which the Great Lakes Now staff looks back on 2020.
When I look back at my 2020 Great Lakes Now reporting, three themes jump off the page – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, COVID-19 and climate change.
In her 2018 election campaign Whitmer articulated an extensive water and environment agenda and 2020 was the year she started to make progress on it.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/2020-review-climate-change-covid-19-michigan-governor/
This is part of a series in which the Great Lakes Now staff looks back on 2020.
At this time last year, this humble news director made big claims regarding making a visit to Lake Ontario to complete the full list of “Great Lakes I’ve visited.”
Unfortunately, Lake Ontario remains an achievement I have yet to collect.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/lake-ontario-big-catch-escapes-again/
By Rebecca Williams, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/10-years-after-oil-spill-kalamazoo-river-michigan/
This is part of a series in which the Great Lakes Now staff looks back on 2020.
It’s probably futile to try to find ONE moment that captures 2020 for Great Lakes Now, at least from my view today at my dining room table/desk on a grey winter day.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/great-lakes-now-year-in-review-predicts-2021/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
The aquifer that supplies Chicago suburb Joliet’s drinking water is expected to dry up by 2030.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/water-withdrawal-contaminated-farmers-water-quality/
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The Flint City Council on Tuesday signed off on its portion of a $641 million settlement with residents of the poor, majority-Black city who were exposed to lead-tainted water.
The city’s insurer would kick in $20 million as part of a sweeping deal to settle lawsuits against Flint, the state of Michigan and other parties.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-flint-joins-641m-deal/
DETROIT (AP) — A judge said Monday that she’ll wait until January before deciding whether to give preliminary approval to a $641 million settlement in a lawsuit by Flint residents who were exposed to water contaminated with lead and bacteria.
Residents in the city of 100,000 still will get a chance to give their opinion if preliminary approval is granted, U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-judge-residents-641m-flint-water-deal/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/pfas-news-roundup-michigan-new-york-wisconsin/
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan legislators on Wednesday finalized a plan to borrow $600 million to finance the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint, whose water was contaminated with elevated levels of the neurotoxin lead.
The legislation received House approval on 105-3 and 104-4 votes and will be signed by Democratic Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-flint-water-settlement-borrowing-plan-approved-by-lawmakers/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/line-5-closure-upper-peninsula/
When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office in January 2019, she immediately put a spotlight on the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline and started the process that would eventually lead to her ordering it shut down.
In her 2018 campaign, Whitmer also pledged to remedy the inequities related to water withdrawal issues, specifically a Nestle Waters case being fought by grassroots advocates that originated in the administration of former Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/pipelines-and-plastic-bottles-michigan-advocate-focuses-on-line-5-and-nestle-bottled-water-issue/
Want to give your loved ones a holiday gift that connects to that summer trip up north or the fall color tour you took together?
Or maybe you have a trip planned for after the COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed and want to give them something to remind them they have something to look forward to.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/great-lakes-gift-guide-2020-list/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Environmentalists in Wisconsin sue EPA over regulation rollback favoring coal plants, bankruptcy plan for Ohio nuclear power company upheld by appeals court, Prairie Island tribe prepares for massive investment in renewable energy, and Ford Motors to invest millions for electric vehicle construction in southeast Michigan
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Michigan:
Across the United States, tribal treaties are becoming more and more influential in shaping legislative policy while also seeing greater recognition in courthouses, potentially reshaping the entire landscape of environmental justice.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/great-lakes-energy-michigan-tribal-green-mine/
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers on Wednesday planned to begin swiftly passing a plan to borrow $600 million to fund the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint, who sued after their municipal water supply was contaminated with elevated levels of lead for 18 months.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-michigan-borrow-600m-flint-water-settlement/
By Amy Diaz, Flint Beat, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Flint, MI– Lorraine Taylor remembers when she first started having to fit bottled water into her already tight $20 weekly grocery budget.
She remembered thinking about how blessed she was to have a car so she could drive to the grocery store.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/what-should-justice-look-like-for-flint-after-the-water-crisis-residents-weigh-in/
Flint has taken important steps toward resolving the lead contamination crisis that made the impoverished Michigan city a symbol of the drinking water problems that plague many U.S. communities, officials said Monday.
A total of $120 million in federal and state funding has helped Flint replace more than 9,700 lead service lines, which carry water from main pipes into homes, said Kurt Thiede, administrator of the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-officials-flint-makes-progress-toward-ending-water-crisis/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Building an oil pipeline tunnel beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes would risk environmental devastation, opponents said Monday, while supporters argued that rejecting the plan would further damage a Michigan economy already reeling from the coronavirus.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-federal-officials-hear-arguments-enbridge-pipeline-tunnel/
LASALLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A fire Friday destroyed an enormous building loaded with hundreds of boats stored for the winter in southeastern Michigan, sending smoke for miles along Lake Erie.
Neighbors and boat owners rushed to get as close as possible to Toledo Beach Marina. Aerial video showed clouds of black smoke and a building overwhelmed by flames.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-hundreds-boats-likely-destroyed-michigan-marina-fire/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Indiana:
Just 150 miles from Lake Michigan, utility planners are worried about finding enough water to supply a growing Indianapolis because of climate change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/drinking-water-climate-change-lead-first-nations-waukesha-pipeline/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
For over two decades, when you drove by the former McLouth Steel Plant in Trenton, you could not help but slow down and stare.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/new-vision-waterfront-former-mclouth-steel-site-trenton/
For most people, the new year is still a month away. For hydrologists and climate scientists, the new year has already started. The water year begins in November, to account for when water enters a system and begins accumulating.
Data from the last water year indicated record-breaking levels in the Great Lakes, and this year looks to be much of the same.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/high-water-levels-water-year-wdet-watch-party/
Water conservation advocacy groups in Michigan expressed outrage over the state’s recent dismissal of their appeal of the decision allowing Nestle Waters North America to increase the amount of groundwater it was withdrawing for bottled water.
Nestle received the greenlight for additional withdrawals in 2018 under the administration of former Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/dismissed-michigan-advocates-outraged-by-bottled-water-decision/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan officials have selected 14 community and state parks, trails and sports facilities to share $5.4 million in federal grants.
The state Department of Natural Resources said the money will come from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is supported by revenues from gas and oil development from the Gulf of Mexico.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-michigan-agency-recreation-projects/
By Amy Diaz, Flint Beat, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Flint, MI– Attorneys involved in the Flint Water Litigation provided an overview of the $641.25 million water settlement Nov. 23 on the City of Flint Facebook page.
This information session followed the proposal of a $20 million contribution to the settlement by the city’s insurer.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/641-million-flint-water-settlement-residents-attorneys/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/enbridge-sues-michigan-over-line-5-shutdown-order/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/michigan-politicians-water-problems-activists-fixes/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
Research has long shown that pollution often disproportionately affects low income — especially Black and brown — communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/drinking-water-wisconsin-contaminants-lead-pipes/
With so many twists and turns in the Line 5 story, it’s hard to keep up with the legal filings and positions from Enbridge Energy Corp., various Michigan governmental agencies and groups trying to stop or keep the pipeline.
But in the following conversation, attorney Nick Schroeck, who is the director of the environmental law clinic at University of Detroit Mercy, and Great Lakes Now Program Director Sandra Svoboda have this update about the latest legal actions and a refresher about what the pipeline is all about.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/legal-translation-environmental-attorney-explains-latest-enbridge-line-5/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/pfas-news-roundup-michigan-wisconsin-study-vaccine/
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents of Flint, Michigan, who were harmed by lead-tainted water now totals about $641 million, officials revealed Tuesday.
The lawsuit was the result of workers following state environmental officials’ advice not to use anti-corrosive additives.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-flint-water-lawsuit-settlement/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/great-lakes-pummel-michigan-beach-towns-development-rules/
By Paula Gardner, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Doubling the size of a factory during a global pandemic may not fit a traditional business plan.
But Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis is based in Northern Michigan, where it’s making a product that helps to define the winter economy for the ski-maker’s home in Boyne City and across the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/covid-19-outdoor-recreation-michigan-ski-industry/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/michigan-shut-down-enbridge-line-5-means/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel that links two of the Great Lakes.
Whitmer’s office notified the Canadian company that it was revoking an easement granted in 1953 to extend a roughly 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of the pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-michigan-governor-seeks-shutdown-line-5-great-lakes-oil-pipeline/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Environmentalists in Wisconsin sue EPA over regulation rollback favoring coal plants, bankruptcy plan for Ohio nuclear power company upheld by appeals court, Prairie Island tribe prepares for massive investment in renewable energy, and Ford Motors to invest millions for electric vehicle construction in southeast Michigan
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Michigan:
Ford Motor Company will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in southeast Michigan and Missouri to expand its electric vehicle assembly process and develop EV parts, which is projected to add or retain several hundred jobs in both states.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/great-lakes-energy-news-wisconsin-coal-ohio-nuclear/
How do you protect water quality, public health and the environment when much of society comes to a near full stop with no notice?
That was the dilemma for regulatory agencies in March when the realities of the COVID-19 virus caused businesses and schools to close, factories to cease or drastically modify operations, travel to be restricted and office workers to scramble to set up makeshift workspaces in their homes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/covid-19-compliance-agencies-environmental-protection/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates and environmental groups have announced that they are challenging the removal of federal protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S.
Two coalitions of groups filed formal notices over the past several days that they plan to sue the U.S. Interior Department in federal court unless protections are restored.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-groups-gray-wolf-protections/
DETROIT (AP) — Mariners’ Church of Detroit will observe the 45th anniversary Sunday of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald during its yearly memorial service for those who have died in Great Lakes shipwrecks.
The event will be live-streamed on Facebook for the first time, said the Rev.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-church-anniversary-fitzgerald-shipwreck/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/pfas-news-fish-wisconsin-canada/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
Residents of Sycamore, Illinois, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the city of Sycamore, alleging that it knowingly failed to maintain its water supply and ignored problems with its corrosion control treatment.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/drinking-water-news-lead-illinois-michigan-first-nations/
Leelanau County, Michigan
CCO Meeting
Wednesday, December 2, from 1-2:30pm ET
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled.
Mackinac County, Michigan
CCO Meeting
Thursday, December 3, from 1-2:30pm
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled.
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2020/11/05/lake-michigan-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-leelanau-county-and-mackinac-county-michigan/
Alcona County, Michigan
CCO Meeting
November 9, from 1-2:30pm ET
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled.
Alpena County, Michigan
CCO Meeting
November 10, from 1-2:30pm ET
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled.
Cheboygan County, Michigan
CCO Meeting
November 10, from 3-4:30pm ET
For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting.
Open House:
To be scheduled.
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study
https://www.greatlakescoast.org/2020/11/05/lake-huron-community-consultation-officers-meeting-and-open-house-for-alcona-county-alpena-county-and-cheboygan-county-michigan/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Metropolitan Detroit sits on the traditional territory of the Wyandot of Anderdon Nation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/great-lakes-moment-wyandot-anderdon-nation-six-points/
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/ap-trump-officials-end-gray-wolf-protections-across-us/
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan city has been selected to receive a $5.1 million federal water infrastructure improvement grant to help pay for lead service line replacement.
The funding also will support public engagement in Grand Rapids on the risks of lead in drinking water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/ap-grand-rapids-lead-pipe-replacement-grant/
