By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to enact emergency protections for gray wolves in the U.S. West in response to Republican-backed state laws that make it easier to kill the predators.
Twenty-one U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/ap-senators-emergency-protections-wolves/
By Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — U.S. governors want a seat at the table as international leaders prepare to gather in Scotland at a critical moment for global efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions and slow the planet’s temperature rise.
At least a half dozen state governors — all Democrats — plan to attend parts of the two-week United Nations’ climate change conference in Glasgow, known as COP26.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/ap-democratic-governors-climate-talks/
By Drew Costley, AP Science Writer
Tens of billions of dollars for U.S. environmental justice initiatives originally proposed in a $3.5 trillion domestic spending package now hang in the balance as Democrats decide how to trim the bill down to $2 trillion.
Investments in a wide range of these projects were proposed in the Build Back Better plan, but Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona demanded that the bill be reduced, with Manchin asking for it to be cut by as much as half.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-environmental-justice-funds-balance/
Climate change is one of the more pressing topics that Great Lakes Now has its eye on. Come Oct. 31, one of the largest global conferences will be convening to discuss that topic, so Great Lakes Now will be right there to help keep you up to date.
COP26 is the next annual UN climate change conference.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/cop26-questions-un-climate-change-conference/
U.S. Senate Funding Bills Boost Clean Water, Great Lakes Investments
Federal interior and environment bill contains $350 million for Great Lakes restoration, $3.3 billion for water infrastructure.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (October 19, 2021)—The U.S. Senate released its nine remaining funding bills yesterday that boost federal investments to restore the Great Lakes, remove toxic lead from drinking water, confront sewage overflows, and reduce farm and city runoff pollution. The interior and environment spending bill contains $350 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and more than $3.3 billion to upgrade drinking water and sewage infrastructure. The boost in clean water priorities is more than was allocated in last year’s federal budget, although less than bills backed by the U.S. House.
“We are glad to see the U.S. Senate boost funding for essential clean water programs that people depend on for their drinking water, health, and quality of life,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “Federal investments are producing results in local communities, although we know serious threats remain. We encourage House and Senate leaders, as well as the Biden Administration, to use all of the tools at their disposal to fully fund restoration efforts and to ensure every person in this country has access to clean, safe, and affordable water. This includes robust federal investments to protect the health of people and communities, as well as policy solutions that prevent pollution and further harm. Further, as climate change continues to exacerbate many threats – from sewage overflows to toxic algal blooms to flooding in neighborhoods – we encourage elected officials to act with urgency, purpose, and ambition so that we meet this moment with solutions that are commensurate to the threats at hand. Delay will make the problems worse and more expensive to solve.”
The release of the Senate funding bills comes as members of Congress discuss the fate of a $1 trillion infrastructure investment package and additional legislation to fund federal safety net and climate change programs. The Senate bills released yesterday will fund the U.S. government for fiscal year 2022, which goes from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. The next step of the process is for House and Senate negotiators to reach consensus on a final federal budget before a temporary budget deal expires in December.
The Senate proposal to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $350 million is $10 million above the Biden Administration’s budget request, but $25 million below the authorized levels of the program supported by the House. The Senate spending bill includes the following key programs:
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 170 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter @HealthyLakes.
The post U.S. Senate Funding Bills Boost Clean Water, Great Lakes Investments appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/u-s-senate-funding-bills-boost-clean-water-great-lakes-investments/
By Matthew Daly, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching a broad strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions that are used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams.
Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said it is taking a series of actions to limit pollution from a cluster of long-lasting chemicals known as PFAS that are increasingly turning up in public drinking water systems, private wells and even food.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-epa-strategy-regulate-pfas/
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/2021/10/pfas-study-michigan-wisconsin-minnesota-billions-transparency/
By Leanna First-Arai, The Guardian
This story originally appeared in The Guardian and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Oil and gas companies have a century-old bad habit of drilling wells and ditching them.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/taxpayers-cost-cleaning-americas-abandoned-oil-wells/
The post HOW Letter to Representatives: Support Comprehensive Infrastructure Legislation appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/how-letter-to-representatives-support-comprehensive-infrastructure-legislation/
Six Native American tribes sued Wisconsin on Tuesday to try to stop its planned gray wolf hunt in November, asserting that the hunt violates their treaty rights and endangers an animal they consider sacred.
The Chippewa tribes say treaties give them rights to half of the wolf quota in territory they ceded to the United States in the mid-1800s.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/ap-6-tribes-sue-wisconsin-november-wolf-hunt/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday that federal protections may need to be restored for gray wolves in the western U.S. after Republican-backed state laws made it much easier to kill the predators.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initial determination that the region’s wolves could again be in peril — after decades spent restoring them — will kick off a year-long biological review.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/ap-wolves-protections-states-expand-hunting/
Amid wildfires, heat waves, drought and catastrophic flooding, Canada is moving ahead with its first ever national adaptation strategy to help Canadians identify and deliver on meaningful ways of adapting to the worsening effects of the climate emergency.
First announced in December 2020 and updated in mid-August, the government aims to consult widely with Indigenous groups, youth and environmental organizations to create a framework for concrete actions that businesses, governments and individuals can take to ensure the resilience of their communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/adaptation-mitigation-canada-national-climate-change-strategy/
CHICAGO (AP) — A massive energy policy overhaul aimed at making Illinois a fully renewable-energy state by 2050 cleared the Senate early Wednesday despite objections from Gov. J.B. Pritzker and groups who want more environmental and consumer protections.
Negotiations have been ongoing for years on the deal that includes a generous bailout for nuclear plants, closing coal-fired plants, investments in wind and solar energy and ethics measures in the wake of a utility scandal.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/ap-illinois-senate-energy-deal-governor-falls-short/
Ann Arbor, Mich. (August 31, 2021) —The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is pleased to see the Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona because the rule causes environmental harm. Restoring protections for streams and wetlands has been a priority of the Coalition.
“This decision is a victory for millions of people who depend on streams and wetlands for their drinking water and their health,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “With so many of our cities and towns living with unsafe drinking water, we need more – not less – protections for clean water. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration to put in place solid clean water protections to protect our drinking water, public health, and Great Lakes.”
The ruling comes as the result of a lawsuit by six federally recognized Indigenous tribes (Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, Quinault Indian Nation, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) represented by Earthjustice, who sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for passing a rule that eliminated Clean Water Act protections for thousands of miles of streams and wetlands.
The Navigable Waters Protection Rule was a significant step backward for the health of the Great Lakes region’s waterways. The Trump Administration’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act ignored the overwhelming scientific evidence of the connectivity of waterways that we all rely on; discounted the negative impacts of unregulated pollution in ephemeral and intermittent streams; disregarded the importance of wetlands; and placed our drinking water and the waters that drive our economy at great risk.
The Coalition now urges the Biden Administration to move ahead immediately to restore and implement the regulatory definition in effect prior to the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and begin the rulemaking process on its replacement by the end of the year.
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 170 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter @HealthyLakes.
###
CONTACT:
Jordan Lubetkin, LubetkinJ@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589
Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
The post Court Decision Victory for Clean Water, Great Lakes appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/court-decision-victory-for-clean-water-great-lakes/
By Lester Graham, 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/2021/08/michigan-lawmakers-plan-climate-change-flooding/
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/2021/08/pfas-action-act-senate-study-arctic-ice/
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major step against climate change, President Joe Biden is proposing a return to aggressive Obama-era vehicle mileage standards over five years, according to industry and government officials briefed on the plan. He’s then aiming for even tougher anti-pollution rules after that to forcefully reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nudge 40% of U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ap-biden-mileage-rule-obama-climate-goal/
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/2021/07/pfas-epa-fracking-ontario-cleanup-action-act-house/
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:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., (WICS) — High levels of Manganese in the city of Carlinville’s water is causing the water to turn brown, stain clothes, and more.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/drinking-water-biden-rural-infrastructure-lead-pipe/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
In a surprise announcement last Thursday, NRG said it would close its Waukegan and Romeoville coal plants, but the community impacts are unclear as “just transition” provisions remain held up in state energy bill negotiations.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/energy-investments-biden-line-3-keystone-xl-cancellation/
By Lester Graham, 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/2021/06/canada-ballast-water-restrictions-invasive-species/
WASHINGTON (AP) — Utah Rep. John Curtis says he’s tired of hearing that Republicans — his party colleagues — don’t care about climate change or slowing global warming.
A former Provo mayor who has served in Congress since 2017, Curtis says Republicans can push for serious climate solutions while holding fast to conservative values.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-house-gop-group-climate-change/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it would conduct an extensive review of Enbridge Energy’s plan to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath a Great Lakes channel in Michigan, which could significantly delay the project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-army-corps-extensive-review-line-5-tunnel/
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/2021/06/pfas-news-professor-stories-study-high-levels-fertilizer/
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the latest reversal of a Trump-era policy, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is restoring a rule that grants states and Native American tribes authority to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute rivers, streams and other waterways.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/ap-epa-state-tribal-power-protect-waterways/
As moratoria expire across the Great Lakes region, advocates say ongoing affordability and debt relief are key.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/water-shutoffs-debt-infrastructure/
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/2021/04/michigan-fishing-rules-dnr-great-lakes/
CHICAGO (AP) — In the modest bungalows and two-flats of Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, there’s never a shortage of needed home repairs staring residents in the face. And then there is the less obvious but more ominous problem lurking in their pipes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/the-problem-within-biden-targets-lead-pipes-pushes-equity/
While President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, officially the American Jobs Plan, emanates from the White House, a veteran Chicago policy executive says we should consider its genesis as broader than top down.
“It is something that cities and regions have requested – full partnership with the federal government – for quite some time,” said MarySue Barrett, president of the non-profit Metropolitan Planning Council.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/infrastructure-biden-administration-policy-qna/
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Lawmakers approved two environmental bills Tuesday that critics say could damage the state’s ecosystems by scaling back current policy affecting water, energy and other resources.
A measure seeking to remove protections from Indiana’s already diminished wetlands would eliminate a 2003 law that requires the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to issue permits in a state-regulated wetland and end enforcement proceedings against landowners allegedly violating current law.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-controversial-indiana-environmental-bills-near-passage/
This article, first posted here, was republished with permission from Wisconsin Watch.
By Royce Podeszwa and Jim Malewitz, Wisconsin Watch
The state Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case that could determine whether the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources failed to adequately protect water from manure pollution when awarding a permit to a giant dairy farm in northeastern Wisconsin — or whether the agency lacks the authority to issue such restrictions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/wisconsin-supreme-court-protect-water-farm-pollutants/
By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter
More than 60 organizations, including local governments, environmental and conservation groups and water management agencies, sent a letter to Indiana state legislators, asking them to consider policy changes instead of supporting a bill seeking to remove all state protections for Indiana wetlands.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/local-governments-environmental-organizations-indiana-legislators-state-wetland-protections/
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/2021/04/michigan-governor-minnesota-landfills-wisconsin-business-dnr/
By Brett Walton, 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/2021/04/biden-infrastructure-plan-future-federal-water-spending/
The first full-year report for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s much-publicized H2Ohio water quality initiative is out.
Introduced in 2019, the plan has already reaped benefits for Ohio residents and will continue to expand in its scope, according to officials charged with its implementation.
The report was offered in a web presentation by Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Laurie Stevenson.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/h2ohio-agency-directors-wetlands-lead-agriculture/
By Todd Richmond, Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature moved Tuesday to kill limits on PFAS pollution and to allow therapists, counselors and social workers to continue to try to change gay and transgender people’s sexual orientation.
The Senate and Assembly both took up a bill blocking a state Department of Safety and Professional Standards rule that would have prohibited so-called conversion therapy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-wisconsin-legislature-moves-to-kill-limits-on-pfas-protect-conversion-therapy/
In the ongoing conflict over Line 5’s presence and future in Michigan, much of the debate has been between the Canadian energy company Enbridge, Inc. and the state of Michigan, or between Michigan environmentalists and Michigan businesses.
A recent joint committee session in the Michigan Senate heard from a third party: Canada.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/enbridge-line-5-debate-canadian-representatives-impact-economy/
If you have the good fortune to gaze at a Great Lake – any Great Lake – sometime in this strange year, you’re not likely to spot a glaring example of President Joseph R. Biden’s new emphasis on protecting the environment.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t coming.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/air-wind-solar-great-lakes-energy-president-biden/
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/2021/03/pfas-news-roundup-indiana-introduces-pfas-bills-michigan-citizens-unhappy-about-8-month-disclosure-delay/
As climate change complicates Lake Erie’s algae problem, scientists say farmers must do far more to reduce phosphorus runoff. But will enough farmers change their ways without a government mandate?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/farmers-pollution-lake-erie-regulations/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air.
Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many wildlife managers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-us-states-wolf-kills-pushed-by-republicans/
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia and three other municipalities in Pennsylvania sued the state Wednesday over what they say was a covert abuse of legislative power to block local bans or taxes on plastic bags that retailers give out to customers and, they say, end up as pollution and litter.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-pennsylvania-court-plastic-bag-bans/
By Alessandra Jerolleman, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
In the United States, 2020 will be remembered not just for a global pandemic but also for a series of back-to-back and record-breaking disasters that affected much of the country, including many rural communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/building-resilience-rural-america/
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/2021/02/pfas-news-pennsylvania-utillity-michigan-officials-wait/
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/2021/02/michigan-dams-immediate-attention-prevent-next-failure/
With America’s water infrastructure in a dire situation, several Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition Leaders submitted letters and testimony to the US House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment urging them to fully fund wastewater infrastructure programs.
Click here to see the live testimony of Milwaukee Water Commons co-executive director Brenda Coley before the US House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Click here to read Brenda Coley’s testimony.
Click here to read a letter submitted by Ohio Environmental Council
Click here to read a letter submitted by Citizens’ Campaign for the Environment
Click here to read a letter submitted by the Minnesota Environmental Partnership and Fix the Pipes.
Click here to read comments from the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition.
The Great Lakes region faces a water infrastructure crisis, and the Coalition supports ramping up federal investments in drinking water and sewage treatment infrastructure. Grappling with crumbling and unsafe drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, communities need a staggering $188 billion over the next 20 years to improve, upgrade, and repair drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.
This work is increasingly prohibitive with costs too often being passed on to our most vulnerable communities that are least able to afford it. Investing in water infrastructure protects public health and the environment, improves climate resiliency of our communities, reduces maintenance and operational costs, and creates good-paying local jobs.
Charged with protecting the nation’s water resources, this subcommittee handles important decisions having to do with wastewater infrastructure. Together, these decisions account for billions of dollars in investments and improvements to the nuts-and-bolts infrastructure that millions of Americans rely upon for clean water.
The post Coalition Leaders Urge Congress to Act on Water Infrastructure appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/coalition-leaders-urge-congress-to-act-on-water-infrastructure/
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — As Indiana lawmakers debate dozens of bills addressing environmental matters, tensions are flaring over whether the state should adopt greener initiatives or step back current policy affecting water, energy and other resources.
While some measures in the General Assembly could bring reductions to Indiana’s carbon emissions and make stricter penalties for polluters, others would spur regulatory rollbacks that environmental advocates say could have long-lasting and damaging effects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-indiana-lawmakers-debate-environmental-regulation-rollbacks/
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/2021/02/pfas-minnesota-biden-epa-regulations/
It could be weeks before Michigan’s commercial fishing outfits can get back to catching whitefish – but even then they’re not sure what’s left of the season will save their businesses.
That’s because they’re tied up in a legal fight over the rules of their game – rules imposed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in January that limit when and where commercial fishers can operate in the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/michigan-commercial-fishers-mdnr-rules-court/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers are ramping up efforts to prevent mining companies from gaining a foothold in Minnesota with legislation that aims to slow or ban copper-nickel mining on the Iron Range.
Companion bills set to be proposed by state lawmakers and U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-minnesota-lawmakers-anti-copper-mining-legislation/
