Any long-term and effective solution to improving the health of Ohio’s waters, and reducing the extent and severity of future HABs, must incorporate the strategic protection and restoration of wetlands and floodplains surrounding our streams, rivers, and lakes. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201022-protect-nature
Daniel Gildea, a scuba diving hobbyist, has discovered a centuries-old ship in the Henderson Bay area of Lake Ontario. Read and view the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201022-Ontario-ship
Grain shipments have been a bright spot in a tough year for shipping on the Great Lakes, to ports such as the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and the Port of Chicago. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201022-grain-shipment
The State of Michigan should adapt state-wide rules that require septic system inspections before a home can be sold. It’s the kind of move that helps protect our precious water resources from aging and failing home sewage systems that are prevalent in communities across Michigan. Read the full story by the Traverse City Record Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201022-septic-rules
By Tom Perkins, Energy News Network, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Michigan environmental groups are at odds over a ballot measure that aims to boost spending on state park improvements using funding from fossil fuel extraction.
The state already relies on mining, oil and gas royalties to fund its park system.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/michigan-fossil-fuel-money-environmentalists/
To raise awareness about the importance of the Great Lakes to Wisconsin’s culture and economy, Wisconsin Sea Grant announced today it will confer the first-ever Great Lakes Champion Award in early 2021. A call for nominations is now open at seagrant.wisc.edu/championaward.org.
“I could not be more enamored of the Great Lakes,” Sea Grant Director Jim Hurley said. “I know there are others who share my passion and we hope to see them put forth for this award.”
“I am an East-Coast transplant, first arriving in Wisconsin more than 35 years ago,” said Sea Grant Director Jim Hurley. “I could not be more enamored of the Great Lakes bordering my adopted state. They are the focus of my research on mercury cycling and the object of my appreciation for the beauty, recreation and resources they offer. I know there are potential winners of this award in Wisconsin, and in the wider Great Lakes Basin, who share my passion. We hope to see their names added for consideration for the Wisconsin Sea Grant Great Lakes Champion Award.”
Those eligible for the award are any group, program, organization, or individual that displays:
The award will be given every two years. This first one will be presented during a virtual ceremony the evening of Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Anyone can nominate worthy recipients, and self-nominations are also invited. Nominations are due at midnight, Friday, Jan. 16, 2021.
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/love-the-lakes-a-first-ever-wisconsin-sea-grant-great-lakes-champion-award-is-in-the-works/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F6ABF1EA0.LakeshoreFloodAdvisory.125F6ACE2D50WI.GRBCFWGRB.c87c01476c00582881fb17c941c2884c
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F6ABEFF60.LakeshoreFloodAdvisory.125F6ACE2D50WI.GRBCFWGRB.c87c01476c00582881fb17c941c2884c
Whether they’re in oceans or the Great Lakes, shipwrecks create unique ecosystems for a variety of aquatic life. They also have historical significance and provide recreational opportunities for divers, snorkelers and boaters.
Scenes of them open the PBS documentary series “The Age of Nature,” which broadcasts on PBS stations across the country in October 2020.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/shipwrecks-ecosystems-watch-party-great-lakes-now-age-of-nature/
Nature is both fragile and fearsome. In the Chicago River, fish populations have suffered since the river became a steel-lined channel, but can floating garden islands restore a more natural habitat? Our region offers spectacular night sky views, but will new satellites mar their beauty? And how are Great Lakes parks coping with COVID-19 and record-setting lake levels?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/looking-up-and-out-episode-1019/
Across the country dams are being removed, and that means big changes for those rivers and some of the communities along them. Learn more about what happens when these dams are built and what happens when they come down in this Great Lakes Now watch party.
The event was held in conjunction with the PBS documentary series “The Age of Nature,” which broadcasts on PBS stations across the country in October 2020.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/watch-party-great-lakes-now-age-of-nature/
This project has ended. Archived project materials are available below.
The Great Lakes Commission’s Joint Action Plan for Clean Water Infrastructure and Services in the Great Lakes Region (September 2017) profiles regional water infrastructure challenges and proposes a suite of actions to meet them. Among those challenges is a lack of adequate information about water infrastructure assets, which can hinder effective water infrastructure management and investments. Specifically, the Joint Action Plan called for the catalyzation of asset management (AM) activities among individual water utility service providers, and for service providers to consider opportunities to improve operational efficiencies by increasing coordination across traditionally-siloed sectors and regional geographies.
With funding from the Joyce Foundation, the GLC embarked on a year-long effort in 2019 to better understand the barriers, opportunities, and best practices for catalyzing Integrated Water Infrastructure Asset Management (IWAM) in the Great Lakes Basin. While states, provinces, and individual communities vary in their water infrastructure AM policies and practices, there are many examples of communities advancing innovative strategies. The IWAM project gathered information about these strategies and the main barriers to their wider adoption through a series of webinars and focus groups. Through these events, GLC staff engaged over 150 water infrastructure practitioners and AM professionals from across the Basin in guided discussions related to various aspects of IWAM.
The final deliverable of these efforts is the IWAM Phase I Report that summarizes information gleaned from the webinar series and focus groups regarding key barriers and recommended best practices for catalyzing IWAM and provides draft regional goals for protecting and improving the state of water infrastructure and services in the Great Lakes Basin.
This webinar series was recorded between February 28th and May 1st, 2019, and explored the best practices, opportunities, and barriers to catalyzing asset management and IWAM across the Great Lakes region. The four webinars collectively include presentations by 17 different expert panelists about diverse topics related to IWAM. Descriptions and links to recordings of each webinar are available below.
In addition, the Great Lakes Commission hosted three focus groups that brought together 30 professionals in the field of water infrastructure and asset management that took place in Mississauga Ontario (June 26, 2019), Dayton Ohio (June 22, 2019), and Erie, Pennsylvania (July 22, 2019). The ideas shared at these sessions are summarized in the IWAM Phase I Report (coming in November 2019).
The kick-off webinar of the IWAM series discussed the basic questions of what should be considered a water infrastructure “asset” and what it means to effectively manage them. It also explored primary drivers for asset management and desired outcomes for communities. While traditional (grey) infrastructure is often thought of as the pipes, pumps, and plants that treat and deliver water supplies, this narrow definition leaves out many essential elements of municipal systems. What about natural and engineered green infrastructure features? What about the knowledge, human capacity, and financing required to design and implement a long-term asset management plan? Why does this even matter? Download the recording of this webinar (link above) to learn more.
Webinar 1 Panelist of Presenters
In this webinar a panel of experts shares their perspectives on current financing opportunities for asset management and discusses options for expanding financial support for IWAM. The webinar also explores how asset management can improve and support rate-setting and infrastructure financing.
Webinar 2 Panelist of Presenters
This webinar explores how different types of software and technology can support asset management at different scales, from individual municipal supplies to regional systems, and how technology can be used to support data sharing agreements and coordinated decision-making by drinking, waste, and stormwater system managers. A panel of presenters will discuss how their organizations employ technology to conduct asset management and share ideas for systems looking to further integrate asset management into their work.
Webinar 3 Panelist of Presenters
The final webinar of the series explores how water infrastructure asset management programs are currently being designed and implemented in Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. Panelists from these states and province give presentations on their asset management work and address the elements previously discussed throughout this webinar series, including (1) the scope of assets considered within their policies and programs, (2) short and long-term financing considerations, and (3) the technology they currently use or intend on using in the future.
Webinar 4 Panelist of Presenters
Nicole Zacharda
Program Manager
Great Lakes Commission
nzacharda@glc.org
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/work/iwam-inprogress
This project has ended. Archived project materials are available below.
Approximately $96 million was invested between FY2010-2016 in agricultural incentives and other activities intended to influence on-farm decision-making and improve water quality in four priority watersheds (Maumee, Lower Fox, Saginaw, and Genesee) through Focus Area 3 of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). While many evaluations of agricultural conservation programs focus on environmental outcomes, REAP investigated whether investments result in long-term changes in voluntary on-farm decision-making that improve water quality outcomes. REAP began with the premise that implementing conservation practices yields water quality benefits and sought to better understand if and how investments can be tailored so that the resulting environmental benefits and conservation-oriented culture at the farm-scale will persist if/when incentive programs are no longer available.
From November 2017 to January 2020, through a cooperative agreement with the US EPA and GLRI, the REAP team completed empirical analyses of primary and secondary data sources to investigate physical, social, and economic outcomes of GLRI Focus Area 3 investments. In addition, a review of GLRI-supported models and decision-support tools was carried out. Stand-alone reports were completed for each of these sub-tasks and are included as appendices D-J. Key findings from each of those sub-task reports have been synthesized in the final report to better understand obstacles and opportunities for enhanced engagement with farmers that will lead to sustainable changes in on-farm decision-making and water quality improvements.
Nicole Zacharda
Program Manager
Great Lakes Commission
nzacharda@glc.org
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/work/reap
This project has ended. Archived project materials are available below.
The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) is a network of volunteer water quality monitoring programs in Michigan. MiCorps was administered by the Great Lakes Commission through 2020 under the direction of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and in partnership with the Huron River Watershed Council, Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, and Michigan State University. MiCorps consists of two main programs – the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program (VSMP) and the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP). The CLMP is the second oldest volunteer lake monitoring program in the country and has been an important component of Michigan’s inland lakes monitoring program for over 40 years.
MiCorps seeks to support and expand the number of volunteer water quality monitoring organizations statewide for the purpose of collecting, sharing, and using reliable data for surface water bodies (inland lakes and streams); educating and informing the public about water quality issues; and fostering stewardship to facilitate the preservation and protection of Michigan’s water resources. MiCorps offers training opportunities for both current and aspiring MiCorps volunteers and holds an annual conference each fall for volunteer monitoring program leaders, citizen volunteers, water resource professionals, and others interested in the health and protection of Michigan’s rivers, lakes, and streams. Programs such as MiCorps offer many benefits and also help to extend the reach of data collection around the state in a more cost-effective manner than could be accomplished through state agency staff, alone.
MiCorps was created by Michigan Executive Order to assist the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in collecting and sharing water quality data for use in water resources management and protection programs.
MiCorps is comprised of two core volunteer monitoring programs, the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program and the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program, and provides technical assistance and other support to local units of government, nonprofit entities, and other volunteers around the state in the management of these initiatives, including:
Additionally, the MiCorps Data Exchange (MDE) platform (available from the program website) provides online access to volunteer monitoring data through a searchable database. This system fulfills a critical role by allowing volunteers to gather and exchange reliable and meaningful water quality data for water resources management and protection programs at the state and local level.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/work/micorps
October 21, 2020
By Marie Zhuikov
Low levels of arsenic have been detected in nearly half of the wells in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties in east central Wisconsin. Arsenic is a naturally occurring toxin. It’s been found in every county in Wisconsin and is released from both bedrock and glacial sources. Long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic in drinking water is known to increase risks of skin, bladder, lung, liver, colon and kidney cancer. Arsenic gets dissolved into well water when the rock minerals are exposed to oxygen. This can happen when air in a well shaft breaks down minerals such as sulfides, or even from microbe communities within the shaft (or borehole), which can change water chemistry enough to release arsenic from other sources.
A research project funded by the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute is attempting to understand why arsenic is an issue in wells in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties and improve the probability of identifying where arsenic is likely to be a problem for new wells drilled in those counties.
Geologist Eric Stewart is leading the team from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey who are conducting the one-year project, which began in 2020. They are using 3-D mapping to detect subtle folds in the bedrock surface that could contribute to the chemical reactions that release arsenic into groundwater. They already have some findings.
“What we’ve been learning is that it’s a switch in the bedrock host of arsenic from sulfide minerals to iron hydroxide minerals,” said Stewart. “The fractured rock associated with the folds are creating conditions where the rocks are oxidizing a bit deeper beneath the bedrock surface. Now you have arsenic adsorbed on the surfaces of iron hydroxides rather than within sulfides and that might contribute to an increased probability of it being released.”
Stewart said past studies have suggested microbial life inside well boreholes may create conditions that make the iron hydroxides unstable, which releases the arsenic. Another variable is the difference between the well casing depth and the depth of the bedrock.
“If the well is open to the top of the bedrock surface, those rocks tend to be more oxidized than deeper down. So, you’d be drawing more water from oxidized rock. If you case the well really deep and the difference is large – if you case it 300 feet down from the bedrock surface, then the rocks probably aren’t going to be oxidized. Both the fracturing from folding and how the well’s constructed seem to be influencing whether the well is drawing water from oxidized rock, and that influences the probability of arsenic being released,” Stewart said.
Results of the mapping project could be used to help determine good places for new wells in the two counties. “The model can provide probabilities for detecting arsenic over our cutoff value, which is 2 micrograms per liter,” Stewart said. “Its probabilities are based on location, local geology and well construction practices. That’s the kind of information we could provide to well-drillers.”
The post Arsenic in 3-D: Researchers assess risk for eastern Wisconsin groundwater wells first appeared on WRI.
News Release – WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/arsenic-in-3-d-researchers-assess-risk-for-eastern-wisconsin-groundwater-wells/
This project has ended. Archived project materials are available below.
The Michigan Volunteer River, Stream, and Creek Cleanup Grant Program (VRSCCP) provides small grants to local units of government to help implement volunteer cleanup efforts of rivers, streams, and creeks to improve the waters in Michigan. Funding for this program is provided by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) through fees collected from the sale of Michigan’s Water Quality Protection License Plates. The GLC assisted EGLE in publicizing and administering the program through 2019.
Since 2005, 205 grants totaling nearly $414,500 have been awarded to recipients around the state of Michigan under the VRSCCP. During the 2019 grant cycle, 14 cleanup projects were awarded grants totaling more than $29,000 in project funds.
The Michigan Volunteer River, Stream, and Creek Cleanup Grant Program (VRSCCP) is a competitive grants program that provides small grants to local units of government to help implement volunteer cleanup efforts of rivers, streams, and creeks to improve the waters in Michigan. Grants typically range from $500 to $5,000, and may be used to support the cleanup and removal of human-made trash and debris from rivers and streams and along their banks. Grant funds awarded under the program can pay for such items as disposal costs, hand tools, supplies, refreshments, and other volunteer appreciation materials for volunteers. Local units of government are eligible to apply for and receive funding and may, in turn, work with nonprofit organizations and grassroots groups to conduct the actual cleanup efforts.
The VRSCCP is managed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and was administered under contract by the Great Lakes Commission (GLC). EGLE worked cooperatively with the GLC staff, providing overall direction for the program and the awarding of grant funds. Additionally, EGLE staff provides advice and assistance to volunteers on technical issues and considerations for the proposed projects.
The City of Monroe (a 2019 VRSCCP grant recipient), with support from the City of Monroe Commission on the Environment & Water Quality, the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, the Great Lakes Commission, and the River Raisin Public Advisory Council, produced a video recap of their 2019 River Raisin Clean-Up. We thank them for sharing this video with us and hope that it may inspire others to take the steps to plan and host similar volunteer cleanup events in communities around our state. Video Credits: Milward J. Beaudry II, camera; Ashley Stotz, editing and graphics
The Friends of the Shiawassee River, in partnership with the Shiawassee County Health Department (a 2014 VRSCCP grant recipient) and others, produced a video of their annual Shiawassee River cleanup in 2014.
Volunteer River, Stream and Creek Cleanup Program grants are not currently awarded via the Great Lakes Commission. Please contact Marcy Knoll Wilmes for additional information.
Marcy Knoll Wilmes
Senior Aquatic Biologist, Michigan EGLE
517-342-4348
KnollM@michigan.gov
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/work/vrsccp
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://noaaglerl.blog/2020/10/21/noaa-glerl-and-thunder-bay-national-marine-sanctuary-featured-in-great-lakes-nows-shipwrecks-and-ecosystems-watch-party/
Great Lakes steel production rose by 19,000 tons last week but remains depressed by more than 19% so far this year, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Read the full story by the Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-steel-production
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and former Governors Rick Snyder, Jennifer Granholm, John Engler, and Jim Blanchard discuss Proposal 1 and its impact on Michigan’s natural resources. Read the full story by the Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-michigan-governors
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced changes aimed at benefiting the fishing experience in the state. The new pilot program, as part of the Reimagine the Canals initiative, uses water from the Erie Canal to enhance fishing opportunities in Western New York. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV-Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-erie-canal
Endless beaches, the famous dune climb, and breathtaking views of Lake Michigan are just a snippet of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Tuesday, October 21st officially marks the lakeshore’s 50th anniversary. Read the full story by 9 & 10 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-sleeping-bear
Holland Township is teaming up with the Michigan DNR to bring more safety measures to Holland State Park. The plan is to bring in a gate to limit public access to the pier during dangerous weather conditions and the park’s off season. Read the full story by WZZM-TV-Holland, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-holland-state-park
A new study conducted by researchers from the University at Buffalo says pollutants that haven’t been used in years or even decades are being discovered in bird breeding grounds in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by WGRZ-TV-Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-pollutants-birds
A dam restoration project aimed at keeping sea lamprey from moving upstream and wreaking havoc in the wider watershed of Lake Michigan is scheduled to break ground on Saturday, Oct. 24. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-invasive-species
Great Lakes water levels have been rising in the past few months, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, and that raises concerns about the impacts that can occur along the shore, such as coastal flooding and erosion. Read the full story by Capital News Service.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-michigan-huron
Meteorologist James Gilbert and the President of the Great Lakes Coalition, Ron Wilson, discussed lake levels in late September 2020. Read the full story by WROC-TV-Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201021-water-levels
It’s been 140 years since a group of U.S. steamship companies formed an alliance called the Cleveland Vessel Owners Association, whose primary purpose was to promote safe navigation by the ships that plied the Great Lakes.
That original alliance has since become the Lake Carriers’ Association, which is still based in Cleveland and represents the interests of companies that have a combined 46 vessels on the lakes and move 90 million tons of cargo annually.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/great-lakes-freighters-lake-carriers-association/
Fish and Wildlife Service News
Fish and Wildlife Service News
http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=%0Au.s.-fish-and-wildlife-service-provides-more-information-on-a-proposal-t&_ID=36795
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/10/21/lake-michigan-huron-water-levels-rising/
Early in October, scientists who pioneered a powerful gene-editing technology won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. That same technology is now being used to explore new ways to control invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes.
When researchers suggested earlier this year that it might be possible to eradicate sea lamprey from the Great Lakes, it was with developing gene-editing technology in mind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/genetic-engineering-research-controlling-sea-lamprey/
NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Orkin was taking a break from his evening jog to sit by Prospect Park Lake when he turned around and was startled to see a tangle of wriggling snakes.
“And quite a big pile — fully alive,” said Orkin, a music composer who lives near the Brooklyn park.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/ap-eels-dumped-nyc-park/
The results of a multi-year assessment found that conditions in the inner-bay were suitable for restoration, and identified the Coreyon Reef as a priority restoration site. With financial support from the Environmental Protection Agency and Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, the collaborative reef restoration team began moving forward with the design, permitting, construction, and restoration. Read the full story by Marine Technology News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-reef-restoration
A proposed ban on some single-use plastics should serve as a wake-up call to Canadians concerned about the potential harms everyday items may pose, say experts who expect the move will spur research into settling ongoing questions about whether and how microplastic affects human health. Read the full story by the Chronicle Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-micro-plastics
On this fall’s ballot for Michigan, Proposal 1 enshrines in the state constitution a long-term funding source that protects our clean water sources, wildlife habitats, and beloved state parks, for generations to come — without a dime of taxpayer money. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-michigan-fund-proposal
The 80-year-old structure offers spectacular views of the big lake from atop a crumbling bluff at Orchard Beach State Park in Michigan’s Manistee Township. The pavilion will be moved to the park’s day-use area, which is a safer location that will also provide better access – although it’s view of Lake Michigan won’t be quite as impressive. Read the full story by MLive.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-michigan-erosion
The good news is that Lake Superior’s last surviving wild caribou appear to be thriving on their new island homes on Ontario’s Slate Islands, though hope is dwindling that any caribou remain on the Ontario mainland of Lake Superior’s North Shore, with an aerial survey last winter finding no caribou, not even any tracks. Read the full story by Brainerd Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-wildlife-caribou
Wisconsin power plants would no longer have to further reduce emissions as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to change regulations for air pollution that crosses state lines. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-wisconsin-air-emissions
Michigan’s Invasive Species Grant Program is now accepting proposals for the 2020 funding cycle through a joint effort of the Michigan departments of Natural Resources; Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; and Agriculture and Rural Development as a part of a statewide initiative launched in 2014 to help prevent, detect and control invasive species in Michigan. Read the full story by WLUC-TV-Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-invasive-species-grants-michigan
Under New York State’s goal of 70 percent renewable energy consumption by 2030 under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the New York State Public Service Commission directed the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to conduct a feasibility study regarding “stakeholder outreach, analysis, and policy options” for offshore wind facilities in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by JD Supra.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-great-lakes-wind-energy
Baby wipes clogged the wastewater system in Beulah in northern Michigan, causing a backup of 10,000 gallons of human waste from a manhole. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201020-wipes-waste
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/humans-ncei-mia-infante
By Will Callan, 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/2020/10/house-bills-anchor-strikes-straits-of-mackinac-felony/
A group of tribal water protectors and Michigan environmentalists plan to submit comments to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, urging the state to consider new archaeological discoveries near the Line 5 pipeline before granting permits to Canadian oil company Enbridge. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-line-5
Michigan State University was awarded a $100,000 grant by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to study erosion along Great Lakes shorelines and what happens to sand after it erodes. Read the full story by WLNS – East Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-msu-grant
Hope is dwindling that any caribou remain on the Ontario mainland of Lake Superior’s North Shore, with an aerial survey last winter finding no caribou, not even any tracks. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-caribou
Once a week, Mike McKay, a professor and executive director at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor, collects samples from several Ontario water treatment plants to test for COVID-19. Read the full story by The Kingston Whig-Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-coronavirus-sewage
The Ohio State University received nearly $75,000 from the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program to test new methods to reduce phosphorous runoff into Lake Erie. Read the full story by WILO-TV – Lima, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-osu-grant
Every year in September and October, thousands of salmon swim upstream through Ontario’s waterways to spawn. With COVID-19 limiting many fall activities, more people are getting out to witness the phenomenon. Read the full story by Daily Hive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-salmon-migrating
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources continues to help boost fish populations through stocking and is fulfilling all remaining 2020 stocking quotas for Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Seehafer News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-fish-stocking
In the eight Great Lakes states, officials at every level along 4,500 miles of coastline are scrambling to save what they can from the rising water, competing for scarce state and federal dollars and rubber-stamping permits to build private seawalls at an unprecedented pace. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201019-rising-waters
