Enbridge Energy has all the permits it needs to start construction on a controversial new crude oil pipeline in Minnesota, more than five years after the Canadian company first asked state regulators to approve the Line 3 project, but hurdles still remain. View the full story by MinnPost.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201204-enbridge-line-3
The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation to require the updating of Great Lakes environmental maps for use in response to an oil spill. The maps, which are maintained by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, summarize resources near the lakeshore like shellfish beds, marshes, tidal flats, public beaches, parks and endangered and threatened species that would be at risk in oil spill. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201204-erie-threat-priorities
Environmental groups created a document that prioritizes the major threats to the Lake Erie watershed and includes recommendations on how to preserve water quality. The collaborative document was created to help guide government officials on the protection of Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay, and their tributaries. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201204-erie-threat-priorities
Republican lawmakers have advanced legislation that would reestablish the state of Michigan’s authority to manage development along the Great Lakes coastline as part of a bill that aims to simplify erosion protection permitting for homeowners at the beach. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201204-coastline-erosion
Dec. 3, 2020
By Jennifer A. Smith
For Dana Lapides, the road to a postdoctoral fellowship has wended through organic farms on two continents. Lapides began her post as a Water Resources Science-Policy Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) in early November.
She completed her Ph.D. at the University of California in May, focusing on surface water hydrology. Yet Lapides’ original intent in heading to the Berkeley campus was to study atmospheric science. After beginning her studies, however, she realized that field was not the right fit for her. She knew something else would suit her better as she sought to take her undergraduate background in math in a more applied direction.
While in California, she began volunteering on a campus-owned community farm, and that led to two summers on a farm in Portugal, where a farmer with a computer science background sparked Lapides’ interest in rainwater harvesting.
“He was really thoughtful about how he did everything,” said Lapides of Guy Miklos, owner of the farm Quinta do Barbeito. This introduction to rainwater harvesting drew Lapides to hydrology and sustainable water management. At last, she’d found her professional calling.
For her WRI fellowship, Lapides’ main charge, as she summarized it, “is to help develop a decision support tool for the screening of applications for high-capacity wells in Wisconsin. I’m thinking a lot about how to conservatively estimate how much stream depletion will be caused by a well, so that we can separate out applications into those that are definitely not going to impact stream ecology, and those that may negatively impact stream ecology and require site-specific review.”
Her work will intersect with another postdoctoral fellow, Bryan Maitland, whose holds a joint appointment between WRI and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Management Program. “I expect to be working a lot with Bryan on identifying ecological thresholds,” Lapides said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lapides is working remotely from Canada, but she hopes to move to Wisconsin at a later date. Wisconsin’s status as a water-rich state was part of what drew her to the WRI fellowship, she noted.
Lapides hails from Pennsylvania and did her bachelor’s degree there before heading to California for graduate school. “Because I didn’t have a water resources background until my Ph.D., my understanding of hydrology and hydrological systems is mainly shaped by California. Going into my postdoc, I was interested in learning about a different region with really different hydrology—a more water-rich system—to broaden my understanding. Wisconsin, in particular, is a very wet state and has more groundwater interacting with surface water, and that was another component I’m interested in investigating more.”
Lapides expects to spend two years in the fellowship program. As for long-term goals, she’s mulling options between government agency work and academia. For now, she said, “I’m excited to have my work be directly applicable and important to management decisions.”
Lapides may be reached at danalapides@berkeley.edu.
The post New Water Resources Fellow finds her path to hydrology through organic farms first appeared on WRI.
News Release – WRI
https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/new-wri-fellow-finds-path/
The report is an independent review of the Canadian and U.S. governments’ progress to restore and maintain the Great Lakes under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ijc-2020-triennial-assessment-of-progress-report-on-great-lakes-water-quality/
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is extending its review of the Line 5 tunnel until January 2021 to allow for more time to process public comments, technical information and recommendations from the State Historic Preservation Office. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-line5-tunnel
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s action to revoke Enbridge’s Line 5 easement is an overdue and necessary step towards protecting the Great Lakes and ensuring Anishinaabe communities will have the ability to fish, work and recreate on the Straits of Mackinaw for generations to come. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-anishinaabe-line5
Enbridge Energy began construction on its Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement in Minnesota on Tuesday, a day after state regulators approved the final permit for the $2.6 billion project amid legal challenges from local activist and Indigenous groups. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-line3
The recent “State of the Strait” report described how environmental clean-up efforts have improved the Detroit River and western Lake Erie, but warned that the waters are “at a defining moment” as algal blooms continue to plague the waters. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-state-of-strait
A freighter ran aground early Wednesday in the lower Detroit River near Grosse Ile causing a vessel attempting to avoid it to hit bottom and a logjam for other ships rushing to move cargo ahead of the close of the shipping season. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-ship-aground
Shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson located another shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Michigan near Pyramid Point at the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Northern Michigan. The Jarvis Lord sunk 135 years ago while carrying iron ore from St. Ignace to Chicago. Read the full story by WWUP-TV – 9&10 News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-jarvis-lord
With more students – and grown-ups – doing their work remotely these days, some of Ludington, Michigan’s, favorite tourist spots have pulled together a large lineup of remote learning and entertainment options. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-ludington
By acting to shutdown Line 5 across the Mackinaw Straits, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel are effectively protecting the “public trust” in Michigan’s waters and natural resource. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-line5-commentary-2
The International Joint Commission announced that the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River board will be reformed, reducing the number of members to six – three from Canada and three from the United States. The reformed group will seek input from a more-inclusive advisory body. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-ijc-restructure
The St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (SLELO PRISM) is offering an online presentation about invasive species that threaten local areas, and ways for residents to help protect lands and waters against these species. Read the full story by the Watertown Daily Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201203-is-webinar
The November River Talk featured Dustin Haines, research coordinator for the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve. His Zoom talk held in cooperation with Café Scientifique Twin Ports, was titled, ““Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Clash of Wetlands With Lake Levels, Invasives and Humans.”
Dustin Haines
Haines described research conducted on a special site on the St. Louis River Estuary. This sentinel site on the Pokegama River, which flows into the estuary, serves as a long-term location to help researchers understand the impacts of water level fluctuations on coastal communities. “It is a sentinel of present, past and future change,” Haines said. Vegetation, weather and water quality data are collected on these sites on the Reserve and in other estuarine research reserves across the country.
From historical aerial images and Lake Superior water level data from 1938 to 2018, Reserve researchers found that, “When water levels are low, we have high amounts of emergent vegetation. And when the water level goes up, those emergent plant communities decline . . . It’s fairly clear that these emergent plant communities are correlated with these changing water levels. Biologists who study wetlands already know this, but it’s interesting to see it in this much-longer-term data set,” Haines said. Emergent plants are those with roots in the water and their tips out of the water. They form wetlands, which provide vital wildlife habitat and are a hallmark of a healthy estuary.
Then Haines turned to more recent data. During 2014-2017 and in 2020, Haines and other Reserve researchers established plots to record the types of plants found in them (emergent, submerged and floating). They also recorded water depths at the plots.
“We saw some interesting shifts in the emergent and submergent plant communities, which seem to be tied to rising water levels,” Haines said. The sites with high water depths had few emergent plants. Despite that, Haines said the submerged plant communities are doing well in those areas.
What does that mean for the health of the overall plant community in terms of diversity? The communities are changed by water level changes, but the number of species is fairly stable. The types of them just change.
“The number of species is not changing with respect to long-term changes in depth,” Haines said. “That indicates that while these communities are changing with emergent/submergent plant types, the species diversity is not drastically reduced.”
Invasive plants can outcompete native plants and can harm wetland health. Nonnative cattails and purple loosestrife are the most common alien plants found at the sentinel site. Haines did not find a correlation between the cover of invasive plants and the native plant cover on the site. “But it’s still something to pay attention to,” Haines said. “Cattails can really take over an area. They grow in monoculture, largely to the exclusion of native plants. That can be a problem.”
“This huge loss of wetland habitat from 200 years ago to now from human activities, indicates we do really need to focus on restoration efforts in the estuary to regain these neat habitats that we’ve lost over time. There’s a lot being done now, but we need to do more. Additionally, water levels are driving the system. Whatever’s happening to Lake Superior is happening to the estuary. That changes quickly, but the plant response is really quick to change, too. Restoration efforts need to take these dynamics into account,” Haines said.
If people would like to help efforts of the Reserve in the estuary, they can get involved in the Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve. There are sometimes opportunities to participate in field work with the researchers.
A video of Haines’s talk is available on YouTube here. The next River Talk will be held in January (we skip December due to the holidays). Coastal wetlands will be the topic on January 13.
The post River Talk explores wetland clashes on the St. Louis River Estuary first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/river-talk-explores-wetland-clashes-on-the-st-louis-river-estuary/
By Walker Orenstein, MinnPost, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Enbridge Energy has all the permits it needs to start construction on a controversial new crude oil pipeline in Minnesota, more than five years after the Canadian company first asked state regulators to approve the Line 3 project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/enbridge-line-3-project-minnesota-construction-protests/
Four months after it was cut free of its old water-logged foundation and lifted away to wait out its new perch, Fishtown’s oldest shanty was recently settled back into place along the Leland River in northwest Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-fishtown-shanty
In Wisconsin, construction has started on the two pipelines that will carry Lake Michigan drinking water from Milwaukee to Waukesha and treated wastewater back towards the lake. It’s expected to take almost three years to finish the diversion project aimed at providing Waukesha with a reliable source of clean water. Read the full story by WUWM- Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-water-pipeline
President-elect Joe Biden should focus on threats to the Great Lakes. One way to support is a robust endorsement of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that includes dramatically increased funding for the project. Read the full story by The Capital Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-biden-glri
The owner of a barge that sank and spilled oil into Grand Traverse Bay this week told the U.S. Coast Guard that a salvage effort to refloat the vessel is planned as soon as the weather allows. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-oil-spill
The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists heard from a senior research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, whose presentation focused on the changing face of the Great Lakes with specific focus on Lake Ontario. Read the full story by Prince Edward County Live.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-ontario-changing
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is providing $800,000 to expand an ongoing COVID-19 detection program in wastewater. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-covid-wastewater
The Milwaukee Bucks unveiled the official look of their 2020-21 “Great Lakes Blue” alternate city edition uniforms Tuesday. Inspired by Milwaukee’s meaning as “the gathering place by the water,” this year’s jersey emphasizes the city’s location along the shore of Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-giannis-mvp
Eleven mayors from major Great Lakes and St. Lawrence cities will participate in a newly-formed Mayors Water Equity Commission. The commission’s goal will be to address a range of water issues, including access, affordability, community and economic benefits from water infrastructure investments and community impacts due to climate change. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-water-commission
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. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-bottled-water
High lake levels, strong winds and powerful waves have caused millions of dollars in damage to the Great Lakes shorelines. Beaches are being washed away, homes flooded, and treasured recreational spots have been reduced to rubble. Read the full story by WLS-TV- Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201202-fragile
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/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Enbridge Energy began construction on its Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement in Minnesota on Tuesday, a day after state regulators approved the final permit for the $2.6 billion project amid legal challenges from local activist and Indigenous groups.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-enbridge-starts-construction-line-3-minnesota/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota regulators approved the final permit Monday for Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota, giving the company the green light to begin construction on the $2.6 billion project.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency granted a construction storm water permit for the project, which was the last hurdle that Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge needed to clear after years of reviews and court battles.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-minnesota-final-green-light-disputed-oil-pipeline/
Most of the state’s 240 farmers markets survived during the pandemic that upended the way fresh produce, baked goods and other items are sold at the popular venues.
The post Michigan farmers markets adjust to the pandemic first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/12/02/michigan-farmers-markets-adjust-to-the-pandemic/
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/
As 2020 winds down, we asked staff members at Wisconsin Sea Grant what their favorite project was this year. Although work was a bit more challenging than usual due to our altered work circumstances, everyone managed to stay productive, and even find fulfillment.
Associate Director Jennifer Hauxwell is our first to be featured. Her favorite project is her work with state and federal agencies to find outstanding research fellows to tackle Wisconsin’s water challenges.
Hauxwell says, “I love seeing:
The image below shows how the fellowship program has evolved under Hauxwell’s care. The number and variety we are able to offer has increased every year. The question marks denote openings we are in the process of filing. We can’t wait to see who will fill those spots.
The post Sea Grant staff project faves first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/sea-grant-staff-project-faves/
The feature story of National Geographic magazine’s December 2020 issue puts a spotlight on the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Now News Director Natasha Blakely interviews the author, Tim Folger and his connection and interest in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by GreatLakesNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-great-lakes-national-geographic
More than 317,000 households serving an estimated 800,000 Michiganders throughout Michigan are known to be behind on their water bills and could face water shutoffs. The potential shutoffs are due in part to the Michigan Supreme Court repeal of Governor Whitmer’s water reconnection Executive Order in October. Read the full story by National Resource Defense Council.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-water-shutoff-michigan
The Regional Municipality of York’s proposed and funded wastewater treatment facility in East Gwillimbury, Ontario, part of the $715-million Upper York Sewage Solutions project, has been waiting for the green light from the province for years in the face of strong opposition from the Chippewas of Georgina First Nation. Read the full story by NewmarketToday.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-ontario-wastewater
A Michigan task force is reviewing recommendations to strengthen regulations for Michigan’s dams in the wake of the May failure of two “grossly underfunded” Midland-area dams that led to catastrophic damage. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-michgan-dams
Sarnia’s mayor warns Line 5 shutdown would harm economy on both sides of border if Michigan succeeds in shutting down the Line 5 pipeline citing potential regional energy crisis and economic pain. Read the full story by Lake Superior News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-line-5-energy-canada
Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie said it received its first report of the half-sunken barge in part of the bay near Traverse City about 9:30 a.m., Nov. 30th. The barge was in about 10 feet of water, sitting about 100 yards from shore. View the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-coast-guard-oil
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has recommended that $1.5 million dollars from the Land and Water Conservation Fund be allocated to help rebuild the ATV and snowmobile trail that runs from Dollar Bay to Lake Linden. Read the full story by Keweenaw Report.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-michigan-trail-repair
In a visit in the spring, Greg Rickford, the minister for northern development announced $30,000 for design work to help build new facilities, as well as $2 million in operating money that is being leveraged to bring more than $10 million worth of research. Read the full story by DrydenNow.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-experimental-lakes
The unregulated degradation of River Raisin from the 1900s to the 1980s made the waterway and its environs one of the most polluted rivers in Michigan. This led to the designation of the River Raisin as an Area of Concern by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1987 as part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of that year and fielding the way for greater restoration. Read the full story by LenConnect.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201201-michigan-river-pollution
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/agu-2020
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/agu-2020
A familiar view for many who live and play around the Great Lakes graces the current cover of National Geographic – a stormy sunset over Lake Michigan, seen from the sandy beaches of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The feature story of the magazine’s December 2020 issue puts a spotlight on the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/saving-great-lakes-national-geographic-december-issue-struggles/
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/
ST. PAUL, Minn (AP) — Two Native American tribes in northern Minnesota are asking state regulators to stop the imminent construction of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement, saying it would increase the risk of coronavirus infections spreading.
The Red Lake and White Earth Bands of Chippewa filed a motion late Wednesday asking the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to stay its approval of the $2.6 billion project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-minnesota-tribes-pipeline-approval-virus/
For years Minnesota biologists stocked remote lakes with trout by dropping them out of planes in sometimes risky conditions from about 100 feet. With better equipment, they began using safer and more gentle helicopters in 2020. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020130-helicopter-fish-stocking
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office assailed Enbridge Inc. for filing a lawsuit last week in an effort to reverse the state’s order to shut down controversial pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac, saying the oil giant was endangering the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Detroit Metro Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/2020130-enbridge-lawsuit
