State to share plan on natural resources
A new statewide plan, billed as a comprehensive blueprint to help Minnesota protect and enhance its natural resources, will be unveiled today at the state Capitol. Read more...
Bruce Power to appeal penalty
Bruce Power will appeal a penalty handed down by the Ministry of the Environment for a chlorine discharge into Lake Huron last January that killed more than 800 fish. A news release from the ministry said an environmental penalty order was issued "for a sodium hypochlorite that caused a fish kill at the Bruce B Generating Station." Read more...
Clean and healthy
For too long now it's been assumed that we can't have a clean environment and a healthy economy. But there's growing evidence that we can not only protect our air and water, money can be made doing it. The solar and wind projects popping up in Sarnia-Lambton are good examples of that. And now there's more proof. Read more...
States must keep region's Great Lakes restoration plan alive
The Great Lakes Restoration Plan won't die, as long as Michigan and other states keep breathing life into it. It's the vow of Michigan's Lt. Gov. John Cherry, chairman of the eight-state Great Lakes Commission, along with the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes and the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. Read more...
Local lakes advocates want restoration act passed
Local environmental groups are calling on Congress to protect the Great Lakes by passing the Clean Water Restoration Act. They were joined Tuesday morning in Chicago by Congressman Dan Lipinski and others who support the act. Read more...
Ballast water discharge permits open for public comment
A public comment period has opened for Minnesota's new ballast water discharge permit for ships. The state will require permits for most of the ships calling on Minnesota ports like Duluth. Read more...
Close the seaway
It's time to close the St. Lawrence Seaway to oceangoing freighters. The danger posed by new generations of invasive species and the continuing inaction of Congress to enact serious standards for cleaning ballast water in those freighters leads to only one conclusion: Close the Seaway until oceangoing ships prove they won't continue to bring in strange new species in their ballast waters. Read more...
Local lakes advocates want restoration act passed
They were joined Tuesday morning in Chicago by Congressman Dan Lipinski and others who support the act.
The law would require that the clean water act protections apply to all water from streams and wetlands in the Great Lakes region, protecting the waters from pollution and other harmful effects. Read more...
Ballast water discharge permits open for public comment
A public comment period has opened for Minnesota's new ballast water discharge permit for ships. The state will require permits for most of the ships calling on Minnesota ports like Duluth. Read more...
Clean Boating Act stalled
The Marine Retailers Association of America today issued an update on the status of the Clean Boating Act. The Clean Boating Act of 2008 would fully and permanently restore a longstanding regulation that excludes recreational boaters and anglers from the federal and state permitting requirements. Read more...
Great Lakes compact key to Michigan
It wasn't easy, but Michigan lawmakers finally affirmed this state's commitment to the Great Lakes. In an historic vote last week, the Legislature ratified the Great Lakes compact and helped advance the regional effort to protect this precious natural resource. Read more...
Shut the spigots on selling out state water
Do you think Michigan's lakes, streams and connected groundwater are a resource the public owns, or do you think they should be up for sale to the highest bidder? A bidder who could then market the water anywhere in the world? Read more...
Ohio Gov. Strickland signs Great Lakes Water Compact
Late Friday, Gov. Ted Strickland signed the Great Lakes Water Compact, legislation that both the Ohio House and Senate had passed 10 days ago.
The multistate agreement preventing Great Lakes water from being diverted to states in need of water. Read more...
After ruling, lakes still face great risks
There are several ways for invaders to get into the Great Lakes. They can swim on their own up the St. Lawrence Seaway or up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which is an artificial link between the lakes, the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. They can arrive in the bellies or feces of birds, or in the bait buckets and boats of fishermen. They can be dumped in the water by a disillusioned, or bored, aquarium owner. Read more...
Greenpeace criticizes nuclear risk assessment
Bruce Power's decision to ignore differences in plant design when assessing the risks of accidents and terrorism at new nuclear stations is deeply flawed, says a report commissioned by Greenpeace that has been submitted to federal regulators and is being released today. Read more...
IJC implored to use Plan B+
A flood of more than 200 lawmakers, residents and business owners from Northern New York confronted the International Joint Commission at a public hearing Wednesday night to deliver a unified message: choose Plan B+. Read more...
Great Lakes drilling an idea to be delved
It's easy enough for us flatlanders to favor offshore drilling to increase oil supplies and bring down gasoline prices. But what if the "offshore" we're talking about is drilling in Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes? Read more...
Asian Carp Remain Outside Lake Michigan
Two invasive Asian carp species haven't traveled any closer to the susceptible Lake Michigan, an annual survey by several U.S. federal agencies indicates. Read more...
NNY strives to reduce sewage overflows
Up to 53 times a year, six north country municipalities dump diluted sewage that ends up in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. And it's all legal. It's the other 100 to 150 annual overflow events that violate federal and state health guidelines. Read more...
Concerned with Canada's plan for a nuke dump near shores of Lake Huron
Every day we feel lucky when looking out at the pristine blue waters of Lake Michigan. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful place and lucky to be surrounded by water, one of the basic foundations for life on this planet. In fact, we live in a state surrounded by one of the largest sources of freshwater on the plant and with drought becoming a larger problem every year, living near so much freshwater is a major benefit. Read more...
Wind-power
"The pen is mightier than the sword." How many times have I been warned that words have power? When I first contemplated the above subject, the immediate wind power that came to mind was the title of Jeffery Simpson's book "Hot Air". Simpson goes into detail on the promises made by politicians of every stripe over the past 20 or so years about proposed actions to contain global warming. Certainly the words have had political power in that people actually believed that their leaders were sincere and really intended to take action. It may have influenced people to vote for certain parties. Without any apparent action taking place on the ground, emissions accelerated, CO2 content in the atmosphere increased dramatically, polar and glacial ice melted and the dangers of increased global warming moved relentlessly forward, unabated. Mother Nature did not recognize that words spoken indicated action. Read more...
Grid woes stifle green
The out-of-date transmission grid that cost the Bruce nuclear plant two new reactors also is creating problems for two biogas power plants in the region. Read more...
Disaster feared for St. Lawrence River
For the past 50 years, a massive power dam about 100 kilometres southwest of Montreal has used the force of the St. Lawrence River to produce electricity for Ontario and New York state. The length of 10 football fields, it produces enough power to supply more than one million homes. Read more...
Level plan a mistake, lakes commission told
The International Joint Commission (IJC) was told last night that its proposed new plan for regulating the level of Lake Ontario jeopardizes the cleanup of Hamilton Harbour and efforts to remove it from the list of Great Lakes pollution hot spots by 2015. Read more...
State should take the steps that it can to help Great Lakes
We have voiced support on numerous occasions for the Great Lakes restoration plan unveiled in 2005 by a coalition of federal, state, local and tribal agencies. The ambitious long-range strategy would protect and upgrade the Great Lakes' ecosystem at an estimated cost of $20 billion. But it would generate at least $50 billion in long-term economic benefits for the region, according to an analysis released last year by the Brookings Institution. Read more...
Shipping industry sounds alarm over plan that would alter Lake Ontario levels
Part of a proposal to control Lake Ontario water levels could create havoc for a shipping industry that requires stable and sufficient water levels for its shipping fleet, a hearing was told Monday. A public hearing of the International Joint Commission was held at the Best Western in Jordan to get reaction to the preferred Plan 2007, in which water levels are controlled by a dam in Cornwall. Read more...
Canadian plan to store plants' waste near Huron provokes outrage
Macomb County officials are leading the charge in opposition to a proposed nuclear waste dump near Ontario's Lake Huron shoreline, upstream from the county's drinking water plants. Read more...
Ministry blows off residents
Environmental groups and Wolfe Island residents concerned about a proposed wind plant have had another appeal rejected for more government scrutiny on the contentious project.
This time, the denial came from the minister of tourism, who was appointed to make the decision late last week. Read more...
Canada proposes refinery, dump
Environmental groups and U.S. officials are sounding alarms about two major new Canadian projects -- a heavy oil mega-refinery along the St. Clair River and an underground radioactive waste repository near Lake Huron -- they say could put Michigan air and water at risk for decades. Read more...
Quebec moves to protect water
The provincial government is moving ahead with plans to enshrine in law the policy that water belongs collectively to the people of Quebec but is holding off until 2009 on plans to collect royalties from the big consumers. Read more...
Great Lakes Call for Help
Recreational boating soon could get a lot more expensive for new boat owner William Bailey and others like him -- and not just because of high gasoline prices. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is on the verge of establishing a new permit system designed to protect the nation's lakes and streams from pollution and invasive species. And although its main target is mammoth freighters, it could also snare recreational craft of all sizes in its net. Read more...
Proposal would hit state unfairly hard
DTE Energy understands and supports the development of legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We agree it is time to take significant action to address this issue. But the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill (S.2191) before the U.S. Senate has a major flaw that results in a transfer of wealth out of Michigan for no environmental benefit. Read more...
Ontario plan for nuclear waste debated
Metro Detroit environmental advocates are increasingly worried about plans for an underground nuclear waste repository just off Lake Huron in Canada, a plan they say is preposterous and could contaminate the lakes. Read more...
Great Lakes Call for Help
The Great Lakes might be the most ignored resource on the continent. Great Lakes advocates say they have not been able to get enough attention or money from Congress. Rebecca Williams reports one group is outlining what needs to be done to fix the Lakes before climate change makes things worse. Read more...
Save the lakes
Three environmental dangers are terrorizing the Midwest's beloved Great Lakes. A report released last week by the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, outlined climate change, pollution and invasive species as the most pressing dangers facing the lakes. The report also predicted that if these issues are not addressed, water levels could fall by three feet and biological dead zones, areas devoid of fish and plant life, could increase as well. These consequences have to be avoided. Read more...
Ontario wind farm generates positive spin; officials see potential for Great Lakes region
With 66 turbines now and plans for another 18, Ontario's $200 million Erie Shores Wind Farm could be a sign of things to come for the Great Lakes region. Read more...
New rules help stop invasive species
To see how the global nature of modern commerce affects the world in unintended ways, just take a look into the ballast tanks of today's oceangoing cargo vessels. Read more...
Cherry seeks more funds to clean areas feeding Great Lakes
Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry on Wednesday urged Congress to quadruple the annual federal funding it sends to states to help clean up toxic sediments in rivers and harbors that feed into the Great Lakes. Read more...
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality seeks $1.3 billion to protect environment
The state's environmental protection department -- short of money for pollution cleanup -- wants Michigan voters to approve a $1.3 billion bond proposal it hopes will be on the November ballot. Read more...
Ohio's Speck on U.S.-Canada panel
Ohio's Sam Speck has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the International Joint Commission, a binational government panel that the United States and Canada have entrusted for nearly a century on policy matters affecting the Great Lakes and other boundary waters. Read more...
Whiting BP plant's expansion opposed by 2 watchdog groups
Two watchdog groups are appealing an Indiana air permit for the planned expansion of BP's oil refinery on Lake Michigan, contending it puts low-income and minority residents at risk. Read more...
Great Invasion of the Lakes
That may be the truest -- and cruelest -- elegy delivered as the Great Lakes mark the 20th anniversary of the discovery of zebra mussels on June 1, 1988, in Lake St. Clair. It comes from Carol Stepien, a University of Toledo researcher who studies gobies -- another notorious invader -- and who has found at least 18 more goby varieties in Europe that would probably love to call the Great Lakes home. Read more...
Saving Montreal, losing Toronto
Water in Toronto harbour is high up the sea wall. It creeps up the shores of Woodbine Beach and Cherry Beach, hiding stretches of sand. Along the Etobicoke waterfront, a strong wind will whisk lake spray into backyards. Read more...
Great Lakes bill aims to clean up ?areas of concern?
US Sens. Carl Levin, D-MI, and George Voinovich, R-OH, co-chairmen of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, introduced on May 8 the bipartisan Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2008, which would expand on legislation passed six years ago and continue cleanup efforts of ?areas of concern,? according to a press release from Levin?s office. Read more...
Quebec OKs wind-power proposals
Hydro-Quebec has accepted 15 bids to provide a total of 2,004 megawatts of wind-generated electricity, which will come on stream between 2011 and 2015. Read more...
DNR reissues permit for Oak Creek power plant
A state agency reissued a water pollution permit Thursday for a power plant that environmental groups contend would harm Lake Michigan by using vast amounts of lake water for cooling. Read more...
Stowaway Species
Although we have supported states acting to stem the flow of invasive species into the Great Lakes by more closely regulating the ballast water of oceangoing freighters, the best way to address the issue is at the federal level. And at long last, the feds are starting to move. Read more...
Seaway acts to flush Great Lakes invaders
Managers of the St. Lawrence Seaway said Monday they are close to closing the door on exotic species sneaking into the Great Lakes in ocean freighters' ballast water tanks. Read more...
Alliance details plans for river turbines
Alliance Energy is proposing to generate up to 110 megawatts of electricity using underwater currents from the St. Lawrence River. The company proposes to place up to 11 arrays, with each array using 10 underwater turbines, in the river. Each turbine can generate up to one megawatt of electricity. Read more...
Watershed trust can be a force for regional unity
Clean water is essential to a healthy environment, a healthy economy and, not least, a healthy populace. And improving water quality in a region is one of the first steps to creating a place where families and businesses want to be. That's why last week's launch of a regional group to address water quality issues in southeastern Wisconsin has enormous potential. Read more...
Local governments hold the power of wind projects
As state legislators and the governor grapple with alternative energy policies governing such technologies as wind turbines, no doubt local officials also will face several thorny wind issues. Read more...
Government officials get input on Great Lakes levels study
Government officials gathering public input on a massive Great Lakes water levels study were told during a meeting in Michigan to tread lightly when tinkering with the lakes. Read more...
Bill will protect Great Lakes
President George W. Bush has threatened to veto a House-passed bill that would make saltwater ships install systems that kill all living organisms in their tanks before dumping ballast in U.S. waters, including the Great Lakes. Read more...
Ballast water regulations may get more stringent
A move to weaken Michigan's standards for treating ballast water, a primary vector of invasive species in the Great Lakes, has been plugged by U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-Flint). Read more...
EPA official ousted while fighting Dow
The battle over dioxin contamination in this economically stressed region had been raging for years when a top Bush administration official turned up the pressure on Dow Chemical to clean it up. Read more...
Waterfront owners anxiously await new rules
Water levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River could be regulated as early as the end of next year if the International Joint Commission proceeds with recommendations from a five-year study. Read more...
Ontario opposes plan for regulating levels of Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence
Ontario has joined environmental groups and New York state officials in opposing a plan that would change how the water levels and flow of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River are regulated. Read more...
Ontario rejects IJC plan 2007 on water levels
The Ontario government has joined the ranks of environmentalists and New York State officials in rejecting the International Joint Commission's (IJC) Plan 2007 as a viable option for managing the water levels along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Read more...
Private boaters may need to get EPA discharge permits
Millions of Great Lakes boaters will need to get water discharge permits from the Environmental Protection Agency by the end of September unless Congress or the courts take action. Read more...
Alien species rampant on H2O Highway
The threat to the Great Lakes from invasive species brought in by ocean-going cargo ships "is the biggest public relations issue on the Great Lakes," the senior administrator of the U.S. portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway system said yesterday. Read more...
U.S. House passes ballast water treatment standards
The battle to keep ocean freighters from dumping more foreign species into the Great Lakes made an historic advance Wednesday, when one branch of Congress passed the nation's first ballast water treatment standards. Read more...
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