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Ethanol fuels debate; How about cars?

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By Hyonhee Shin
Oct. 31, 2009

LANSING, Mich. — Ethanol is promoted as an eco-friendly tool to reduce air pollution because it can be made from common crops such as sugar cane, potato and corn. Is it the key to a renewable energy future? In Michigan, the number of gas stations selling E-85 — a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline — has risen from two in 2003 to 117 in 2008.  The state has five ethanol plants able to produce nearly 50 million gallons a year.

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Report: US getting better at conserving water

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(GA) Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a nationwide push to safeguard dwindling supplies. A report released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey also shows that industries as well as the general population are sucking up less water overall than in 1980, when the nation’s thirst for water peaked. More

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Congress OKs $475M for Great Lakes

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(MI) The Detroit News – Congress approved legislation Thursday that includes $475 million to restore the Great Lakes by combating invasive species, cleaning up highly polluted sites and expanding wetlands. The bill also includes $131 million to finance wastewater and drinking water projects in Michigan, $11.2 million for 14 projects in the state, and $1 million for mass marking of hatchery fish in the Great Lakes. “This legislation provides a significant boost to protect and clean up the Great Lakes, improve Michigan’s parks and lands, provide communities with safe drinking water and improved wastewater infrastructure, and preserve key facets of Michigan’s heritage,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit. More

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Oceans panel visits Great Lakes

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – A White House panel developing a strategy for managing oceans and their coastlines is including the Great Lakes in its plan, which will propose ways to protect the environment while preventing conflicts among users. The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, which President Barack Obama established in June, convenes the last of six regional public meetings Thursday in Cleveland. It will be the only gathering devoted specifically to the Great Lakes. More

Air

Polluted spray ‘big surprise’

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – For the past week, U.S. Steel has been spraying contaminated wastewater collected from the bottom of its hazardous waste landfill into the air over the landfill. The landfill holds sediment dredged from the Grand Calumet River contaminated with mercury and possible cancer-causing pollutants, such as benzene, naphthalene and polychlorinated biphenyls. The 20-foot tall landfill is located within a quarter of a mile of residential neighborhoods. The announcement was a shock to several attendants at U.S. Steel’s quarterly citizens meeting in Gary Thursday, who didn’t know about the project. More

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Salties not included in new clause

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(MN) Duluth News Tribune – An exemption from low-sulfur fuel rules for Great Lakes ships would not apply to saltwater vessels. Any salties calling on the Great Lakes still would be required to use low-
sulfur diesel, which has some people in the industry concerned that the added fuel costs could discourage visitors from abroad from calling on the Twin Ports. More

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DNR working to clarify Walleye order for Mullett Lake

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(MI) The Petosky News Review – The Department of Natural Resources is trying to inform the Northern Michigan community about an order for a zero-bag limit for Walleye on Mullett Lake in Cheboygan County and the complicated numbers surrounding the tentative decision. After issuing a memo earlier this week, stating that the five tribes under the 2007 Inland Consent Decree were requesting their full allocated amount Walleye fishing and thus causing the state to close walleye fishing on Mullett Lake, the DNR is attempting to correct its choice of words. More

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EPA says air around schools safe in the short-term

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – The air around two Northwest Indiana elementary schools contains a slew of hazardous air pollutants, but not enough to be of short-term concern, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday. The EPA began monitoring by Jefferson Elementary on Jackson Street in Gary and Abraham Lincoln Elementary on East 135th Street in East Chicago on Aug. 23. More

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Septage plant probe advances

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – A downstate engineering firm will probe questions surrounding design and construction of Grand Traverse County’s troubled septage plant, an effort to determine whether its architects committed professional negligence. The county’s Board of Public Works voted 7 to 1 this week to hire Grand Rapids-based engineering firm Prein & Newhof for up to $19,500 to investigate septage plant design firm Gourdie-Fraser Inc. and project manager Michael Houlihan. More