By Jeff Gillies, jeffgillies@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 11, 2009
The Great Lakes states have more outdated sewers dumping waste into local waterways than anywhere else in the country.
At the same time the region is on the verge of a federal infusion of $475 million for environmental protection.
Happy convergence of problem and solution? Not really.
The money, part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that Congress is considering, will come with a qualifier: It can’t be used to upgrade sewers or build water treatment plants.

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By David Poulson
poulsondavid@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 7, 2009
I attended a Great Lakes public hearing this week that really wasn’t.
The event at Michigan State University was one of the EPA-sponsored meetings held to solicit feedback for the Obama Administration’s proposed $475 million investment in environmental restoration.
And while the meeting was open to the public, not much of the public was represented.
Instead, this was mostly a Great Lakes love-in.
Much of the crowd consisted of the same people, or the same kinds of people, whom I’ve met during 25 years of covering similar gatherings. …

By Mary Hansen
mehansen4@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 6, 2009
Muskegon County’s Wastewater Treatment Plant in Michigan was established more than 35 years ago because of an overburdened system that polluted waterways. Sandy soil filters and treats wastewater.  The system encompasses 11,000 acres and a natural bird sanctuary – one of the largest inland nesting areas for seagulls. The operation produces hydropower and is considering windpower.

By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 5, 2009
Federal agencies and Michigan residents looking to clean up Great Lakes toxic hotspots planned Tuesday how to obtain a piece of the Obama Administration’s proposed $475 million environmental protection initiative.
The meeting was held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.
Michigan has 14 of the Great Lakes’ 43 Areas of Concern, or AOCs, designated by the U.S and Canada as impaired or unable to support aquatic life. Only one U.S. site, located in New York, has been cleaned to where it could be formally …

Editors note: Catch tweets of hearing from Echo and others on Twitter at #GLRI Related stories here. Related poll here.

By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 3, 2009
When more than 30 Michigan residents approached the microphone at a Great Lakes public hearing Monday, two messages were repeated: the public needs to be included in the Obama Administration’s $475 million plan to restore the Great Lakes, and there needs to be an effort to educate others.
“If we don’t educate people to understand how their day-to-day activities impact the quality of the Great …

By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 3, 2009
Environmental Protection Agency officials are coming to Michigan tonight to discuss how the Obama Administration’s proposed $475 million to clean up the Great Lakes should be spent.
The two-hour public meeting starts at 5 p.m. at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center, 55 S. Harrison Ave. in East Lansing.
This is the seventh hearing in a series of eight — one was designated in each of the Great Lakes states.
The EPA will present its plan to restore the Great Lakes and then allow time for questions …

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Editors note: Congress is considering a $475 million appropriation for Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories.
By Andrew McGlashen
amcglashen@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 31, 2009
A plan to spend $147 million to restore Great Lakes toxic hotspots is inspiring cautious optimism among those involved in a long and often frustrating cleanup process.
Nearly a third of the $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in President Barack Obama’s …

Editors note: Congress is considering a $475 million appropriation for Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Is this appropriate? Weigh in on this and other ideas on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories.
By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
July 30, 2009
Ugly, huge and primitive — many people wouldn’t think twice about the dwindling numbers of lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes.
But by dumping boulders in Minnesota’s St. Louis River in August, fisheries experts hope to encourage them …