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Waukesha water sale backed

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(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – A Milwaukee Common Council committee called Wednesday for the city to formally declare its interest in selling water to Waukesha. Environmentalists and civil rights advocates urged the panel to wait until the state Department of Natural Resources has written rules to govern the process. But aldermen and Milwaukee Water Works Superintendent Carrie Lewis said the resolution was needed to keep the city in competition with Racine and Oak Creek to supply water to Waukesha. More

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Senator wants a moose hunt in Michigan

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – Michigan hunters would be able to take aim at a new big-game species — moose — under legislation introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday. The bill sponsored by Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, would require the state to create a moose hunting advisory council and order the Natural Resources Commission to establish a moose hunting season for at least one year. More

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Lock to lake open after carp hunt ends

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – State and federal agencies hunting for Asian carp have reopened a critical lock leading to Lake Michigan that was closed last week, after failing to find any Asian carp there. Crews dragged fishing nets through a 5 1/2 -mile stretch of the Cal-Sag channel near the O’Brien lock; it was closed to barges during the net operation Friday. The channel is an offshoot of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and the lock is just 6 miles from Lake Michigan. More

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Netting operation yields no Asian carp past electric barrier

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(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Federal officials reported late Tuesday that a large-scale netting operation on a Chicago-area waterway above the electric fish barrier has yielded no Asian carp. Three weeks ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that water samples in the Cal-Sag channel about six miles south of Lake Michigan tested positive for Asian carp DNA. More

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Bill package to allow tribes to tap into municipal water passed

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(MI) Bay City Times – A package of bills that would allow the Saganing Eagles Landing Casino to tap into the Saginaw-Midland water supply has been sent to the governor for approval. The bills, sponsored by Sens. Jim Barcia, D-Bay City, and Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, were introduced after it was discovered that only municipalities could join the Saginaw-Midland Municipal Water Supply. Tribes were not included as a municipality. More

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Despite cleanup, PCBs on rise

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – Despite a $10-million cleanup of PCB contamination in St. Clair Shores, new tests show higher-than-ever levels of the chemical in a drain and several canals. After PCBs were discovered in 2001 in the Ten Mile drain and Lange-Revere canals, the Environmental Protection Agencydid a major cleanup to a level the agency said was safe: 10 parts per million. More

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Turtle and fish poacher nabbed at Shiawassee refuge

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(MI) Bay City Times – A wildlife poacher from Saginaw was nabbed and ticketed after a two-month investigation by officials from the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge and Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Painted turtles, snapping turtles, largemouth bass and channel catfish were removed from the vicinity of the refuge’s Green Point Environmental Learning Center, refuge officials said. The turtles were kept in swimming pools in the basement of the poacher, identified as a man from Saginaw. More

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St. Clair Shores residents battle PCB contamination

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(MI) The Detroit News – Residents along contaminated canals near 10 Mile had hoped for years that there was an end in sight to their environmental nightmare. But new test results of the waters there show the problems might be worsening. Federal, state and local officials have spent more than seven years and $10 million trying to rid the canals and groundwater of hazardous polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These man-made chemicals have been found to cause a range of illnesses, from acne and rashes to liver cancer. The federal government banned their use in the 1970s.

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Blueprint for maintaining a healthy Huron River accepted

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(MI) AnnArbor.com – The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously agreed tonight to accept the Huron River and Impoundment Management Plan, a new blueprint for taking care of the Huron River – the primary source of drinking water for city residents. By its action, the City Council formally accepted 30 consensus recommendations from the HRIMP report that were endorsed by both the Environmental Commission and Parks Advisory Commission. More

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Fish kill called necessary to save the Great Lakes

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(DC) The Washington Post – The poisoned fish began floating to the surface in the cold Illinois dawn, but as scientists and ecologists began hauling their lifeless catch to shore, they found only one carcass of the predator they targeted — the ravenous Asian carp. Never before have Illinois agencies tried to kill so many fish at one time. By the time the poison dissipates in a few days, state officials estimate that 200,000 pounds of fish will be bound for landfills. But they say the stakes — the Great Lakes ecosystem and its healthy fish population — could hardly be higher. More