Echo

Great Lakes ships face choppy waters

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(NY) Buffalo News – The St. Marys Challenger was built in 1906 and still plies the Great Lakes.But critics of proposed federal rules regarding ship emissions say the venerable vessel and a dozen other steamships on the Great Lakes could be forced off the waters by the more stringent requirements. The rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency have spawned a debate between environmentalists, who claim the changes are needed to combat air pollution caused by commercial vessels, and critics with ties to the shipping industry, who contend the rules would impose an unfair, costly burden on Great Lakes carriers and lead to lost business. More

Echo

Wetlands program receives 3-year reprieve

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – Michigan’s program that shields bogs, marshes, swamps and other wetlands from overdevelopment remains on shaky ground even after surviving the most serious challenge in its 30-year history. Eight months after Gov. Jennifer Granholm called for handing over protection of Michigan’s wetlands to the federal government as a cost-cutting measure, she recently signed a bill that will keep the state program alive at least three more years. Afterward, legislators will decide its fate yet again. More

Echo

Tribe may aid in cleanup

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – A local tribe could become involved in plans to treat large-scale pollution at Bay Harbor Resort on Lake Michigan’s Little Traverse Bay. CMS Energy is responsible for treating contaminated groundwater at Bay Harbor Resort and may turn to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians for help. CMS currently trucks wastewater to Grand Traverse County’s septage treatment plant in Traverse City, but wants to treat the pollution closer to the contamination site in Emmet County. More

Water

Waukesha can move forward with bid for lake water, state says

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(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Waukesha’s pursuit of Lake Michigan water does not have to wait until state rules are adopted implementing a Great Lakes protection compact, state Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank says in a letter to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. In June, Barrett and Ald. Michael Murphy had asked Frank not to accept an application to divert Lake Michigan water outside of the Great Lakes drainage basin until state rules for reviewing the requests were in place. More

Echo

Slaughter announces stimulus funds for clean water planning projects

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(NY) MPNnow.com – Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Perinton, today announced that almost $366,000 in federal stimulus funds will go towards the planning of clean water projects for Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes. “The freshwater from the Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes is one of our greatest local resources,” said Slaughter. “I’m pleased that federal stimulus dollars are going towards grants used to help us keep local waters clean.” More

Echo

Michigan waterways enriched with 600,000 pounds of toxic chemicals

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(MI) The Bay City Times – This just in: A report from Environment Michigan says industrial facilities dumped 575,930 pounds of toxic chemicals into Michigan’s waterways in 2007. The “Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act,” also details chemical discharges across the United States. “While nearly half of the rivers and lakes in the U.S. are considered too polluted for safe fishing or swimming, our report shows that polluters continue to use our waterways as dumping grounds for their toxic chemicals,” Shelley Vinyard, environmental associate with Environment Michigan, said a statement.  More

Echo

Stimulus money locks Grafton in a dam debate

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(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Village officials must make a choice by the end of the month: Replace the Bridge St. dam on the Milwaukee River within 10 years for up to $4 million, or remove the structure within the next year using federal grant funds. Think it’s an easy call? Hundreds of residents are expected to jam a hearing Thursday at John Long Middle School, just as they have packed past meetings. Many have signed petitions to save the dam.

Echo

U.S. Steel opens discussion

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – U.S. Steel representatives are holding an invitation-only meeting with environmental groups today to discuss its newly re-released wastewater permit. A company representative said the purpose of the meeting was to “have a conversation” and be transparent about the permit. More

Echo

Environmental report gives NWI another bad mark

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – Northwest Indiana and the Hoosier state received more dubious environmental distinctions Wednesday in a new report about toxic water pollution. Indiana industries led the nation in toxic chemical discharges in 2007 at 27.3 million pounds, according to the report. More

Echo

Energy Star label must mean what it says to consumers and taxpayers

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(OH) Cleveland Plain-Dealer – Consumers who have been looking for the Energy Star label on appliances, light bulbs and building materials such as windows, doors and skylights since 1996 may be saving money on their energy bills. Or, it turns out, they may not be. That they cannot know for sure is a real disappointment. The federal Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aren’t certain which Energy Star products live up to the label. Although those agencies are responsible for administering the program, loopholes, poor management and bureaucratic overlap let manufacturers certify products as deserving of the high-efficiency designation that actually aren’t.