Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/keweir/page/4/)
(OH) Columbus Dispatch – Since 2004, the state has allowed 42 treatment facilities, power plants and factories to ignore federal limits on dumping mercury into lakes, rivers and streams.
This year, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering more than 30 new requests for variances from companies that argue that the cost of keeping mercury out of the water far exceeds any benefits to wildlife and human health. More
(MI) Detroit Free Press – The amount of trash in Michigan landfills is shrinking. While that might sound like good news, the numbers are so low that state officials warned today it means there’s not enough revenue to cover landfill inspections to make sure they meet requirements. The state’s solid waste tracking and inspection is funded by a fee of 21 cents per ton on the trash that gets dumped in Michigan landfills. More
(MI) Grand Rapids Press – State fisheries officials analyzing 2009 Lake Michigan salmon reports are encouraged by what seems to be an improved balance between fish and prey. Preliminary data shows there likely are fewer, but larger, Chinook in the lake than in previous years, providing further evidence that stocking cuts in 2006 are having the desired effect. More
(MI) The Detroit News – While I welcome comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed health standards for smog, the arguments in a Detroit News editorial are dangerously misleading (“Policies and priorities: If Obama is to fulfill his job creation pledge, he must consider the impact of every action on employment,” Jan. 12). The editorial suggests that we cannot afford protections from pollution that dangerously impacts children and the elderly; that leads to severe and even fatal respiratory problems; and that costs families in higher medical bills. More
(IN) The Post-Tribune – Mud in the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is so contaminated with a cancer-causing industrial pollutant that it could rank among the most contaminated sites in the nation, researchers say. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to dredge the canal starting in late 2011 to facilitate ship traffic. But researchers aren’t sure whether dredging will be good because it will remove the potentially harmful pollutants, or bad because it will stir them up. The Army Corps says there is little health risk. More
(OH) The Toledo Blade – A joint proposal to end the federal government’s controversial practice of dumping dredged material into Lake Erie is to be unveiled in downtown Toledo at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The alternative is being offered by Sandy Bihn and Lindsey Webb, Oregon and Toledo council members, respectively, who have been working on the issue with a coalition of fishermen, boaters, and environmentalists. More
(MI) Jackson Citizen Patriot – Environmental groups are continuing their fight against Consumers Energy’s plans to build a new coal plant near Bay City, outlining Thursday some of the environmental and economic impacts. The Jackson-based utility has said its planned 830-megawatt plant is expected to create 1,800 construction jobs and more than 100 permanent jobs once it begins operation in 2017. More
(IL) Chicago Tribune – In what could be the state’s largest collective gulp of Lake Michigan water in nearly two decades, 10 suburbs are seeking approval to tap the vast but closely guarded natural resource. With groundwater supplies drying up and vulnerable to contamination, the Lake County communities that now rely on wells are casting envious eyes on that tantalizingly close supply — the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world. They propose spending $250 million to lay about 57 miles of pipe and take other steps that would bring Lake Michigan water to the western part of Lake County. More
(MI) Detroit Free Press – Attorney General Mike Cox has started www.stopasiancarp.com, a Web site urging Great Lakes residents to demand action against Asian carp. The site features reports and video about carp and a petition to Congress and President Barack Obama calling for the immediate closure of Chicago-area locks. More
(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – The growing population of the gray wolf in Wisconsin represents a remarkable comeback for the animal.But the wolf’s robust population also has created problems and heightened tensions in some quarters. The latest example: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the killing of 16 gray wolves in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula during November and December. More