Bill would divert water funds to brownfields

Water quality advocates are fighting legislation that would let voter-approved bond money be used for brownfield cleanup rather than water infrastructure improvement.

The money is on hand because Michigan voters in 2002 approved $1 billion in loans to improve water quality.

Suburban Detroit greens up with federal grants

Oakland and Macomb counties are getting a little greener with federal money for energy-based projects under the Obama administration’s stimulus program.

Sixty-one communities received grants from the Department of Energy, most in the southeast part of the state. Among them are projects to manufacture wind turbines, generate electricity from wastewater sludge and install solar shingles.

Grants aimed at treating wastewater from food processing

The latest round of Department of Agriculture (MDA) grants will promote new cost-effective ways to manage wastewater from food processing — a rising concern in growing specialty crops.
The grants to companies in Frankfort and Grand Haven and to Michigan State University are part of a larger initiative to enhance the state’s agriculture industry, including food processing.

Research shows concentrations of flame retardants in breast milk

Michigan environmental groups say the Senate has unjustifiably delayed a bill to ban a chemical linked to brain damage among breast-fed children.

New research shows increasing concentrations of flame retardants in women’s breast milk in the Great Lakes basin.

Studies show the chemical can harm human health and is finding its way into soil, water and wildlife in Michigan.