Just wanted to let folks know about a new Great Lakes petition online being spearheaded by Freshwater Future. We’re urging Congress to pass and fund Great Lakes restoration legislation. The goal is 1,000 signatures, but I think we can blow that out of the water. Our plan is to present the petition to Members of Congress from the Great Lakes states while they’re back in the district after Memorial Day.

Sign the petition here

The Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit announced that they predict water levels in Lake Michigan to drop 27 inches below the long term average this winter, due to decreased precipitation and increased evaporation.  Read more here.  

The Grand Rapids Press reported Sunday that a proposed bill which would require ocean ships to treat their ballast water before entering the Great Lakes may have a "loophole" that could possibly weaken the effectiveness of the legislation against invasive species.  The bill allows the U.S. Coast Guard to postpone the December 31, 2013 deadline for ships to install ballast water treatment systems if they deem that adequate technology is not available.  Read more from the article here. 

A recent 2-year study found that despite clean-up efforts, Lake St. Clair is still heavily polluted.  Monitoring stations found "numerous locations impacted by upstream pollutant discharges and highly contaminated storm water runoff ... excessive soil erosion and resulting transport of pollutants downstream and eventually into Lake St. Clair" according to an article in the Macomb Daily.  E. coli, chloride, and high nutrient levels in the Lake St. Clair watershed are particularly disconcerting.  High sediment levels and heavy metal contamination have created toxic "hot spots" in some areas. 

Read about the $50 billion the Great Lakes region could gain from investing in sustainable economic growth at the Healing Our Waters website, or, for more in-depth information, the study by the Brookings Institute. 

A recent statement by Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson suggesting that water be diverted from the Great Lakes to help solve water problems in the western and southwestern regions of the U.S. indicates that the Great Lakes will be in the center of the "water wars," http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/chi-water_bdoct28,0,3142729.story

Great Lakes region politicians are already firing back, telling politicians to keep their "hands off our water," http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/NEWS07/711090428

Record rainfall this past weekend caused an overflow at Racine, WI's Water and Wastewater Utility in which over 3.78 million gallons of untreated wastewater was dumped into Lake Michigan.

"Weekend rains lead to discharge of wastewater into Lake Michigan," http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/08/20/local_news/doc46ca6c89633de991081872.txt

A federal court judge dismissed a lawsuit by shipping companies trying to overturn a Michigan law requiring oceangoing ships to treat their ballast water.

"Law on ballast treatment is upheld," http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070816/NEWS05/708160446

 

The Great Lakes blogger celebrates the decision of the federal court judge that upheld Michigan's ballast water law and rues the decision of shipping companies to blame delays in the passage of ballast water laws on environmental groups, http://daviddempsey.typepad.com/davesblog/2007/08/good-news-on-st.html

http://daviddempsey.typepad.com/davesblog/2007/08/department-of-d.html

Yesterday, the Alliance for the Great Lakes filed a petition asking the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication to block BP's permit and asks that opponents be given a chance to appeal the permit. "Group asks state to reopen BP case," http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070815/LOCAL/708150518

 

From the number of mentions in the articles about BP today, Obama is making news by advocating for Great Lakes protection in Congress. The text of the letter Obama sent to Barbara Boxer yesterday about the BP situation appears in this following article: "Obama Calls on EPW Committee to Examine Approved Lake Michigan Pollution," http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48728814_barack_obama_barack_obama_obama_calls_epw_committee_examine_approved_lake_michigan_pollutio

 

What is the upshot of the meeting in Chicgao? Two views:

 

"Refinery plans to get 2nd look,"  http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070816/LOCAL19/708160471/-1/LOCAL17

 

"BP to reconsider permit on refinery," http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bpmeeting16aug16,1,1178618.story

 

The Great Lakes Guy discusses the outcome and situation leading up to the meeting with BP officials in Chicago last night, calling it a federally organized "BP codling session", and bemoans the fact that no-one seemed to offer the easiest alternative to additional discharges as a solution – no additional discharges. http://greatlakesguy.blogspot.com/2007/08/feds-organize-bp-coddling-session.html

More BP coverage and commentary from the Great Lakes Blogger, http://daviddempsey.typepad.com/davesblog/2007/08/more-bp-polluti.html

 

A discussion about the 'drain' that is the St. Clare River from the Political Environment, http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2007/08/great-lakes-water-issues-require-doyles.html

 

The Great Lakes Guy remarks on the recent announcement of ERCO Worldwide to eliminate mercury discharges in the Wisconsin River, and sees a lesson in it for the region as we work for restoration of the Great Lakes, http://greatlakesguy.blogspot.com/2007/08/erco-worldwides-decision-to-eliminate.html

 

Loon Commons features a discussion of ballast legislation and the editorials that appeared in MN newspapers recently about them. It also offers another interesting cause for the low lake levels in Superior… http://looncommons.org/2007/08/14/ballast/