BLACK BEAR SPEAKS

Public Meeting April 14 on Proposed Cleanup Options for Occidental Chemical Site in Montague

2010-04-14T11:02:00.002-04:00

There will be an informational meeting Wednesday, April 14, on proposed cleanup strategies for contaminated ground water at the Occidental Chemical Corp. facility in Montague. The meeting is from 6 to 8 p.m. at Montague Township Hall, 8915 Whitbeck Road.

The proposed cleanup plan includes installing installation of six new wells on the southern portion of the former Occidental Chemical property. The idea is that the wells, working with a current well system in place at White Lake, might reduce ground water contamination to safe levels from Old Channel to White Lake within the next 18 years.

From the EPA: State and federal environmental regulators have been overseeing cleanup work on the OCC property since 1979. Since that time, the first set of extraction wells have removed and treated billions of gallons of ground water and prevented the flow of contaminants into White Lake. However, contamination remains trapped in subsurface soil on the northern portion of the site and those chemicals continue to seep into the ground water. No treatment technologies have been found that can remove this contamination trapped in sands below the water table. The objectives of EPA’s proposed plan are to clean up ground water to better protect White Lake and allow for the eventual beneficial use of the ground water and unrestricted use of the OCC property and private property south of Old Channel Trail.

Show up to have your comments included in the plan.

Michigan Golf Course added to Superfund toxic sites list

2010-03-05T15:44:00.003-05:00

The Gratiot County Golf Course in St. Louis, Michigan has been added to the Superfund National Priorities List. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the U.S.

The Gratiot County site lies east of the Hidden Oaks Golf Course on Monroe Road. From 1956 to 1970, the nearby Velsicol Chemical burned their hazardous waste in an open pit. Originally the pit disposal area was proposed to Superfund in 1982, but at that time Velsicol excavated 68,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. In 2006, more soil and ground water contamination was found, and EPA and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality decided to propose the site as a new listing. With today’s action, the site is now eligible for further analysis and development of a cleanup plan.

So the message here is that for over 55 years, the groundwater and soil in St. Louis Michigan have been contaminated. It took 12 years after the toxic waste burning ended before anyone was held responsible and made to remove contamination. It took another 24 years before testing found more contamination. How long will it take to actually resolve this problem? Long after you and I are gone, probably, and long after all the people who worked at Velsicol have died of cancer.

Meanwhile Down in Evansville... or should we call it "Leadville"?

2010-02-03T16:54:00.003-05:00

upcoming lead-contaminated soil Superfund cleanup, 350 properties affected encompassing whole neighborhoods

350 properties in an area bounded by Mary Street to the west, Iowa Street to the north, Elliot Street to the east and Division and Illinois streets to the south will excavated and restored down in LEADVILLE beginning in March. The work is being funded through at least $5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The effort represents the second phase of cleanup at the Evansville site. In 2007 - 2008, the Feds cleaned up about 80 properties with lead levels above 1,200 parts per million (EPA’s residential lead cleanup level is 400 ppm). As that effort wrapped up, EPA announced plans for the current project. A third phase of the cleanup encompasses about a dozen neighborhoods in a 4.5-square-mile area north and south of the Lloyd Expressway near downtown Evansville. This expanded area includes about 10,000 properties that will be tested for soil contamination. EPA expects 4,000 may require cleanup. Work in this expanded area will begin in 2011 or 2012.

Several long-closed manufacturing companies used lead, arsenic and other metals in their operations leaving behind the contamination. Evansville was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List in July 2004.

Legal battle over, state wins clean-up costs for Ludington industrial site

2010-01-26T14:38:00.002-05:00

$525,000 Settlement Reached

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment reached a settlement that secures re-imbursement of the costs incurred by the department to investigate contamination from the former Handy Things Manufacturing Company property in Ludington. The settlement with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, the corporate successor to Handy Things Manufacturing, also requires the company to address existing soil and groundwater contamination at the site and includes provisions to prevent any unacceptable exposures to the contaminants.

Soil and groundwater in the area are contaminated with volatile organic compounds, chromium, zinc, cyanide, and other metal plating materials. The former Handy Things Manufacturing Company is one source of the contamination in this area, two others are Industrial Plating and Manufacturing, Inc., property (formerly known as the Ludington Plating Company), and Straits Steel and Wire Company property. Both properties are owned by Straits Steel and Wire.

The DNRE and Department of Attorney General are currently in negotiations with Straits Steel and Wire to reach a similar settlement regarding pollution that is attributable to them.

Ottawa River clean-up has begun

2010-01-11T16:40:00.002-05:00

Approximately 260,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment is being removed from the Ottawa River and Sibley Creek in Toledo, OH. The project began on December 19th and it is estimated that it's going to cost us - me and you fellow taxpayer - $49 Million dollars. The goal of the project is to reduce impacts to human health and the environment on the Ottawa River. This is the eighth cleanup of a contaminated site under the Great Lakes Legacy Act.

Sediment in the river and creek is contaminated with a mixture of heavy metals, PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons called PAHs. The sediment contamination in the Ottawa River is a key contributor to the fish advisories currently in place and limit the amount of fish that can be safely eaten.

During phase one of the project 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be removed from Sibley Creek, processed on-site to remove excess water and transported to the city of Toledo’s Hoffman Road Landfill for disposal. Sibley Creek is a 1.1-mile long tributary to the Ottawa River that enters the river about four miles upstream of the river mouth. The Sibley Creek work is expected to be completed by the end of January.

In April 2010 dredging of the main channel of the Ottawa River will begin. Some 245,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be removed. Dredging activities in the Ottawa River are expected to be completed by late 2010.

EPA is providing $24.5 million for the project through the Great Lakes Legacy Act. The Ottawa River Group, a consortium of private businesses in partnership with the city of Toledo, will provide the remaining $24.5 million. The city is providing space in its municipal landfill as their cost share.

Sunoco to Pay $173,310 for Air Quality Violations at Marcus Hook Refinery

2010-01-05T14:58:00.002-05:00

Over in the NOT-SO-GREEN corner for the past year is Sunoco, which has ordered to pay $173,310 in penalties for pollution violations at its refinery in Marcus Hook, PA.

In May 2008 a broken boiler released 8.3 tons of carbon monoxide. Two incidents in June 2008 resulted in 18.1 tons of volatile organic compounds being released into the atmosphere, along with 1,300 gallons of oil. These incidents resulted in residential damage claims and odor complaints.

In December 2008, a compressor shutdown resulted in the release of 3.93 tons of nitrogen oxides and 8.09 tons of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere.

Storage tank violations in June, September and November 2008 involved seal problems and an oil leak, which was NOT reported to the Pennsylvania Dept of Environmental Protection. Sunoco was also cited for failing to perform various inspections of instruments, tank hatches and ventilation systems.

So, let's continue to shine on a light Sunoco for a bit.

EPA Rules to Impact Manufacturers, Utilities

2010-01-05T12:43:00.000-05:00

he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two separate actions that could significantly impact several industries including power and water utilities.

The EPA has identified three industries — chemical manufacturing, petroleum and coal products manufacturing (including refineries and not coal mines), and the electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industry — that could face financial assurance requirements to ensure that the owners or operators of the facilities, not taxpayers, will be responsible for cleanups through the Superfund program.

Read the rest of this story here: EPA Rules to Impact Manufacturers, Utilities

EPA cites Sauder for clean-air violations

2009-07-15T16:42:00.003-04:00

The EPA is taking action against Sauder Woodworking Facility for alleged Clean Air Act violations at the company's furniture manufacturing plant in Archbold, Ohio. EPA proposed a $328,334 penalty.

Allegations suggest Sauder has violated federal and state regulations by emitting excessive amounts of particulates (smoke, dust, ash), nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from its plant. Sauder has also violated notification and record keeping requirements and requirements to continuously monitor emissions.

Inhaling high concentrations of particulates can have adverse health effects, particularly in children, the elderly and people with heart and lung disease, while nitrogen oxide can irritate the lungs and lower resistance to respiratory infections. Nitrogen oxide also contributes to the formation of smog and acid rain.

Volatile organic compounds also contribute to the formation of smog. People with asthma, children and the elderly are especially at risk.

Genesee County Files Application to Drain Lake Huron

2009-05-27T16:38:00.002-04:00

The Michigan DEQ received a water withdrawal permit request this week from the Genesee County Drain Commission for the withdrawal of 85 million gallons per day from Lake Huron as a public water supply source for Genesee County, the city of Flint and customer municipalities in Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw, and Shiawassee counties.

A 45 day public comment period required under state law will be open through July 15, and a decision on the permit application is expected later this summer.

Copies of the permit application and supporting information are available on the DEQ website at http://www.michigan.gov/deq.

$10.3 Million in grants for contaminated land cleanup, economic development in Michigan

2009-05-15T16:01:00.002-04:00

Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being awarded to help communities in Michigan clean up sites known as “brownfields” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants. The grants which include $2.5 million from the Recovery Act and $7.8 million from the EPA brownfields general program funding, help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, with the intent of turning them from problem properties to productive community use.

Battle Creek (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to update the city’s brownfields inventory and conduct 18 site assessments, and a $200,000 grant to assess properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Ingham County (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 18 site assessments, and a $100,000 grant to conduct eight site assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Jackson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, $1 million revolving loan fund grant to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with petroleum and hazardous substances. The Authority is targeting properties along the West Michigan Avenue Corridor.

Lenawee County, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 26 site assessments.

Lincoln Park, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 18 site assessments.

Roscommon County, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 19 site assessments.

Van Buren County, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 23 site assessments.

Applicants selected to receive brownfields general program funds are:

Albion Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 18 site assessments.

Bay City (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to conduct at least 16 site assessments, and a $200,000 grant to assess properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Benton Harbor (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 20 site assessments, and a $100,000 grant to conduct 10 site assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Downriver Community Conference (2), a $1 million grant to assess hazardous substances and potential petroleum contamination at 90 properties throughout 14 member communities, and a $1.5 million revolving loan fund grant to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with petroleum and hazardous substances.

Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 50 site assessments, and a $200,000 grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Hastings, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to conduct 18 site assessments.

Huron County (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct up to 16 site assessments, and a $200,000 grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Lake County (2), a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct 21 site assessments, and a $200,000 grant to conduct assessments at 27 properties with potential petroleum contamination.

Muskegon, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to conduct about 20 site assessments.

Oakland County, $1 million grant to inventory brownfields and assess hazardous substances and potential petroleum contamination at about 90 properties.

Saginaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, $1 million grant to assess hazardous substances and potential petroleum contamination at about 70 properties.

St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation, $200,000 grant to assess potential petroleum contamination at up to 20 properties.

Ypsilanti (3), $600,000 total, $200,000 each for three hazardous substances cleanup grants to address properties on East Michigan Avenue and South River Street.

LOCAL SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS: Knu's Red Ball Rocker

2009-04-10T18:21:00.003-04:00

A re-introduction of a modern classic, Knu's Red Ball Rocker is sustainable and cool. 100% carbon offset production at Knu's facility in Zeeland. It's fun, functional sculpture for toddlers. A great way to get your kids to see the world in an artistic manner.

New Environmental Justice Grants for Chicago and Milwaukee

2009-04-06T17:41:00.002-04:00

What is ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE??? In the United States, minority and low-income communities are disproportionately exposed to comparatively high levels of pollution and health risks. For example, in the early 1990's it was recognized that 96% of all hazardous waste dumping sites were in predominately minority owned communities. The federal government's Environmental Justice program aims to help these folk by ensuring fair treatment and meaningful involvement for everyone affected in the environmental decision-making process. The federal government has been issuing grants for the past 15 years to address these issues.

Nation-wide, $800,000 in grants to organizations working with communities facing environmental justice challenges will be distributed throughout the country. Forty grants, up to $20,000 each, are going to community-based organizations and local and tribal governments in 28 states for community projects aimed at addressing environmental and public health issues.

In April, The Metropolitan Tenants Association in Chicago is receiving $19,940 to educate low-income individuals in rental buildings about lead poisoning and pesticide use. The project will focus on education, inspection and abatement in 40-70 multiple-unit buildings, housing a projected 1,000 renters.

Also in April, People for Community Recovery in Chicago is going to receive $19,966 for a project called "Environmental Justice through Education and Exploration." The organization will work with youth ages 14-18 in the predominantly African-American Altgeld Gardens public housing project on the harmful effects of environmental hazards in the air, water and water.

The City of Milwaukee is receiving a grant for $20,000 to raise awareness of how human actions affect storm water runoff and water pollution. The training will be provided in English, Spanish, Hmong and Lao languages by peer educators at local schools and neighborhood and faith-based organization meetings.

Crown Chemical Fined for Dumping Caustic Waste into Local Water Supply

2009-02-18T19:45:00.006-05:00

Jim Spain, former president of Crown Chemical in Crestwood iL, has plead guilty to illegally dumping chemical wastes into a regional sewer system. He gets off easy with a fine, home confinement and a year's probation. Crown Chemical Inc., which also pleaded guilty to charges in the case, was sentenced to pay a criminal fine, required to spend a year on probation and make a public apology. The company's manager, Catalino Uy, was fined and will spend two years on probation. The fines total $135,000.

Spain was charged in 2006 with the illegal discharges, lying to federal investigators and conspiracy. Spain admitted that he showed employees how to discharge the untreated wastewater to the local sewers, and that he also directed employees to use a hose to try to dilute the waste being discharged. During the trial he acknowledged that the illegal discharges extended for 16 years, from 1985 until 2001. Spain also admitted he had lied to federal investigators and admitted that he telephoned several employees before they arrived for work and told them to falsely tell investigators that they treated the wastewater before they discharged it.

Crown Chemical Inc., manufactures industrial and commercial home cleaning products. According to the indictment in the case, wastewater resulting from cleaning out tanks at the facility routinely was drained to the city sewer system, despite the fact that the discharges violated standards for their acid content and at times for their caustic content. The sewer system in Crestwood is a regional system that connects to a treatment plant owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Guess what Chicago, you just drank toxic waste... again.

EPA says Des Plaines River Oil Spill is Cleaned Up

2009-02-18T19:32:00.005-05:00

EPA said today that most cleanup activities associated with the Feb. 8 oil release from Caterpillar's Joliet facility are now complete. The work was performed with support from Illinois EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The poisoning of the river occurred when Caterpillar Corps waste oil/water separation system failed. Two waste oil collection pits containing about 65,000 gallons of oil overflowed, spilling onto a parking area and an embankment leading down to the Des Plaines River.

Up to 6,000 gallons of the oil flowed into the river. About 90 percent of the spilled oil collected in a gravel parking area and on the embankment. Light river surface "sheening" was spotted several miles downstream from the Caterpillar facility.

The Coast Guard and Caterpillar contractors captured most of the off-shore spill with an absorbent pad system.

Later in the week, the parking area and shoreline impacted by the spill were monitored for additional releases. Runoff from recent rains was monitored to prevent recontamination of the cleaned areas. Next, Caterpillar will submit for EPA review a follow-up water and land sampling plan. Laboratory analysis of this work should be complete by April or May 2009. About 200 cubic yards of oil-stained parking lot gravel and other debris is now staged in rolloff boxes awaiting treatment and/or landfill disposal.

PENNSYLVANIA TO HOLD FIRST STATEWIDE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE

2009-01-27T17:16:00.001-05:00

HARRISBURG – A first-of-its-kind conference will be held April 26 – 28 to educate and improve communication among members of environmental justice communities, community organizations, private sector organizations and government officials, the Department of Environmental Protection announced today.

The conference, organized by the DEP's Environmental Justice Advisory Board and Office of Environmental Advocate, along with Drexel University, will be held at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel, Harrisburg.

"Environmental policy in Pennsylvania must be formed with respect and sensitivity toward everyone and with special care to protect vulnerable communities, said Environmental Protection acting Secretary John Hanger. "Our goal is to include community members and advocates as partners and participants in planning and decision making. This conference will foster a better understanding of the obstacles vulnerable communities face and what we can do to address them."

The conference, "Building Healthy and Improved Communities for All," is also being made possible through the efforts and sponsorship of the departments of Transportation, Public Welfare, Education, Health, Community and Economic Development, as well as Simmons Cooper Cooney & Conway, Waste Management, and individual donors. Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.

Open House on Kennecott Mine Proposal

2008-10-13T16:45:00.001-04:00

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold an open house on October 22 to answer questions about the federal role in regulating the proposed mine and the underground injection control permit application submitted by Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company. The open house will be held at the Holiday Inn, 1951 U.S. Highway 41, West Marquette, Mich. There will be three sessions from 9 to 11 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m.

Kennecott proposes to dispose of treated wastewater as part of a nickel and copper sulfide mining operation within the Yellow Dog Plains of northwestern Marquette County. EPA notified the company that any underground disposal system at the mining site must comply with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act's federal Underground Injection Control program before construction and operation. The Safe Drinking Water Act is intended to protect underground sources of drinking water.

The UIC permitting process for the underground disposal system is EPA's only direct regulatory role in the Eagle mine project. EPA is conducting a technical evaluation of the permit application and supporting documents and expects to issue a draft decision before the end of the year. EPA will accept public comments and hold a public hearing when the draft decision is announced.

A copy of the permit application and more information about the Eagle mine project and the underground injection control program is available at: http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/uic/kennecott/index.htm.

BIFMA Standards Unveiled in October

2008-09-23T17:42:00.002-04:00

From Environmental Leader - September 19, 2008
Sustainability Guidelines for Office Furniture May Soon Be Finalized

A new national sustainability standard for office furniture makers, developed jointly by NSF and the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association, may be finalized by early October, Western Michigan Business Review reports.

The guidelines set baselines to determine the sustainability of products and internal business practices. The development of the standard was mainly driven by booming market demands for environmentally friendly products from office furniture makers.

Brian Walker, president and CEO of Herman Miller, told Western Michigan Business Review that the standard allows manufacturers already involved in green efforts to go even further, and encourages smaller companies to begin the journey.

According to a case study by Forrester Research, Herman Miller has reduced landfill waste by 80 percent and hazardous waste by 91 percent. The company has also seen 32 percent return on investment in energy efficiency investments.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Great Lakes Legacy Act ReAuthorized in Congress, still must pass Senate

2008-09-19T16:26:00.003-04:00

Buffalo, NY—The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to reauthorize and triple the amount being spent for cleaning up contamination at sites around the Great Lakes. Once approved by the Senate, the reauthorized Great Lakes Legacy Act (H.R. 6460/S.R. 2994) will:

• Provide $150 million annually from 2009-2013
• Fund pilot projects using innovative approaches, techniques or technologies to clean up contaminated sediment; and
• Guarantee public involvement and participation.

The 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement identified 43 “Areas of Concern” with 26 sites in U.S. waters and five in shared U.S-Canadian waters.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28), Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27), and Congressman John McHugh (NY-23) championed the Great Lakes Legacy Act in the House. New York Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton are both original co-sponsors in the Senate. To date, New York’s Great Lakes toxic hot spots have received almost $20 million to help clean up blighted and orphaned coastal contamination sites.

A few of the Great Lakes Legacy Act Areas of Concern in New York (many more in surrounding states)

New York State’s remaining Great Lakes toxic hot spots include:
Niagara River Area of Concern is located in Erie and Niagara counties. Pollution from inactive hazardous waste sites, sewer overflows, shoreline development, heavy metals and toxic chemicals from industrial waste impair the River’s health.

Buffalo River Area of Concern. Poor water quality, sewer overflows, 45 inactive hazardous waste sites, deformed fish, and contaminated sediments laden with toxic chemicals and heavy metals impair the Buffalo River in the City of Buffalo.

Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern is located in the Town of Newfane, Niagara County. Fish and wildlife deformities and reproductive problems are linked to sediments contaminated with heavy metals and toxic chemicals, as well as poor water quality and habitat degradation, impair this Lake Ontario tributary.

Rochester Embayment Area of Concern of Lake Ontario in Monroe County is impaired by heavy metals, sewer overflows, toxic organic substances resulting in health advisories for fish consumption.

St. Lawrence River at Massena Area of Concern begins at the Massena Village drinking water intake and includes portions of the Grasse, Raquette and St. Regis Rivers. PCBs, mercury, DDE, Mirex, nutrients, metals, physical disturbance, natural erosion and invasive species impair the River.

Toxic Chemicals and Heavy Metals in Great Lakes Areas of Concern

Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin and Mirex are man-made chemicals once used as insecticides and flame retardants. They accumulate in the fat of fish and other animals. Exposure impacts the nervous system, liver, kidneys, thyroid gland, and reproduction in animals and people.

Dioxins and Furans are persistent chemicals that accumulate in the fat of fish and other animals. Released as a by-product of manufacturing and emissions from motor vehicles, municipal waste incinerators, wood fires and trash burning. Exposure is linked to skin, reproductive, and liver problems in people.
PCBs are persistent man-made chemicals, banned in the mid-1970s that continue to accumulate in the fat of fish and other animals. PCB exposure is linked to low birth weight, learning disabilities, decreased memory, and reproductive problems.

Mercury is a bioaccumlative toxic heavy metal that poses particular problems for the developing nervous system of children and unborn babies.
Cadmium is a bioaccumaltive toxic metal used in many industrial operations and in consumer products such as paints, plastics and batteries. Long term cadmium exposure adversely impact human’s kidneys, bones, and blood.

Eden Environments: Grand Rapids' Sustainable Design Center

2008-09-15T18:31:00.002-04:00

Yup, the bear attended opening night of Eden Environments and I was glad to see and meet so many likeminded green folk. Good food, good conversation and great design came together that evening with expectations of great things to come from owner Denise Hopkins.

Denise's vision was to create a store that would offer green alternatives for every aspect of interior design and construction. She is off to a great start. She has a fantastic location on 28th Street in the Design One Plaza - just east of the I-96 offramp near the Cascade Meijer - and her new showroom is filled with creative and inspiring designs.

Hat's off to Denise! Finally a great place to shop for green goods in Grand Rapids!

The Ashtabula River Runs Clean Into Lake Erie Once Again

2008-09-08T16:59:00.003-04:00

The Ashtabula River Partnership recently hosted a party at the Ashtabula Yacht Club to celebrate the successful removal of nearly 630,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the river. The sediment contained a variety of chemicals including PCBs, heavy metals and uranium, radium and thorium. Dredging began in September 2006 and is finally over.

It cost over $60 million from the Great Lakes Legacy Act and the state of Ohio to remove 25,000 pounds of hazardous PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other contaminants from the river bottom. It is the first cleanup project in Ohio funded by the federal Great Lakes Legacy Act, and the largest of the four Legacy Act projects funded to date. Also, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the dredging north of the Fifth Street lift bridge to Lake Erie at a cost of $15 million.

The true cost of pollution is never pretty... these millions are nothing compared to the disease and the loss of life that this mess has likely created.

Troy Ohio added to SuperFund Priorties List

2008-09-05T15:05:00.001-04:00

The East Troy Contaminated Aquifer site in Troy, Ohio, to the Superfund National Priorities List. Three other sites - the Behr Dayton Thermal System VOC Plume site in Dayton, the New Carlisle Landfill in New Carlisle, Ohio, and the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery in East Chicago, Ind. - were proposed for addition to the priorities list. Sites on the list are eligible for additional study and resources under EPA's Superfund program.

Nationally, six new sites were added to the NPL, bringing the total to 1,258, and 11 sites were proposed for addition to the list. Under the NPL process, sites are first proposed and public comments considered before a determination is made to formally add a site to the list. The NPL is updated twice each year.

The East Troy site is an area where volatile organic compounds, including the common industrial chemicals PCE and TCE, have contaminated ground water, soil and the indoor air in basements. EPA addressed the indoor air health risk by installing vapor abatement systems in 16 homes and St. Patrick Elementary School in the summer of 2007. EPA and Ohio EPA data also shows that VOCs have contaminated ground water below the city of Troy, as well as a local drinking water well field. To address this, Ohio EPA and Troy have taken steps to contain one potential source of the
contamination, and are treating contaminated ground water prior to use. Adding the site to the NPL enables EPA to study site conditions further, identify possible sources of the contamination, and develop a comprehensive strategy to address all locations and sources of the VOC contamination.

The proposed Behr Dayton site also involves TCE contamination in ground water. In 2003 and 2006, volatile organic compounds were detected in ground water beneath the Behr Dayton Thermal System auto parts manufacturing facility at 1600 Webster St. To address potential health risks associated with the pollution, EPA has installed vapor mitigation systems in 180 homes in the neighborhood south of the plant since late 2006. EPA will soon announce an October open house session to discuss the project.

The New Carlisle Landfill, at 715 N. Dayton-Lakeview Road in New Carlisle, operated from the mid-1950s until the early 1970s. It is now covered with two to four feet of clay, but was not designed with a protective liner in the manner of modern landfills. Ohio EPA data indicates that water from two public wells and two residential wells in the nearby area contain vinyl chloride above the safe drinking water level. In 2005, EPA extended the water line from the New Carlisle public water system to two homes and a plant nursery business. EPA remains concerned about potential migration of the vinyl chloride toward residential wells within one-half mile of the site.

The U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery site, 5300 Kennedy Ave., East Chicago, Ind., was also proposed for addition to the NPL today. The company operated from 1920 to 1985. Lead, most likely dispersed from long-removed smokestacks, has been detected in residential soil north of the property. The company also discharged process water to wetlands on the property that flow toward the Grand Calumet River Corridor. In July 2008, EPA began removing lead-contaminated soil from 15 nearby homes. Adding the site to the NPL will enable EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to complete a comprehensive approach to address the contamination.

CORPORATE POLLUTERS PAY STIFF FINES IN THE GREAT LAKES

2008-09-02T17:41:00.002-04:00

1) An agreement has been reached with Republic Engineered Products Inc. on alleged Clean Air Act violations at the company's steel mill at 1807 E. 28th St., Lorain, Ohio. Republic has agreed to pay a $210,000 penalty.

2) EPA proposed a $114,740 penalty and filed an administrative complaint against Wolf Paving Co. Inc., 612 N. Sawyer Road, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin., for alleged Clean Air Act violations at an asphalt plant the company owned and operated until January 2007 at Highway 18 and County Road C in Genesee, Wisconsin.

3) The EPA and U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a $2,055,373 settlement for cleanup costs at the former IWI site, 7738 W. 61st Place, in Summit, Ill. A group of 23 companies will reimburse the government for cleanup work completed in October 2003. The late Glenn Wellman operated four companies at the 1.7-acre site from the late 1960s until the late 1990s: IWI Inc., IWI Industries, Itasco and Wellco. The business manufactured, cleaned and repaired stainless steel totes designed to store up to 600 gallons of liquid - typically flammable or corrosive materials such as adhesives, inks, oil and paint. The property was abandoned following Wellman's death in 1999. Oddly enough, a fire destroyed the former administrative offices in May 2002. A nine-month cleanup effort by a Chicago-based EPA Superfund team resulted in the safe disposal of 683 tons of contaminated soil, 568 tons of hazardous sludges, 568 drums and 52,300 gallons of hazardous liquids from a railroad tank car, sumps and totes at the site. The remaining structures on the property were razed.

4) Hercules Inc. had alleged clean-air violations at the company's chemical plant at 5228 N. Hopkins St., Milwaukee. A $22,500 penalty resolves EPA allegations that Hercules failed to comply with regulations requiring the facility to control leaks of hazardous air pollutants from its equipment.

EPA said Hercules had an uncapped open-ended line, had delayed repair of another line and had not tagged relevant equipment. The company has since demonstrated compliance with these requirements and improved its leak-management system.

5) Another agreement with Perham Resource Recovery Facility, a small municipal waste combustor in Perham, Minn., on alleged clean-air violations. This agreement, which includes a $15,950 penalty and a $110,760 environmental project, resolves EPA allegations that the facility exceeded emission standards for hydrogen chloride and mercury. The alleged violations were discovered through performance test reports submitted by the facility. The facility's environmental project consists of two improvements to its air pollution control system that will reduce emissions of hydrogen chloride and mercury. Hydrogen chloride, or hydrochloric acid, is corrosive to the eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Chronic exposure can cause chronic bronchitis and skin problems.

6) Bristol-Myers Squibb, an international pharmaceutical manufacturer, has agreed to reduce the output of ozone-depleting refrigerants at multiple industrial facilities around the country at a combined cost of $3.65 million to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice announced in early July. Under an agreement filed in federal court in Evansville, Ind., New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb will be required to retire or retrofit 17 industrial refrigeration units by July 2009 at facilities in Mt. Vernon and Evansville, Ind.; Hopewell, N.J.; and Humacao and Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The units are used in the facilities' industrial process or as air conditioners and currently use hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, as refrigerants.

I could keep going there are so many more to list...

HERE'S A FACT THAT YOU DON'T KNOW

2008-08-15T17:02:00.001-04:00

There are an estimated 243 million cell phone users in the United States. That number is dwarfed only by the estimated number of unused cell phones lurking in junk drawers and closets – 500 million. And the number of obsolete and unused cell phones is growing by an estimated 100 million each year. It's also estimated that the average wireless customer changes phones every 16 months. We're being buried in unused cell phones.

Certainly, recycling unused, obsolete or broken cell phones keeps hazardous waste out of our landfills, but it CAN also help animals in the wild.

Columbite-tantalite, or Coltan for short, is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of the African Congo. It is used in cell phones, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices. When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge. Some types of Coltan mining may occur illegally in protected lands all across the Congo which in turn put wildlife such as Elephants and Gorillas of the Congo region at risk.

The Houston Zoo and 46 other zoos and aquariums across the country are in partnership with Eco-Cell, a cell phone-recycling firm based in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Houston Zoo has a recycling bin in our gift shop for collection of unwanted cell phones, batteries, and chargers. Zoo guests may also mail them in (see address below).

One hundred percent of the funds raised from the recycling of unwanted cell phones and accessories support the Houston Zoo’s wildlife conservation programs in Texas as well as in Africa and Asia. Through the Zoo’s partnership with Eco-Cell, items collected are sold, refurbished, or recycled. Damaged or obsolete phones are safely recycled in accordance with all applicable environmental guidelines.

The Houston Zoo’s Recycling Program also accepts empty inkjet, laser printer cartridges, and PDAs (palm pilots) for recycling.

If you have any questions about the Houston Zoo’s cell phone recycling program, please contact Brian Hill at bhill@houstonzoo.org or call 713-533-6531. I’d be happy to connect you with our Conservation Department. The mailing address for the recycling program is below.

Houston Zoo Inc.
Cell Phone Recycle
1513 North MacGregor
Houston, TX 77030

Protect the Earth Summit August 2 and 3

2008-08-14T17:16:00.001-04:00

Help Stop Metallic Sulfide and Uranium Mining

Keepers of the Water, Yellowdog Summer, and Students Against Sulfide Mining are organizing a Protect the Earth Summit on the shores of Gichigami for August 2 and 3 to bring communities together throughout the Great Lakes Region and the Midwest that are concerned about metallic sulfide and uranium mining. We all share and depend on clean land, air and water for our survival and must work together to protect the health of our communities and ecosystems. Please join them for free workshops, speakers, music, food, dance, and a walk to Eagle Rock.

To see the schedule of events please click here.

Dow will Clean up dioxin in Saginaw

2008-07-25T16:18:00.002-04:00

The Feds have reached an agreement with Dow Chemical Co. that requires the company to clean up dioxin contamination in the Riverside Boulevard neighborhood of Saginaw. Construction work in this neighborhood on the Lower Tittabawassee River is expected to begin in late July and continue through the fall.

There are dangerously high levels of dioxin contamination in yards, the unpaved Riverside Boulevard roadway and in the interior of some homes.
Last April, EPA took soil samples at residential properties following discussions and consultation with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and Michigan Department of Community Health.

The agreement, called an "administrative order on consent", includes:
* Excavation of residential yards, then backfilling with clean soil.
* Interior cleaning of homes.
* Remediation of unpaved surfaces on Riverside Boulevard.

Dow's Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins and furans are byproducts from the manufacture of chlorine-based products. Past waste disposal practices, emissions and incineration at Dow have resulted in on- and off-site dioxin and furan contamination.

New EPA Regional Administrator for the Great Lakes

2008-07-25T16:15:00.001-04:00

Lynn Buhl will become Regional Administrator for EPA Region 5, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Bharat Mathur, EPA's Acting Regional Administrator since May of 2008, will resume his position as Deputy Regional Administrator.

Since September 2006, Buhl has served as Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at EPA Headquarters, where she advised the Administrator on a wide range of environmental enforcement issues.

Previously, Buhl served as Acting Secretary of Maryland's Department of the Environment and Deputy Secretary of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources. During her years of service in Maryland, she provided policy advice to Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. and was instrumental in reforming Maryland's contaminated site cleanup program.

Prior to her service in Maryland, Buhl worked at Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality, Daimler Chrysler Corporation and in EPA's Region 5 office as an assistant regional counsel.

Buhl, a native of Missouri, holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, and a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Coast Guard Enlists Alliance, Public in Michigan Beach Trash Investigation

2008-07-25T16:08:00.002-04:00

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is assisting the U.S. Coast Guard in its investigation to identify the source of tons of strange trash washing up along the Lake Michigan shoreline in West Michigan. The Alliance is calling on its West Michigan beach adopters and any other members of the public willing to help clean up the debris and collect information to share with the Coast Guard as it works to identify the source.

The Coast Guard says most of the debris is street litter such as food wrappers, beverage containers and balloons that was first reported washing up in Sleeping Bear Dunes in mid-June.

Initial reports from Sleeping Bear Dunes have been followed by reports of a large wash-up of debris in Manistee, and of trash washing up in Muskegon and Allegan County. Manistee appears to have received the brunt of the trash, but other communities are also dealing with abnormally high amounts of litter washing up on their beaches.

Photographs of dangerous material and items with identifiable information will help to identify possible sources. Anyone finding this type of trash should report it immediately to the Coast Guard Investigative Service at: 586-307-6759 through Friday, July 25, and 586-239-6759 thereafter.

Local Alliance Adopt-a-Beach teams, already trained in collecting trash and water quality data as part of regular cleanups and general beach stewardship, responded immediately to the wash-up in Sleeping Bear Dunes and Muskegon -- many folks just headed out to the beach without being asked. Thanks guys.

Wolf Killings Continue in Yellowstone Region

2008-07-17T16:23:00.003-04:00

The Bush Administration stripped wolves of their endangered species protection in March. 106 wolves have been killed in the past 118 days.

Almost one per day. And if Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have their way, at least 900 wolves -- nearly 60 percent of the population -- could be exterminated this fall, when a massive public hunt begins.

Make no mistake: This will be the very last summer for many of Yellowstone's wolves -- unless immediate action is taken to stop the killing.

Tourists visiting Yellowstone have been horrified to learn that the wolves they've traveled hundreds and thousands of miles to see are being gunned down as they wander outside the protection of the park. Hundreds of tourists a day are signing petitions to protest the slaughter.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is circulating those petitions in the park AND taking court action -- along with 11 other conservation groups -- to compel the Bush Administration to restore protection for the wolves.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE.

Then, if you'd like to do more, you can donate to help the NRDC Action Fund build a national outcry against the slaughter.

Your support will help us broadcast the wolf's plight and mobilize America against the Bush Administration.

Swift action is imperative. Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are planning public hunts for the region's remaining 1,400 wolves this fall -- the first in more than three decades. Once the leaves fall from the trees, wolves will be easy targets for aerial sharpshooters who can gun down entire packs in a matter of minutes.

Lt. Governor Cherry Speaks out on Great Lakes Protection

2008-07-11T15:10:00.004-04:00

Lt. Governor Cherry has been touring the state to raise public awareness of preserving the Lakes – especially to urge Congress to reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act. He's been posting on blogs during his trip and today I'm fortunate enough to announce that he is using Black Bear Speaks to get the word out. He started in Port Huron and is now on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Over the past several days, Cherry has been in Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Muskegon where he has been talking with local leaders, residents and the media about the Lakes.

Cherry, who chairs the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Commission, announced a restoration project at a press conference this morning at the Grand Trunk boat launch site. The project will focus on the south shoreline of Muskegon Lake, from the Lake Michigan channel to the mouth of the Muskegon River. The project aims to restore hundreds of acres of wetlands along the shoreline by planting native species, removing old seawalls, etc.

This is a tremendous opportunity, so please use the comment feature below to tell the LG Cherry exactly what you think needs to happen in regard to protecting and conserving the Great Lakes.

"Yesterday's activities began in Michigan's Twin City Region—St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. Historically, these two communities were sited at the confluence of two major Indian transportation routes. The Sauk Trail was the major land route across Michigan's Lower Peninsula, and connected to the major water route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The Miami and Potawatomi established camps in the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor area.

St. Joseph is also the home of one of my duck hunting companions—Judge Charlie LaSata.

The purpose of our stop here was to celebrate the work that The Conservation Fund, in conjunction with the Berrien County Drain Office and Health Department, has done to reduce the sediment load that the Galien River dumps into Lake Michigan. Non-point source pollution is a major pathway for the deposition of toxics and other contaminants into the Great Lakes. Through a local, state, and federal partnership, a watershed management plan was developed and is in the process of implementation. A number of conservation easements have been purchased. This year's $300,000 grant will be used to tackle E. Coli contamination by identifying failing septic systems and protecting wetland areas. Additionally, local residents are organizing two river cleanups this year.

The celebration took place at Warren Dunes State Park. My wife, Pam, and I were met by Peg Kohring of the Conservation Fund, Frank Rustwick, Deputy Director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Mike Terrell, the Park Manager at Warren Dunes. Mike had previously been assigned to Seven Lakes State Park near my home. Now he manages the gem of the Michigan State Park system. Mike tells me that 20 per cent of the revenue for the entire state park system is generated at Warren Dunes. That tells us something about the economic impact of breathtaking natural wonders and why it makes economic sense to protect them.

We held a ceremonial grant transmittal to the Conservation Fund at a park pavilion on the shore of Lake Michigan and at the foot of the world's largest body of fresh water dunes. A great crowd of local conservation activists gathered for the event, and we talked about the enormous opportunity that this presidential election presents to secure a strong federal commitment for Great Lakes restoration. Both candidates have signed a pledge to support Great Lakes restoration and protection. This is the year to put the Great Lakes on the federal agenda for 2009."

Bogus Recycling Company Owners Jailed

2008-07-08T17:19:00.002-04:00

Oh yes, sometimes your government gets it right. This time
three folks were arrested in Lapeer County for racketeering and money laundering.

Between 2000 and 2004, World Waste Services and Cove Landfill were
permitted by the state of Michigan to conduct a solid waste business. World Waste Services submitted falsified documents with forged names of governmental officials to the DEQ and Huron County that sparked a cooperative criminal investigation between the DEQ and Huron County Sheriff’s Department.

It turns out that the company entered into recycling contracts with municipalities throughout the thumb area. They gave the appearance of adhering to the contracts and
recycling the waste, but instead disposed of the recyclable material into Cove
Landfill, at no cost to them.

The owners were took most of the cash they received at the business and converted it to their own personal use by laundering the money through area casinos.

Book Recommendation: EcoDesign Sourcebook

2008-05-31T13:10:00.002-04:00

For the growing number of people looking to embrace an eco-friendly lifestyle without sacrificing high style, ecoDesign — now fully revised and updated — is the ultimate one-stop shopping resource. The latest edition of this definitive sourcebook includes up-to-the-minute listings for more than seven hundred consumer products — from clothing to kitchenware, electronics to furniture — that have a minimal impact on the earth while remaining useful and beautiful. This remarkable compendium also directs readers to little known gems and handcrafted objects from artisanal studios. Detailed, illustrated entries describe the products, while an extensive reference section defines new and hybrid materials and provides information on manufacturers, design studios, and green organizations. ecoDesign remains the total resource guide for the new generation of contemporary design.

Buy it now

Is Your Child’s Car Seat Toxic?

2008-05-31T12:51:00.003-04:00

Most popular 2008 child car seats being tested for toxic chemicals

Vote for Your Choice at www.HealthyCar.org by Monday, June 23

Last year the Ecology Center released the first-ever consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats. (You may have read about it here on Black Bear Speaks last year.) This included 62 brand new infant, convertible and booster car seats. In December they released a holiday shopping guide to toxic chemicals in toys at www.HealthyToys.org. Now, these Ann-Arbor based environmental scientists are testing 2008 models, and they want to hear from YOU.

HealthyCar.org wants to know which child car seats parents are most interested in having tested. Parents can go to the Test My Car Seat feature at www.healthycar.org/carseat.nominate.php and vote by Monday, June 23. Test results of the most popular car seats will be released on Tuesday, July 22nd at www.HealthyCar.org along with updated data on toxic chemicals in 2007- and 2008-model vehicles.

While there are numerous substances in car seats that can lead to health and environmental problems, the Ecology Center is looking for those with known toxicity, persistence, and tendency to build up in people and the environment. Chemicals tested for include: bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants); chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC and plasticizers); lead; and heavy metal allergens. Such chemicals have been linked to major health problems such as liver, thyroid and developmental problems in children. Babies are the most vulnerable population in terms of exposure to chemical-laden dust and inhaling toxic fumes, since their systems are still developing.

Anyone looking to buy a new car or car seat, or wondering if their current car or child’s car seat is safe, can visit www.HealthyCar.org after July 22 and search by model, or comparison shop between different models.

Chicago Green Festival This Weekend on Navy Pier

2008-05-13T13:11:00.002-04:00

Head's up! Knú will be exhibiting at the Chicago Green Festival on Navy Pier!

Show Hours:
Saturday 10AM- 8PM
Sunday 11AM- 6PM

Venue and Address:
Navy Pier
600 E Grand Avenue, Chicago

Celebrating what works, the Green Festival showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable products. Annie's Mac&Cheese, Dr. Bronner's soap, Utne Reader and NOLS will be there, plus lots, lots more.

Knú is bringing in a truckload of Michigan made unique, modern, high quality sustainable furniture, including: new home office desk designs, an entertainment center, a lateral file, privacy screens, and more. Knú furniture is built using Forest Stewardship Council certified wood products, recycled content steel components, low-VOC finishes, and it ships in fully recyclable packaging. Knú does not produce junk mail catalogs! We are 100% carbon offset through our business partner CarbonFund.org, last year we offset 389 metric tons! Check out our website at www.getknu.com or www.getknu.com/environment.html to learn more about our sustainability efforts.

In addition more than 150 visionary speakers will appear for standing-room-only panel discussions, presentations and main stage speaking events. Look for Amy Goodman at noon on Saturday and Winona LaDuke at noon Sunday, to name just a few.

With more than a dozen speakers covering topics such as permaculture and sustainable architecture, the Green Home Pavilion will be one of the top places to be during the festival. Look for the Knú booth directly in front of the Green Home Pavilion. We'll be the big guys in grey shirts with the funky green Knú logo on them, can't miss us.

Click here to find the Chicago Green Festival speakers list and schedule.

Also at the festival, you'll enjoy great how-to workshops, green films, a fair trade pavilion, yoga and movement classes, kids' zone, delicious organic beer, wine and cuisine, and live music. Look for the Knú guys in the grey shirts.

To learn more about the Chicago Green Festival, check out their site at www.greenfestivals.org.

If you have any questions regarding Knú or the Chicago Green Festival, give Knú Customer Service a call toll free at 866.451.5541!!!

Congress moves will support major coal interests, not renewables

2008-05-09T09:21:00.001-04:00

On April 15, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources & Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands conducted an oversight hearing on state and community impacts from the West-Wide Energy Corridor Process. The process, mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, would designate energy corridors across large swaths of land throughout the U.S. At worst, this is an example of bureaucratic bungling that threatens some of our most pristine, ecologically important habitats and could waste millions of taxpayer dollars. At best, this process represents a missed opportunity to design a forward-looking policy to address our energy needs.

Here is some background on the West-wide corridors:

Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Departments of Energy, Interior and multiple other federal agencies to designate West-wide energy transmission corridors for oil, gas and hydrogen pipelines as well as electric transmission facilities. The federal government responded by issuing a draft environmental impact statement in November 2007 that proposed corridors on public lands within the 11 states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California. Once designated, the corridors (averaging 3,500-feet wide but ranging up to 5 miles in width) will cover 6,000 miles and almost 3 million acres of public lands. As proposed, the designations will damage wildlife habitat, cultural resources, recreation opportunities, and many other resources on federal lands across the West. The impacted areas include such renowned places as the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge on the Arizona/California border, New Mexico's Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, and Utah's Grand Staircase National Monument and Arches National Park.

The corridors process also shortchanges the commitment of Western states to producing renewable energy. Not only would the proposed West-wide energy corridors slice through high-value public lands, they would hard-wire a coal economy onto the 21st century West. The proposed energy corridors show the administration's multi-billion dollar grid to be little more than a network connecting existing and proposed coal-fired power plants that bypass many areas rich in renewable energy potential. If the federal government is going to invest millions in solving the energy transmission bottleneck, it only makes sense that it does it in a manner that moves us toward efficient use of clean energy sources.

At the hearing, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) said, "The current map looks like a giant extension cord to existing coal sources. Transmission is key to the development and sustainability of renewable energy. If that wasn't taken into account, that's a huge step backward.”

Designating corridors to meet our needs to transport energy across the nation can be part of a common sense approach to meeting the need for energy, but it is only one part – in conjunction with considering how we conserve energy and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels. It is vital that these corridors are located only in appropriate places, and that their construction and use are also carefully determined with true consideration of their likely effects on the surrounding areas. Thoughtful planning is the best way to protect people and the rest of the natural environment.

The designation of energy corridors across the West simply cannot be permitted to proceed unless and until these serious concerns are addressed. The agencies need to generate a new proposal and conduct real consultation with all interested parties, fully disclosing what the corridors will do to all the affected lands, and including alternatives that avoid or minimize impacts to sensitive resources and prioritize improved efficiency, distributed generation, and renewables. Such an approach would ensure that this can be a meaningful and ultimately useful process.

To learn more about the West-wide Energy Corridor designation process, please visit http://corridoreis.anl.gov/

37 Yellowstone National Park Wolves Shot Dead

2008-05-03T07:30:00.003-04:00

The restoration of the gray wolf in the Northern Rockies is one of America's greatest environmental success stories. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and the central Idaho wilderness in 1995 after being exterminated by settlers, trappers and the federal government. Since then, these new populations have increased to 1,500 or so animals. Wolves play a crucial role in the ecosystems of the Northern Rockies, helping to preserve riparian forests and maintain healthy populations of raptors and coyotes. They are also a boon to the region's economy, generating tens of millions of dollars in tourist revenue each year.

But Rocky Mountain wolves are now in grave danger. In March 2008, idiots in the Bush Administration stripped gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone and across the Northern Rockies of endangered species protection. Earlier in the year, these same idiots in the administration issued a new rule allowing the slaughter of hundreds of these wolves. Entire packs of wolves could be gunned down from airplanes in minutes. In fact, the federal government has already spent our tax dollars to buy two planes for the purpose of aerial gunning. 37 wolves have been shot dead in the past month.

Both Idaho and Wyoming have made it clear that they intend to take their wolf populations down to minimum levels. In Idaho, the governor himself boasted, "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself." The Bush Administration's new rule would allow Idaho to realize its dream of killing every last wolf -- 60 in all -- in the Clearwater River wilderness region. Ultimately, the state wants to kill up to 85 percent of its approximately 780 wolves. Even pups will be killed.

Wyoming's plans are equally brutal. The state classifies wolves as "predatory animals" in most of the state. As predators, wolves could be shot on sight anywhere by anyone at anytime. In the 80 percent of Wyoming outside the Yellowstone area, wolves will now be killed in unlimited numbers -- with no licenses or permits required.
By authorizing these wolf killing plans, the Bush Administration is catering to the hunting community, which wants the ease of hunting elk in the same places and in the same numbers that they've grown accustomed to. Yet, elk populations are at all-time highs across the Northern Rockies and above objectives in all three states. In fact, the game and fish agencies in the region are taking steps to reduce their elk herds.

Wolves are being targeted because of a few cases where elk herds have declined. But these declines have been caused by many factors, including drought, shrinking habitat and human hunters -- not just wolves. Under the Bush Administration's plan, wolves alone will be blamed for any and all declines in a few elk populations. And that will be grounds enough for shooting and trapping hundreds of more wolves across two states. Wolves will be killed for doing what they are supposed to do: maintain a healthy ecosystem by preying on elk.

Instead of killing wolves, Wyoming and Idaho should be redoubling their efforts to protect them in the face of mounting development and other habitat destruction. The Bush Administration should protect wolves under the Endangered Species Act until the states have plans in place to ensure that wolf populations will flourish in the future. They should make certain that connections are maintained between the three populations in the Northern Rockies so that these populations remain genetically healthy. These ecological bridges are increasingly important as rural sprawl and industrial development continue to fragment wolf habitat throughout the region.

Elkhart Indiana Gets SuperFund Research Money for Groundwater Contamination

2008-04-06T17:38:00.006-04:00

Cedarcreek Wisconsin also gets $2.7Million

The Lusher Street ground water contamination site in Elkhart, Indiana has been added to the Superfund National Priorities List. The NPL is a list of the nation's most contaminated hazardous waste sites eligible for cleanup under EPA's Superfund program.

The Lusher site is an underground plume (mass of contaminated water) of industrial solvents, including TCA (1,1,1-trichloroethane) and TCE (trichloroethylene). The plume area is bordered to the north by the St. Joseph River, to the west by Nappanee Street, to the south by Hively Avenue, and to the east by Oakland Avenue. Research has shown the plume is moving northward toward the river. In 1987 and 2006, EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management provided alternate water supplies to area residents. With the site's addition to the NPL, it will be eligible for additional study and cleanup resources, and hopefully the source will be identified.

Nationally, 12 new hazardous waste sites were added to the NPL recently, with six sites proposed for addition to the list. The Lusher site was the only new or proposed site in the Great Lakes states. To date, there have been 1,581 sites listed on the NPL nationwide. Of these, 324 sites have been deleted from the list. Cleanup construction has been completed at 1,031 sites. There are now 60 proposed sites awaiting final agency action.

A $2.7 million cleanup plan for the Cedar Creek Mercury Marine Plant Superfund site in Cedarburg, Wisconsin has been approved which involves excavation of soil at the Plant site plus ground-water monitoring. A separate plan to address ground-water contamination will be done at a later date.

PCBs from two local companies - now-closed Amcast and Mercury Marine - contaminated Cedar Creek (from below the Ruck Pond Dam to its intersection with the Milwaukee River), the Plant 2 property, the former Amcast property and some nearby private properties. EPA Superfund involvement at the site began in 2003. Mercury Marine and Wisconsin DNR began studying the site in 1983.

PCBs were once widely used by industry as coolants, insulators and lubricants. The manufacture of PCBs in the United States was stopped in 1977, but the compound stays a long time in the environment. They are linked to cancer, as well as reproductive and developmental problems in people and animals. PCB-contaminated river sediment affects fish, wildlife and people as it rises through the food chain. In the 1970s, Wisconsin advised residents not to eat fish from various rivers throughout the state because of the contamination. The advisories are still in effect.

Click here to find links to the Federal Register notice concerning the Elkhart groundwater contamination, information on submitting comments, background on the NPL process and summaries of the sites newly added or proposed.

Click here to find copies of the Cedar Creek study detailing the final cleanup plan, the Record of Decision and other site documents.

It should be noted by all that these are perfect examples of corporate eco-terrorism committed against the people of the United States who now have to foot the bill to clean up some these asshole's messes.

EPA Testing for Dioxin in Saginaw Neighborhood

2008-04-03T19:11:00.003-04:00

A residential neighborhood in Saginaw is being screened for dioxin-contaminated soil. Approximately 10 residential properties along the Tittabawassee River will be sampled. Small plugs from up to 36 inches below the surface will be sent for laboratory analysis.

Lab testing may take two to three weeks. Once the data is returned, EPA and MDEQ, along with Michigan Department of Community Health, will consider a range of options, including more comprehensive sampling in the area and possible cleanup actions.

"Residential soil contamination is a serious matter," said Associate Superfund Director Ralph Dollhopf. "At this time of year, children are playing outside again and families are planning gardens. If action is needed, this project will ramp up very quickly."

The investigation aims to determine the extent of dioxin contamination present in the neighborhood. The project was prompted by Dow Chemical Co.'s February 2008 disclosure to the agencies of an elevated dioxin level found in a residential soil sample collected by Dow in November 2007. Under the company's Michigan operating license, MDEQ required Dow to conduct certain soil and embankment sampling along the Middle Branch of the Tittabawassee River.

Dow's Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins and furans are byproducts from the manufacture of chlorine-based products. Past waste disposal practices, emissions and incineration at Dow have resulted in on and off-site dioxin and furan contamination.

For more information please visit http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical/

18 States Sue EPA over Greenhouses Gases

2008-04-03T10:23:00.001-04:00

From the Associated Press: Eighteen states are suing the EPA in an attempt to force it to comply with a Supreme Court ruling in April that found the EPA has authority to regulate vehicle emissions, AP reports. The plaintiffs say that the ruling requires the EPA to decide whether to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA disagrees.

The petition asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to act within 60 days.

In last year’s decision, the court stopped short of saying that the EPA must actually limit vehicle emissions, but it said “the EPA can avoid taking further action only if it determines that greenhouse gases do not contribute to climate change or if it provides some reasonable explanation as to why it cannot or will not exercise its discretion to determine whether they do.”

Last week, AP reported that the EPA said it would not rush any decision on the ruling by the Supreme Court. Such action “could affect many (emission) sources beyond just cars and trucks” and needs to be examined broadly as to other impacts, Stephen Johnson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency wrote lawmakers.

The Plaintiffs include attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia, plus representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the cities of New York and Baltimore, and several environmental organizations.

Coastal Populations Losing Livelihoods to Polluted Waters

2008-04-03T09:30:00.004-04:00

News from the World Resources Institute think tank...

Coastal communities worldwide are witnessing their livelihoods choked by agricultural and industrial pollution, according to findings released today by the World Resources Institute.

"A significant portion of the world's population - nearly half of which lives within 40 miles of a coast - is vulnerable to harmfully over-enriched ecosystems," said Mindy Selman, senior associate at WRI and lead author of WRI's findings.

Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus has emerged as one of the leading causes of degraded water quality. WRI identified 415 over-enriched - or "eutrophic" - coastal areas throughout the world. Of these, 169 are depleted of oxygen, creating "dead zones" that are unable to support marine life. Another 233 of the systems identified are experiencing one or more symptoms of eutrophication, including toxic algal blooms, loss of biodiversity, and die-off of coral reefs. Only 13 of the coastal areas identified exhibit signs of recovery.

Click here to view map of eutrophic coastal areas on the WRI site.

Some of the coastal areas studied include the Chesapeake Bay, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Tampa Bay. Seventy-eight percent of the assessed continental U.S. coastal area and 65 percent of Europe's Atlantic coast are eutrophic.

"There is a dramatic growth in areas receiving nitrogen and phosphorus created by agriculture, sewage, industry, and fossil fuel combustion," said Robert Diaz, a co-author of the findings and professor of marine science at the College of William and Mary.

Over the past 50 years, human activities have caused a doubling of nitrogen pollution and a tripling of phosphorus pollution in coastal areas. By comparison, human activities have increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide - the gas primarily responsible for global warming - by 32 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Age.

The most severe form of oxygen depletion in coastal areas has escalated dramatically over the past 50 years, increasing from about 10 documented cases in 1960 to 44 in 1995 to at least 169 today.

The sources of pollution vary by region. In the United States and Europe, agricultural sources such as animal manure and commercial fertilizers are typically the main causes of eutrophication. Sewage and industrial discharges, which usually receive some treatment, are a secondary source. However, elsewhere in the world, wastewater from sewage and industry is often untreated and a primary contributor to eutrophication. Only 35 percent of wastewater in Asia is treated, 14 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and less than 1 percent in Africa.

The full findings appear in Eutrophication and Hypoxia in Coastal Areas: A Global Assessment of the State of Knowledge.

"The number of degraded coastal areas around the world is sure to be a much greater problem than even our study of 415 areas suggests," Selman said. "Many countries will need to take initial steps in monitoring their water and eventually reducing pollution through smart policies."

Wind Power Resources, A Few Good Books to Read

2008-03-30T00:55:00.012-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about building my own wind generator and getting the funding to do so as well. The way my brain functions, I need to gather every scrap of useful information first before making a decision about going forward. (I've learned the hard way.) I'm investigating all the options first to make the best choice of home power that will last me several decades.

Here are a few resources on wind power development that I've come across recently, hope you find this helpful. Give me a shout if you're building a wind generator, I'd like to come and check it out.

Wind Power: Energy for the Future of Global Warming
Nigel Saunders, $26.95
ISBN: 0836884051
This is a great book for kids, it’s really targeted toward 8th graders. It has very basic explanations of electricity delivery and aerodynamics, covers the topic in a very simple and easy to understand manner.

Wind Power in View: Energy Landscapes in a Crowded World
Martin Pasqualetti
ISBN: 0125463340
This is the first book ever that covers the topic of wind energy aesthetics, the visual impact on the landscape. Contains 11 different articles from all over the globe addressing the question of wind generator ugliness and offering creative solutions to deal with the problem.

Remote Sensing for Wind Power Potential, a Prospector's Handbook
by U. S. Department Of Energy, $79.95
ISBN: 0894991744
The title pretty much says it all. The DOE tells you how to determine where to build your tower.

Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm and Business
by Paul Gipe, $50.00
ISBN: 1931498148
This is the most comprehensive guide available on small scale wind generators. If you're going to construct a wind generator on your land for personal use, this is the book you want.

Developing Wind Power Projects: Theory and Practice
by Tore Wizelius, $69.95
ISBN: 1844072622
Developed primary for land-use planners and other government officials involved in wind farm construction, this heavy duty text covers political issues surrounding siting, financing and local legislation. This is a great book for consultants who are advising local governments on wind farm projects.

It must be the water...

2008-03-29T19:49:00.006-04:00

All I can say is "Wow, We've finally found a replacement for Muiderman."

Duke Greene is undeniably the best acoustic guitar player to emerge from the West Michigan music scene since Erik Muiderman left the Folk Lizards behind and headed out west to write music in Oregon.... or maybe even since the boys in Karmic split up and Juano Lippi landed in New York.

It's been a long time coming, but Grand Rapids finally generated another 6-string master. I'm not certain how we are going to hang on to Greene, he's destined to hit the big time soon. His soul-searching original acoustic tunes are what the instrument was invented for. I'll admit Duke, one listen to "Holiday" and I picked up my Fender immediately and tried to play along.

Click the links to listen to Greene's first 2005 release "True Enough". There is more to come, he's only just begun. The next release party is in June.

Catch Duke Greene live:
Genesis, 1601 Gallbraith SE, March 29th
Dillenbeck's, 1059 W. Fulton, April 11th, 7-9pm

Download on Itunes now or find him on CD-Baby.

Wild West Michigan

2008-03-27T17:00:00.005-04:00

GUEST BLOGGER: Tom Leonard
Mr. Leonard examines the virtues of Grand Rapids and surrounding landscape from the perspective of a place-centered eco-ethic. I concur, take a stand for what you believe in the place that you love.

For the last century and more, Michigan has had a reputation as a world-class industrial leader on the one hand, and an outdoor paradise on the other. This contrast between city and wilderness, between the populated centers and the remote retreats, imbues and enhances the Michigan experience. And nowhere in the state is that contrast any more clear than here in metropolitan Grand Rapids and the central West Michigan region.

I like to say that Grand Rapids is now Michigan’s first city. That may not be so in population, geographical extent or capital investment. But it is so in one very important respect: reputation. Grand Rapids is the Michigan city that all Michiganians can take pride in. Grand Rapids is the Michigan city that, year in and year out, seems to work best.

Manufacturing, arts and entertainment, social diversity, bipartisanship, business innovation, industrial design, architecture, infrastructure, history, spiritual leadership. All these things are a part of our capital, points of our pride.

But we are not made important by sheer bigness or by the works of the human population here.

Take a ride out from the center of Grand Rapids, in any direction you like, and in half an hour you may find you have touched a piece of Michigan’s great wilderness heritage.

Go north and you will find black bear habitat almost as close as the Grand Rapids suburbs, with occasional documented visits from creatures of the ursine persuasion. Half an hour to the south, if you know where to look, you can find what may be the southernmost nesting pair of common loons in North America.

To the east the Grand River and its tributaries wind away, the traditional home of the beaver, mink, river otter, and other species seldom seen since the days of the Astor fur traders, but now returning to our waters.

And to the West, of course, the lake itself, and the animals and plants that reside within it. Along the Lake Michigan coast, in our estuaries and rivers, the bald eagle plunges and the lake sturgeon turns a solemn, Devonian profile. In the wetlands and cornfields, sandhill cranes have grown abundant in central and west Michigan. Few things are more plainly inhuman, in the prehistoric sense, than the sight of the cranes arriving in their wild roosting areas at dusk.

A lot of people don’t know that our area provides a foothold for many endangered and threatened species, especially birds. Thomas Funke, the resident manager of the Michigan Audubon’s Otis Sanctuary in Barry County, reports that the Barry State Game Area is home to seven of Michigan’s nine globally imperiled bird species. They include Henslow’s sparrow, the golden-winged warbler, redheaded woodpecker, northern bobwhite, and the olive-sided flycatcher.

In fact, Funke notes that whooping cranes, among the world’s rarest birds, have been reported in West Michigan three years running.

Part of what makes it possible to see rare bird species in West Michigan is the availability of some remaining large tracts of contiguous woodland habitat. Barry State Game Area is one of a number of such areas, otherwise rare in the southern part of the state. The Allegan and Middleville State Game Areas are also nearby. Some of the species mentioned above could not persist in an area with less than 4,000 or 5,000 acres.

Thoreau called these creatures his “brute neighbors.” Part of the formula for sustainability of any community involves the welfare of our brute neighbors. These fellow West Michiganians, whose existence may be barely noticeable to many of us, are part of the community we hope to sustain with our green buildings, 21st-century designs and renewable power sources, our agricultural resources and policies, our pollution scrubbers, transit vehicles, and infrastructure.

We may think we are being generous to them if we sustain them. But really we are being generous to ourselves.

Whether you are a birder or sportsman or just an alert hiker, much of the charm and wonder of your chosen region will have to do with its wildlife. For my own part, I would like to see our wildlife flourishing in a way it does not now. A flourishing wildlife requires room, especially the room to be seldom visited, to be left alone. Small inroads and appearances, even by careful, well-intentioned people, test their sometimes precarious existence. A diverse wildlife, by contrast, requires diverse habitats. Indeed, they may be dependent on systems of natural habitat stretching well beyond our borders.

A hopeful effort to systematically protect local natural areas and wildlife is the Green Infrastructure concept being developed by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, a regional planning group. The notion of green infrastructure suggests how nature, instead of being regarded as an impediment to economic growth and development, or as the absence of useful endeavor, needs instead to be considered as an amenity, and allowed to grow in proportion with the region as a whole.

Government policy, instead of refereeing the gradual destruction of wildlife habitat over time, needs to reflect and support such values.

Carbon Neutral Sugar, Baby

2008-03-20T17:46:00.004-04:00

Beyond the Organic Label, Florida Crystals and Carbonfund.org Partner to Introduce Organic Sugar Line to Carbon-Conscious Consumers

Silver Spring, MD – March 19, 2008 – Carbonfund.org and Florida Crystals Corporation today announced the CarbonFree® certification of Florida Crystals Organic Sugar, marking a growing trend of businesses that are bringing carbon-conscious consumerism directly to their customers and a growing number of eco-conscious consumers who scrutinize food production methods and seek products that minimize climate impact.

Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree label, which will appear on Florida Crystals' entire line of organic sugar, indicates that the product’s entire carbon footprint will be offset through the support of greenhouse gas reduction projects, allowing consumers to make carbon-conscious buying decisions right in the store.

The average American consumes approximately 107 pounds of sugar a year, according to a 2003-2004 United States Department of Agriculture Food Intake Survey. With a new line of sugar that offers an organic and CarbonFree option, consumers can take a further step to combat global warming. Meanwhile, A new study shows that roughly half of all consumers now consider questions of sustainability in their purchasing decisions, with particular focus on the food and beverage industry.

Carbonfund.org certified Florida Crystals organic sugar CarbonFree after a rigorous life cycle analysis (LCA) performed by carbon management consultants, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management. They determined the product’s carbon footprint by assessing the primary inputs of planting and growing the sugar cane, through the harvesting, milling and packaging processes, to the product’s final delivery to store shelves. Each product’s carbon footprint was rendered neutral through greenhouse gas cutting measures, specifically, through Florida Crystals’ production of renewable energy.

CarbonFree product certification entails four main steps:
● Determine the product’s carbon footprint through an LCA
● Certify and register the product as CarbonFree
● Offset the product’s footprint through the support of greenhouse gas reduction projects
● Conduct annual review and recertification

“CarbonFree certification and labeling is the next big trend in environmentally responsible living,” Carbonfund.org Executive Director Eric Carlson said. “Florida Crystals is increasing awareness among consumers of the impact their buying decisions have on the planet. We’re very proud to have them as a partner.”

“Florida Crystals certification is unique,” said Luis Fernandez, Florida Crystals’ Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “Unlike other manufacturers who rely on the purchase of carbon credits from third parties, we are able to provide our products’ carbon neutrality through our own production of renewable energy. We have a strong commitment to the environment and continue to invest in the expansion of our renewable energy program. We are proud to receive CarbonFree certification.”

Other Carbonfund.org CarbonFree products include:

● Tropical Traders’ Royal Hawaiian Honey
● Ecofuture’s THEbulb
● Yakima racks and other products
● Knu: Sustainable Contemporary Furniture

Note: I'm posting this because CarbonFund.org is a business partner of my employer, Industrial Woodworking Corporation and it's subsidiary Knu LLC. IWC and Knu joined CarbonFund's CarbonFree program in January 2007 and have offset 100% of our carbon emissions since then. We are, as far as I know, the first furniture manufacturer in Michigan - perhaps in the country - to do so.

Steelcase Tackles Wind Power

2008-03-19T10:38:00.001-04:00

Steelcase will purchase all the renewable energy credits produced by a new 10 megawatt wind farm in Panhandle, Texas developed by John Deere Renewables, the wind-energy development unit of Deere & Co., for at least the first five years of its operation.

Naming rights come with the agreement. The wind farm will be named the “Wege Wind Energy Farm, provided by Steelcase” named for Peter Wege, a Michigan environmentalist and Steelcase founding family member. Steelcase is paying a premium for the RECs in order to add their name to them.

Expect more of this kind of advertising in the future.

Bradley Johnson, John Deere’s director for business development, says that premium prices for naming rights will enable Deere to undertake projects that are too small to be economically practical. Several companies have expressed interest in naming rights.

“This is a new business model, and it could attract any brand that wants to be linked with sustainability,” Ted Rose, vice president for business development for Renewable Choice Energy, which led the transaction and serves as the marketer for the project, says in the Times article. “Imagine the G.M. wind farm, the Apple wind farm - it’s not unthinkable at all.”

The power expected to be generated by the wind farm represents approximately 20 percent of the power Steelcase facilities require in the U.S.

NEW YORK JOINS GREAT LAKES WATER RESOURCES COMPACT

2008-03-17T21:56:00.001-04:00

Spitzer leaves and Paterson signs the compact...

Ye olde press release from the state of New York:

Governor Designate David A. Paterson today announced that legislation has been signed authorizing New York State to join the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The Compact is a multi-state agreement designed to protect, conserve, and improve the water resources of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. The legislation was signed by Governor Spitzer on March 4, 2008.

“The Great Lakes and their bays and tributaries contain approximately 18 percent of the world’s supply of freshwater, and 90 percent of the United States’ supply of fresh surface water,” said Governor Designate Paterson. “Unfortunately, water levels in the Great Lakes have seen drastic declines in the last decade, and it is vitally important that we protect and conserve this essential water resource. The Great Lakes Compact demonstrates the commitment of all of the Great Lakes states to work together to achieve that goal.”

In 2001, the Governors of the eight Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec signed an agreement to develop and implement a new common, resource-based conservation standard for the Great Lakes Basin. After several years of negotiation, the Great Lakes Compact was developed.
The water surface area of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River and connecting channels covers approximately 95,000 square miles in eight states and two Canadian provinces, and the drainage area of the Basin covers an additional 200,000 square miles. Since only about one percent of the water in the Great Lakes is renewed or replaced by rain and tributary inflow each year, a multi-state agreement regulating various withdrawals and diversions is an important step to preserving this natural resource.

Senator George Maziarz said: “Having New York State sign on to the historic Great Lakes Compact is critical to protecting our precious freshwater resources, particularly Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the St. Lawrence River, and their tributaries. Joining this multi-state and multi-province effort is the right thing to do for our environment, for our communities, and for our future.”

Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Robert K. Sweeney said: “This legislation will protect the largest body of fresh water in the world. This historic agreement is designed to ensure protection of the waters of the Great Lakes, now and in perpetuity. Over 40 percent of our State lies within the Great Lakes Basin and this provides us with an important environmental resource and economic driver. The compact is designed as proactive legislation to shelter and preserve the Great Lakes.”

Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Pete Grannis said: “The Great Lakes are among America's greatest natural resources and they must be protected from excessive demands. The compact is an integral tool that will establish proper management practices and standards so that the benefits these waters provide will continue to be available for future generations.”

Derek Stack, Executive Director of Great Lakes United, said: “By signing the Compact, the State of New York tells its neighbors that protecting the waters of the Great Lakes is about protecting our future. Today, New York demonstrates that the spirit of cooperation between the Great Lakes states and provinces is thriving, and reaffirms the value of protecting the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. Now we must work hard to ensure that the Compact moves swiftly to approval in those states where years of careful negotiation has been held hostage by narrow-minded political agendas.”

Dereth Glance, Executive Program Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said: “New York's unanimous support of the Great Lakes Compact builds the momentum necessary to secure the adoption of this historic document throughout the Basin. We applaud the State’s commitment to protect the future of this magnificent resource.”

Robert Moore, Executive Director of Environmental Advocates of New York, said: “The magnificent waters of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River have provided New Yorkers with so much throughout our history, including unparalleled habitat for fish and wildlife and drinking water for millions of residents. Environmental Advocates of New York applauds the Administration, Senator Maziarz and Assemblyman Sweeney for their leadership on this historic measure. We urge Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan to ratify the agreed-upon language of the Compact and ensure that the Great Lakes will be managed for the benefit of the entire region.”

Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York, the state program of the National Audubon Society, said: “Protecting the water of the Great Lakes is critical for the long term restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem and for the revitalization of the upstate New York economy. The Great Lakes Compact will allow the region to maintain control of its waters as demand for fresh water continues to grow throughout the nation and worldwide. We commend the Administration, and the Senate and Assembly, especially Senator George Maziarz and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, for passing this important measure, and we hope the remaining states in the Basin will follow New York’s strong lead.”

The Compact would provide for:

- The creation of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, consisting of the Governors of the eight Great Lakes states;
- The creation of a water resources inventory by each member state;
- Periodic assessments of cumulative impacts of water withdrawals from the Basin;
- A prohibition on most new and increased diversions of water from the Basin;
- Registration of water withdrawals in amounts of 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) or greater from the Basin in any 30-day period, and certain regulated diversions of Basin water;
- Implementation of water conservation and efficiency programs by each member state relating to Basin water uses;
- Commitments by member states to promote environmentally sound and economically feasible water conservation measures;
- Consultation between the Great Lakes Council and the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec through “regional review” procedures for any new or increased consumptive uses of at least 5 million gpd in any 90-day period; and
- Preservation of existing diversions, withdrawals, uses, rights and agreements.

In order for the Compact to take effect, each of the eight Great Lakes states must pass legislation ratifying the Compact, and then the United States Congress must consent to the signed Compact. New York is now the fourth state to approve the Compact, following approvals by Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana.

The legislation authorizes the Governor to take steps to facilitate the execution of the Compact by the other Governors, and to apply to Congress for consent to the Compact. The legislation also authorizes Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Grannis to convene an advisory council to make recommendations for legislation, rules and regulations necessary to implement the Compact.

Greening the Great Lakes

2008-03-05T08:43:00.007-05:00

Michigan State University and WJR have launched a web site called "Greening of the Great Lakes" with the goal of providing information and insight into the organizations committed to making the Great Lakes region a leader in environmental practices.

The new site has video, podcasts and numerous links to other relative sites and news stories. Greening of the Great Lakes is designed to be an entertaining way of learning about the Great Lakes region, related environmental issues and ways that folk can protect the environment.

(Hey, whose idea was this? Dude, talk about stealing someone else's idea, geez....)

Anyhow the Great Lakes Information Network finally decided to do a story on Cradle to Cradle design and new classes at WMU. Not that GLIN is out of the loop with Michigan businesses - I wouldn't say that - but quite a few companies in West Michigan have been on this path for several years. Nice to know that the story is finally getting out to the public through the radio at least. And it's also nice to know that Western Michigan University finally got around to teaching Cradle to Cradle in the classroom.

Michigan Punishes Granola Manufacturer

2008-02-29T14:55:00.003-05:00

Settlement Reached with G.K.I. Foods, Inc.

The Department of Environmental Quality has reached a settlement with G.K.I. Foods, Inc. of Livingston County over allegations of illegal discharges to Michigan’s waters. GKI is a manufacturer of chocolate candy and granola that discharged production wastewater to its sanitary wastewater system which ultimately failed due to the build-up of fats, oils, and grease. The system's failure led to untreated wastewater being discharged to the county drain located behind the facility. GKI will reimburse the State of Michigan for its enforcement costs of $32,807 and pay a civil fine of $11,000.

Yum. Makes you want to run out and buy granola, eh? So, another statement on our culture of obesity, the granola plant generates enough fat and grease to clog your pipes and your arteries.

New Ohio Steel Plant Will Emit Tons of Mercury

2008-02-23T20:27:00.002-05:00

Russian firm MMK America has plans to construct a steel plant on the Ohio River at Haverhill, OH that will emit over 1800 pounds ofmercury per year. That would be larger than all of the point and fugitive mercury air emission sources in the United States as per U.S. EPA's year 2005 toxic release inventory.

Public comment on draft air and water permits for the facility ends March 27.

Ohio EPA presently intends to allow MMK America to withhold as confidential significant information in the air permit application about maximum process design and other process information.

Read more here: Daily Kos

Thanks for the info Alex: Sagady.com

Environmentalists Should NOT vote for McCain

2008-02-22T12:23:00.001-05:00

Info from the League of Conservation Voters

WASHINGTON, DC, February 21, 2008 (ENS) - In the 2007 National Environmental Scorecard released today by the League of Conservation Voters, Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain received a score of zero. The Scorecard is an annual measure of lawmakers' votes on environmental issues.

McCain scored 0 due to missing all 15 votes scored, including the key vote on repealing tax giveaways to big oil - a measure that failed by only one vote.

McCain was the only member of Congress to skip every crucial environmental vote scored by the LCV, posting a score lower than members of Congress who were out for much of the year due to serious illnesses, and even lower than some who died during the term.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said, "We were appalled two weeks ago when John McCain was the only senator who chose to skip a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America - dooming the measure to fail by just a single vote."

"McCain missed votes to save his constituents $499 million dollars at the pump and at least $550 million on their energy bills, while creating more than 10,000 new clean energy jobs in his home state," said Pope.

McCain posts a lifetime LCV environmental score of only 24. By contrast, the average member of Congress scored a 53 in 2007.

McCain has received the endorsement of Republicans for Environmental Protection, the only environmental group recognized by the National Republican Party.

2006 Toxics Release Inventory data finally available online

2008-02-22T08:40:00.003-05:00

The TRI is an on-line electronic database, housing information about chemical releases at facilities across the country. According to the EPA, nation-wide chemical releases into the environment are down by two percent from 2005 - of course, this is the Bush Administration, most likely they are lying.

TRI tracks and contains detailed information on releases of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories from about 23,000 industrial and federal facilities. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 established the TRI program. In 1990, The Pollution Prevention Act expanded the program by including data on toxic chemicals released, as well as treated, recycled, and burned for energy recovery.

EPA has been providing information to the public about chemical releases into the air, water and land at facilities nation-wide. This information is accessible by geographic location, industry sector, and individual chemicals.

Here's the link, copy and paste it into your browser. http://epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri06/index.htm Search by zip code to find the bastards who are dumping toxics in your vicinity.

Corporate Greenwashing at its finest

2008-02-21T11:14:00.005-05:00

Just in time for Easter, Cadbury has unveiled a range of "eco-eggs" called "Cadbury Treasure Eggs", which rather than being sold in a box are simply foil wrapped. The company says that the Treasure Eggs represent a reduction of over 75 percent plastic and 65 percent less cardboard than previously used in standard eggs.

Huh... obviously now you can be green because you stop putting crap in a box. Is it to soon to start stomping on chocolate eggs while screaming "BULLSHIT!" really loud? Let me know when that's socially acceptable.

Okay, okay... Thank you Cadbury for at least making an effort.

Don't Give Up On Biofuels

2008-02-20T09:09:00.004-05:00

Today's guest writer is Tom Leonard, former executive director of West Michigan Environmental Action Council and all-around cool human being. Enjoy!

GRAND RAPIDS---Will America's Biofuel Boom survive the decade?

It may sound counterintuitive to some, drawing attention to the cloudy future of biofuels in the midst of what seems a massive global biofuels pep rally. Worldwide, biofuels are greatly on the upswing, with major programs proceeding in Indonesia, Brazil, and the European Union among others.

Even here in the suspicious and slow-moving USA, the President has signed a bill that will increase our biofuels production by a factor of six in the next 15 years.

But there are growing pockets of disquiet in many quarters. Some forecasters have already pronounced a requiem for biofuels, while others are sounding alarms of urgent opposition. What's going on?

What's going on is the standard trajectory for good new ideas, from interest to excitement to mania, to disillusionment, and finally, to practical applications.

It's been hard not to get excited about biofuels---especially the petroleum substitutes ethanol and biodiesel. The basic technology is old, and easy. The products are home-grown, redounding to the benefit of local farmers. Biofuels are relatively clean-burning: the carbon dioxide that they release to the atmosphere in running our vehicles, they also strip from the atmosphere as their source crops grow in the fields.

U.S. farmers love ethanol, meaning especially corn ethanol, and U.S. politicians who love farmers love ethanol too. Love, love, love. San Francisco loves biodiesel and is running most of its fleet of vehicles on it. Here in Michigan, we love ethanol and we have five licensed ethanol refineries gearing up to produce it.

Biofuels are such a good idea in so many ways---so why are biofuels in trouble? Here are three reasons:

First, they compete aggressively with food production, raising food prices dramatically. The United Nations estimates that food prices worldwide rose a startling 40% last year. The price of corn was up 50% in 2007 from the prior year, while soybean prices are approaching their all-time high.

Biofuels can't be blamed for all the increases in the cost of our food---there are many factors contributing to that. But their impact is real and can be traced readily, especially here in America. The USA's soybean crop declined 19% last year, in direct response to the shift of farm acreage from the growing of soybeans to the growing of corn for ethanol.

Second, biofuels are not the broad answer to our fuel requirements. There is not remotely enough farm acreage in America to meet our transportation fuel requirements using ethanol, even if we converted all of our farm land from food to fuel. And even though the price of a gallon of E85 is currently running less than a gallon of gasoline, when you adjust for gasoline's greater energy kick, ethanol still does not compete.

Third, their impact on the environment, in the context of human economic behavior, is unsustainable and alarming. The New York Times recently reported on research showing that, once the impact of growing the source crops was taken into account, biofuels constituted a net loss in terms of impact on global warming "greenhouse" gases. Brazil noted last year a 10% spike in Amazonian rainforest destruction due to---you guessed it----new acreage being cleared to grow sugar cane, Brazil’s ethanol crop. In Indonesia, pristine forest is being exchanged for palm plantations, to produce palm oil for fuel. The current rate of forest destruction there is so huge, it virtually guarantees the disappearance of natural Indonesian forest in the next fifteen years.

Goodbye, orangutans.

It will be a remarkable irony if the rush to biofuels, which fundamentally exists to reduce the human impact on global warming, should indirectly accelerate the warming problem, while simultaneously extinguishing vulnerable wildlife species and adding to the risk of mass starvation among the world's human population.

Despite all this, I still see a role for biofuels---but perhaps on a more limited scale, from carefully-selected sources, and for carefully selected and specific purposes. Not the biofuels bonanza visualized by the industry’s cheerleaders up to now. We simply cannot toss the whole biofuels production problem into the free markets, and expect to get a sustainable result. That is how biofuels are being dealt with now, and it is only worsening our problems.

One thing that is heartening about the biofuels boom is that its difficulties relate not at all to the basic chemistry of the fuels. The biofuels problems are really problems of bad land use, inefficient transportation practices, and unsustainably large human populations. If nations like Indonesia can get their act together on forest and peatland protection, damage from palm oil production might be better contained. If we had fewer people to feed, or they were less protein-hungry, we might be less tempted to scavenge in rain forests for new farmland.

In theory, at least, they can still be a success.

On December 19th of last year, President Bush signed an energy bill that calls for a sixfold increase in biofuels in the next fifteen years. It's a good first step, but it doesn’t make biofuels practical in the world we know. We have reached a point where even doing the right thing will have its own dangers.

Project Hotseat Pushing Dingell on Climate Legislation

2008-02-19T08:58:00.005-05:00

Guest Writer today: Kelli Bosak, Project Hot Seat, Greenpeace USA

In order for the country to unilaterally decrease its carbon emissions,
Congress must continue creating new climate legislation. Global
warming is happening now, but there is still much we can do to avoid
suffering from its worst effects. Our government failed to sign the
Kyoto Protocol, causing the international community to push forward
without us in preventing climate change. By pushing Congress, we can
fight against our doomed future and curb climate change. The state of
Michigan is home to one of the most influential leaders in climate
legislation in the nation, Representative John Dingell. Dingell is the
Chairman of the House's Energy and Commerce Committee and influences
all bills regarding the climate. So, Michigan plays a huge role in
affecting climate legislation. Michigan needs to take a stance on these
issues to make sure Congress protects our environment—for us and the Great
Lakes. Michigan is a top source for renewable energy, but nothing is
being done. To make a difference in this fight, you can either contact
your congressman, Dingell, or comment below. Do not give up on a
sustainable future! We want to fill Congress full of representatives
who will champion global warming solutions.

Thanks, Kelli Bosak
Project Hot Seat, Greenpeace USA

Read More:

Dingell Set to Tackle Warming

Arghh! Proposed Mega-Dairy threatens Illinois public health and water quality

2008-02-17T18:13:00.005-05:00

We have a BIG problem trying to come into NW Illinois' Jo Daviess County.

Wealthy California business man, AJ Bos is trying to set up a 12,000 head mega-dairy near Nora, Illinois. There will be about 70 acres of manure lagoons. The stench will travel for miles. Folks down there are organizing because they are concerned about their drinking water.

They have created a website at: STOPTHEMEGADAIRY.ORG.

Here's what you can do to help the good people living in Nora:

The Jo Daviess County Board voted 11 to 5 to reject the proposed mega dairy. Unfortunately, the IL Dept. of Agriculture can ignore that vote, and place the facility against the wishes of the board and the constituents that they represent.

Please give me one minute right now and take two vitally important actions.

First, contact the Governor, and let him know that you don't want this facility in Illinois. You can call, write, or use his web portal to send him a message.

Governor Rod Blagojevich
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-782-0244 or 312-814-2121
TTY: 888-261-3336
Contact the Govenor

Your message should look and sound something like this:

Dear Governor Blagojevich,

The Jo Daviess County board voted 11 to 5 to deny an application for a 12,000 head CAFO proposed for their county. Siting numerous experts concern about major damage to the aquifer and surrounding rivers and streams, and the tremendous negative impact this facility would have on tourism, which is already bringing over $200,000,000 to the county, they rejected this application since it didn't fulfill the eight criteria imposed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Please use your authority as Governor to ensure that the Department of Agriculture follows their own guidelines and denies this application. The citizens of Jo Daviess County deserve the right to have their elected county board make decisions that will have such significant negative impact on their community. Thank you.

Okay now that you've got that done, please go to this Sierra Club web site and tell the federal EPA that huge factory farms should not be exempt from the clean air act. The Bushies would give them a legal loophole to avoid all of the pollution lawsuits being filed against them all over the country. This gift to corporate agriculture from the Bush administration would penalize small family farms, while allowing the largest and richest facilities to do as they pleased.

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=bOL-NhsfcC4RPypoGStwBw..

Alright, you've earned serious bonus point for the last two actions, but now you need to contact the head of the Department of Agriculture, and voice your objections to this facility. Every letter they get has to be reviewed by their board, and included in their files. They need to know that people are concerned about clean air, clean water, family farms, and public health, and won't stand for these factories in Illinois.

Charles A. Hartke, Director
State of Illinois Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 19281, State Fairgrounds
Springfield, IL 62794-9281
(217) 785-4789
FAX: 217.785.4505

You can read much more about this issue at http://www.StopTheMegaDairy.org. Act now.

Great Lakes Commission urges Congress to reauthorize Great Lakes Legacy Act

2008-02-16T12:18:00.001-05:00

Calling it one of its top legislative priorities for 2008, the Great Lakes Commission is calling on Congress to reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act in order to continue progress in remediating contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

First passed in 2002, the Great Lakes Legacy Act authorizes funding to remediate contaminated sediments in the U.S. and binational Great Lakes Areas of Concern designated under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

“The Legacy Act program has been highly successful in cleaning up toxic hot spots in Great Lakes rivers and harbors and has become a cornerstone of Great Lakes restoration efforts,” said Commission Chair and Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry Jr., in a letter to congressional leaders and members of the House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces. “It’s critical that Congress reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act and maintain this vital program for restoring the Great Lakes.”

Lt. Gov. Cherry noted that the Commission’s recommendations are consistent with the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and that the Legacy Act enjoys strong support from the Great Lakes states, the business community, regional environmental organizations and local Area of Concern advisory councils.

The Commission is recommending several amendments to benefit the Great Lakes states and improve the Legacy Act’s effectiveness and efficiency. They include:

• Reauthorize the Legacy Act through 2013 and increase authorized appropriations to $150 million annually. This would be consistent with the recommendations of the Great Lake Regional Collaboration and would better match the projected long-term costs of remediating contaminated sediments.

• Allow the use of general Legacy Act funds for pilot or demonstration projects in order to support research on innovative remediation technologies.

• Allow the use of Legacy Act funds to restore habitat at sites where contaminated sediment has been remediated under the Act.

• Allow contributions from potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to be counted as all or part of the nonfederal cost share for Legacy Act projects as long as that contribution is above and beyond what is required under a legal settlement.

• Allow all nonfederal contributions to Legacy Act projects to qualify for cost-share accounting, regardless of the timing of such contributions.

• Remove the maintenance of effort requirement, which can penalize project sponsors that invest in remediation efforts prior to the start of a Legacy Act project, and which is not appropriate for remediation projects in which costs can fluctuate widely from year to year.

• Allow the disbursal of Legacy Act funds to nonfederal contractors if doing so enhances the timing and effectiveness of a project.

• Extend the life of appropriated Legacy act funds beyond two years so that funds are not lost due to significant, unanticipated delays in completing complex projects.

• Reduce the current 35 percent nonfederal cost-share requirement to 25 percent for orphan sites where no responsible party is available to support the nonfederal cost share, to lessen the burden on states and local communities.

To date, five cleanup projects and seven projects to monitor and evaluate contaminated sediments have been implemented under the Legacy Act, with eight additional projects now under review. The original Great Lakes Legacy Act enacted in 2002 authorized $270 million over five years to remediate contaminated sediments in Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

To see the full recommendations, as approved by the Commission’s Board of Directors, visit http://glc.org/advocacy/legacyact.html. Contact: Matt Doss, mdoss@glc.org.

Great Lakes Citizens Health Report Blocked by Feds

2008-02-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

For more than seven months, the nation’s top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states, reportedly because it contains such potentially “alarming information” as evidence of elevated infant mortality and cancer rates.

Researchers found low birth weights, elevated rates of infant mortality and premature births, and elevated death rates from breast cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer.

The 400-plus-page study, Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in the Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern, was undertaken by a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the request of the International Joint Commission, an independent bilateral organization that advises the U.S. and Canadian governments on the use and quality of boundary waters between the two countries. The study was originally scheduled for release in July 2007 by the IJC and the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Certainly this is the greatest piece of government censorship to date in the Great Lakes.

Thanks to Sheila Kaplan and the Center for Public Integrity, the report is now online. It is in your best interest to start reading it now.

Town Hall Meeting with State Representatives On Water Withdrawal and Export Issues

2008-01-22T20:02:00.000-05:00

The Great Lakes Great Michigan Coalition will host a town hall meeting with local community leaders in Muskegon to help answer the question: "Who decides where our Great Lakes waters go?" on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 7pm. Panelists include Dr. Mark Luttenton of Grand Valley State University, Don Studaven, Blue Lake Township Supervisor and Cyndi Roper from Clean Water Action. Representatives Doug Bennett and Mary Valentine and Senator Gerald Van Woerkom will also weigh in on pending legislation in Lansing, and answer questions and concerns from participants.

Town Hall Meeting
Thursday January 24, 2008
State Representatives Doug Bennett, Mary Valentine and State Senator Gerald Van Woerkom
Muskegon Community College, Collegiate Hall, 221 South Quarterline Road, Muskegon, MI 49442
7:00 p.m.

378 Million pounds of pollutants flowed into Lake Michigan in 2005-06

2008-01-20T11:19:00.000-05:00

Pounds of pollutants discharged into Lake Michigan and tributaries during 2005-2006

2,4-Dimethylphenol 0.791
Acenaphthene 0.038
Acenaphthylene 0.042
Aldrin 0.001
Ammonia 471,623
Anthracene 0.018
Arsenic 493
Benzene 51.31
Benzo(a)pyrene 11.83
BOD, carbonaceous 3,173,501
Cadmium 548
Carbon, total org. 466,675
Chemical oxygen demand 1,755,074
Chloride 54,825,485
Chlorine 86,224
Chromium, hex 1,918
Chromium, total 475
Chromium, total rec 2,005
Coliform, fecal
Copper 5,573
Cyanide, free 172
Cyanide, total 8,295
Cyanide, weak 88.322
DDT 0.001
Dibenzofuran 0.791
Flourene 0.02
Flouride 405,745
Iron 73,840
Lead 6.995
Magnesium 4,398,293
Manganese 1,867
Mercury 32.9
Napthalene 1.39
Nickel 2,047
Nitrogen, nitrate 1,500,946
Nitrogen, nitrite 14,467
Oil and grease 5,495,460
Oxygen demand, chem. 1,755,047
PCBs 0.275
Phenanthrene 0.01
Phenolics 13,476
Phosphorus 143,140
Selenium 18.88
Silver 92.7
Solids, dissolved 227,734,078
Solids, suspended 18,303,779
Sulfate (SO4) 59,671,523
Sulfide (S) 326.7
Tetrachloroethylene 14.86
Thallium 0.13 N/A
Zinc 30,287

Total pounds of pollutants discharged into Lake Michigan and tributaries during 2005-2006: 378,594,633

(Source: Indiana Post Tribune, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, International Joint Commission, Indiana State Department of Health)

Great Lakes Surfing, Refining, on Tap for Chicago Coastal Allies Network

2008-01-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

Join the Chicago Coastal Allies Network for two January events that are guaranteed to get your blood pumping.

Surf's up at the Alliance for the Great Lakes Chicago office on Thursday, Jan. 17 from 5:45 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., when the C.A.N. is scheduled to host a screening of "Unsalted: A Great Lakes Experience," the documentary by Michigan filmmaker Vince Deur.

Great Lakes surfers are a rare breed, indeed, described by the movie's trailer as comprising a mix of "one part obsession, one part addiction and an unending quest for adventure."

Deur has shown his movie in California, New Zealand and South Africa -- all places that surfers call home. Enjoy free popcorn and beverages while meeting friends and other Great Lakes lovers.

On Jan. 22, from noon-1 p.m, bring a lunch and join C.A.N. members in the Chicago office for a brown bag luncheon featuring the timely issue of refinery expansion around the Great Lakes.

As oil companies plan to expand refineries along Great Lakes shorelines in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan to process crude oil extracted from Canadian tar sands, the Alliance and others are weighing in. The harmful implications for water quality in the Great Lakes were underscored during last summer's controversy surrounding BP's water pollution discharge permit.

Lyman Welch, Alliance water quality program manager, and Joel Brammeier, Alliance vice president for policy, will discuss lessons learned from the BP experience, pending proposals for refinery expansion, and what can be done to protect the Great Lakes.

To RSVP for either event, e-mail coastalllies@greatlakes.org or call Tricia Piper at 312-939-0838 ext. 221. Can't make it into the office for the brown bag lunch? Conference call capability will be available closer to the date.

The Alliance Chicago office is located at 17 N. State Street, Suite 1390 (at Washington and State streets in downtown Chicago).

Face It: There is a Solution to Global Warming

2008-01-17T06:27:00.000-05:00

According to Architecture 2030, there is a ‘silver bullet’ solution to global warming and it’s time the nation faced up to it. To get its message out, the non-profit organization will be hosting a nationwide webcast, called Face It, focusing on the solution. During the webcast, they will unveil two competitions about the solution with $20,000 in prize money.

The half-hour webcast will be broadcast from Architecture 2030’s website, www.architecture2030.org, beginning at 9 am EST on January 30, 2008. Focus the Nation, a national effort to engage students, faculty, administrators, citizens and government officials in discussions to address global warming, takes place January 31, 2008.

The Face It webcast will build on the information provided during Architecture 2030’s highly successful webcast, The 2010 Imperative Global Emergency Teach-in. The Teach-in, which broadcast live in February 2007 and focused on the role of design education in global warming, reached a quarter of a million students, design professionals and government officials worldwide.

The solution to global warming, according to the founder of Architecture 2030, Edward Mazria, is two-fold. “Energy use is at the heart of global warming. There are two sides to energy use, supply and demand, so any viable solution must address both sides of this coin.” On the supply side, Mazria advocates first for a US and then a global moratorium on the construction of any new conventional coal plants, and the gradual phasing out of existing coal plants by 2050. On the demand side, he advocates for adoption and implementation of The 2030 Challenge, a global initiative calling for all new buildings and renovations to reduce their fossil-fuel greenhouse-gas-emitting consumption by 50% by 2010, and that all new buildings be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2030.

To Architecture 2030’s credit, the organization’s 2030 Challenge has been adopted and supported by numerous groups, including the US Conference of Mayors, American Institute of Architects, National Association of Counties, US Green Building Council, California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission and EPA’s Target Finder, as well as many individual cities, counties and states. Beginning in 2008, the federal government will require the Challenge energy reduction targets for all new and renovated federal buildings.

The Face It webcast is part of Architecture 2030’s larger Reverberate Campaign, which will involve several events throughout 2008. The first of these are the two Reverberate Competitions to be unveiled during the webcast. Students will be asked to create something (you’ll have to tune in to the webcast to learn what) that will reverberate throughout their campus and society at large. There will be two categories, graphic design and video. In addition to the $20,000 in prize money that will be distributed amongst the winners, the winning graphic design entry will appear in a full-page ad in Metropolis magazine and the winning video entry will be featured on the Metropolis and Architecture 2030 websites.

Architecture 2030 Architecture 2030 is a New Mexico-based 501c3 research organization that focuses on the role of buildings in global warming. The Building Sector accounts for almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US annually. By galvanizing and collaborating with the key players in this sector, Architecture 2030 is working to achieve a dramatic reduction in the global-warming-causing greenhouse gas emissions of buildings by changing the way they are designed and constructed.

OOOh, I love a good court battle!

2008-01-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

Groups Appeal Court Decision Blocking Ohio Citizens from Lake Erie Shoreline

COLUMBUS, OHIO (January 8)-Conservation groups today took the first step to appeal an Ohio lower court decision that blocks Ohio citizens from walking, fishing and recreating along the shores of Lake Erie.

The groups seek to overturn a December 11th decision by Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Eugene Lucci, which redefines the boundary separating public and private property along the Lake Erie shoreline from the ordinary high water mark to the point at which the water meets land from moment to moment—effectively barring citizens from the shores of Lake Erie unless they are in the lake itself.

“We are filing this appeal to protect the historic right of all citizens to stroll, fish and recreate along the shores of Lake Erie,” said Neil Kagan, senior attorney for the National Wildlife Federation. “The law is clear: The Lake Erie shoreline is a public trust for all to enjoy.”

The lower court ruling goes against more than 100 years of Ohio legal precedent, which holds that the land up to the high water mark be held in public trust.

“Our appeal comes down to one thing—beating back an attempt to strip Ohio citizens of their centuries-old right to access the shores of Lake Erie,” said Keith Dimoff, executive director for the Ohio Environmental Council. “This flawed decision will mean fences and "KEEP OUT" signs along our shore; we will not let that happen.”

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann is expected to file a notice of appeal today, even though Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has sided publicly with the plaintiffs who are attempting to keep Ohio citizens off the shores of Lake Erie.

“We stand arm-in-arm with the Attorney General to uphold the right of all Ohio citizens—not just a privileged few—to enjoy access to Lake Erie,” said Larry Mitchell, president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen. “We will vigorously defend the public trust doctrine and we will prevail.”

The case, Merrill v. State of Ohio and NWF, et. al., is similar to a landmark Michigan lawsuit that resulted in a unanimous Michigan Supreme Court decision upholding the public trust up to the high water mark.

The National Wildlife Federation, Ohio Environmental Council and League of Ohio Sportsmen filed the notice of appeal with the Eleventh District Court of Appeals of Ohio.

“We are looking to re-affirm a core belief of this country grounded in legal precedent—that regardless of class or race or social standing, every American citizen has the right to enjoy access to the Great Lakes, one of our country’s natural treasures,” said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office. “This is the foundation of not only our outdoor heritage, but our society as a whole. It’s just plain right.”

For more information visit:

http://www.nwf.org/news/
http://www.leagueofohiosportsmen.org/
http://www.theoec.org/

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation Testifies at Congressional Hearing

2007-12-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

Washington, DC – The House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy in Washington heard testimony on environmental impacts of water bottling and extractions on communities and the environment across the country. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation’s (“MCWC”) president Terry Swier forcefully rebutted Nestle's claims. She pointed out that three courts have concurred that through the finding of fact Nestlé’s pumping has harmed public water resources and riparian rights. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation has been battling Nestlé Waters North America and its Ice Mountain brand of spring water in Michigan for seven years.

In her testimony, Swier explained to the panel that Nestlé’s harm to a stream, two lakes, and wetlands was upheld in three courts in the case Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation v Nestlé Waters North America. The finding of fact that Nestle caused substantial harm at levels lower than it is pumping now was made by the Mecosta County Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals, and affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court when it rejected Nestlé's argument that the findings were in error.

Jim Olson, legal counsel for MCWC, said, "Nestle witnesses evaded questions from Congressional panel about harm caused by Nestle's pumping for bottling operation in Michigan. Nestlé told the committee it had not caused harm to a stream in Michigan. In fact, three courts in Michigan, trial to the Supreme Court, have limited pumping in Michigan because Nestle has and continues to cause harm there.

During 19 days of trial given sound science, Nestlé’s pumping was found to have reduced stream flow by over 27% for a large stream segment, dropped levels by 2 to 4 inches, and dropped the levels of two lakes by 4 to 6 inches. During natural seasonal or cyclical lows, this makes the difference between public use, fishing, and the integrity of the stream or harm or loss of aquatic organisms.

Dr. David Hyndman, an expert in the Michigan case, explained to the panel, how the exposed bottomlands and harm to the stream shown in a picture to Nestlé's representative and the Subcommittee panel was caused by Nestlé's pumping during low flow periods or the summer growing season.

“Nestlé purports to being a “good neighbor” company to our area, yet it continued to pump at high rates during a long period of low precipitation and lower recharge. Even when bottomland and other dramatic impacts and damage to the Dead Stream, Thompson Lake, and wetlands have occurred, Nestlé has continued to pump,“ explained Swier.

The hearings are a start for the federal government to begin to look at the issues of environmental risks of the water bottling industry’s extraction of water.

For background on MCWC and the various lawsuits, water law disputes, Jim Olson’s summary of key points and comment on testimony, and Terry Swier’s testimony, see MCWC’s web site at www.saveMIwater.org.

Green Drinks Grand Rapids @ the Green Well!

2007-12-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

Hey, Hey, Hey, it's the first ever Green Drinks, Grand Rapids gathering! Join other sustainability enthusiasts for casual networking and drinks organized by JF New, The Image Shoppe & West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum:

December 20th, 2007, 5p - 7p at the Green Well, 924 Cherry SE, in the East Hills Neighborhood.

Spread the word! We look forward to seeing you on the 20th.

More about Green Drinks International:

Every month people who work in the environmental field meet up for a beer at informal sessions known as Green Drinks.

We have a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business. Come along and you'll be made welcome. Just say, "are you green?" and we will look after you and introduce you to whoever is there. It's a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organising network.

These events are very simple and unstructured, but many people have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, done deals and had moments of serendipity. It's a force for the good and we'd like to help it spread to other cities. Contact your local node to get the latest info about coming along.

Benzie County School Board pushing Wind Energy for Schools

2007-12-08T18:02:00.000-05:00

Benzie County Central Schools Board of Education will be addressing Wind Energy for Schools as an agenda topic at the February 11th, 2008, 7:30pm board meeting to be held at Benzie Central Middle School, 9300 Homestead Rd., Benzonia, MI. This is the first step in determining the feasibility of putting up windmills on school property. A brief presentation is planned, and your comments and participation are welcome.

Sustainability is not new to Benzie County Central Schools. For decades they have been selectively harvesting timber on their 150 acre high school campus using horse-drawn equipment, weaving it into the curriculum, and investing profits back into school programs and supplies, while preparing students for careers in forestry and conservation, check it out here: http://www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=113261 .

Harvesting the wind is, for them, a natural next step.

For more information Contact Lynette Grimes, grimesl@benzieschools.net or Superintendent Dave Micinski micinskid@benzieschools.net , with questions,comments,ideas, support or encouragement- Please forward to those who you think will be interested. Meeting reminders will be sent out in February.

Groundwater Contaminated with Gasoline in Rockford

2007-12-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

The drinking water supply for homes not at risk, area served by a municipal
water system

Nearly half of Michigan's population relies on groundwater for their drinking water source, yet contamination from leaking underground storage tank sites remains a significant problem for the state. Michigan ranks third in the nation for the highest number of releases from leaking tank sites yet to be cleaned up, with more than 9,000 sites currently known.

The state Department of Environmental Quality is spending $650,000 for cleanup from leaky underground storage tanks at a former gas station site in Rockford, Michigan. So far they've removed the tanks and cleaned up some of the soil, but it turns out much more clean-up is needed to make the site safe again. The money is coming out of the state's Refined Petroleum Fund.

Unfortunately, state cleanup funds are running out, and unless a new funding source is identified soon, cleanups at sites like this will no longer be a possibility.

Lead, Cadmium, and Other Harmful Chemicals Found in Popular Holiday Toys

2007-12-05T09:43:00.000-05:00

Environmental Health Groups Release Testing Results Today at www.HealthyToys.org
Holiday Favorites, Including Hannah Montana
& Circo Contaminated with High Levels of Toxic Chemicals

The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization, today released the results of their testing of 1,200 popular children’s toys for toxic chemicals at www.HealthyToys.org.

"The government is not testing for toxic chemicals in toys, and too many manufacturers are not self-regulating, so several nonprofit organizations created the nation’s first toy database to help inform and empower consumers,” said Tracey Easthope, MPH, Director of the Ecology Center’s Environmental Health Project. “Ultimately consumers need to take action to compel the federal government and toy manufacturers to eliminate dangerous chemicals from toys."

While some toys had high levels of chemicals such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic, others were free of these harmful additives. Parents and other holiday shoppers can now easily search by product name, brand, or toy type (i.e. dolls, teethers, jewelry, bibs, etc.) to learn how the products rate in terms of harmful chemical content. Babies and young children are the most vulnerable since their brains and bodies are still developing and because they frequently put toys into their mouths.

Researchers chose to test these particular chemicals because they have been identified by many regulatory agencies as problematic, they have been associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer, and because they are found in children’s products. The testing was conducted with a screening technology -- the portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer -- which identifies the elemental composition of materials on the surface of products.

"Toxic chemicals have no place in children’s toys, period," said Ted Schettler, MD, Science Director at the Science and Environmental Health Network. “Even low-level toxic chemical exposures can have lifelong impacts. Getting toxic chemicals out of children’s toys is a moral and medical imperative."

HealthyToys.org tested 1,200 children's products and more than 3,000 components of those products. HealthyToys.org findings:

Lead: When children are exposed to lead, the developmental and nervous system consequences are irreversible. Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended a level of 40 parts per million (ppm) of lead as the maximum that should be allowed in children's products. Nevertheless, there are no federal regulations for lead in vinyl or plastic toys or children’s jewelry. The only existing standard is for lead in paint. HealthyToys.org found lead in 35% of all the products tested. Seventeen percent (17%) of the products had levels above the 600 ppm federal recall standard used for lead paint! The testing detected more than 6,700 ppm in Dollar Store animal figurines; 3,056 ppm in a Hannah Montana Pop Star Card Pack; and 1,700 ppm lead in a pair of Circo baby shoes.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC / Vinyl): HealthyToys.org determined products were made with PVC plastic by measuring their chlorine content. PVC is a problematic plastic from an environmental health perspective because it creates major hazards throughout its life cycle and contains additives that can be dangerous to human health. Phthalates are chemicals that are very commonly added to PVC to make it soft and flexible, however, they can leach out of the plastic. Exposure to phthalates is linked to birth defects of the genitals and altered levels of reproductive hormones in baby boys. There are currently no federal regulations limiting phthalates in children's products. California recently passed a ban of several phthalates in children’s products, and Europe has restricted the use of phthalates in children’s toys and child care items. 47% percent of toys (excluding jewelry) tested by HealthyToys.org were PVC.

Cadmium: Cadmium is a heavy metal that is used in coatings and pigments in plastic and paint. It is a known human carcinogen and exposure can cause adverse effects on the kidneys, lungs, liver, and testes. Currently there are no mandatory restrictions on cadmium in children’s products in the U.S. HealthyToys.org found cadmium at levels greater than 100 ppm in 2.9% of products -- 22 of the 764 products tested for cadmium-- including painted toys, PVC toys, backpacks, lunch boxes and bibs.

HealthyToys.org also tested toys for arsenic, mercury, bromine, chromium, tin and antimony -- chemicals that have all been linked to health problems and have been subject to either regulatory restrictions or voluntary limits set by industry associations or third party environmental organizations.

The Good News: Twenty-eight percent (28%) of the products tested did not contain any lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury or PVC, including many made in China. Examples of healthier toys include: Amazing Animals Hippo by Fisher-Price (made in China); Caterpillar Grasping Toy, Melissa and Doug (made in Vietnam); and B.R. Bruin Stacking Cups (made in China).

HealthyToys.org provides specific guidelines for how to petition federal and state government agencies and toy manufacturers to urge them to phase out toxic chemicals from toys immediately. Visitors to HealthyToys.org can nominate other products to be tested. The most commonly requested items will be tested each week leading up to the Holidays.

Book Review: Self-Sufficency Handbook

2007-12-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

The Self-Sufficency Handbook
A Complete Guide to Greener Living
Alan and Gill Bridgewater

If anyone in your family is considering a shift to a greener way of living, you should pick up this guide for the holidays. With easy-to-read layouts and simple text, it runs the full gamut, from geothermal heating to crop rotation to soap making. The Bridgewaters help readers answer questions such as how much land they really require, whether or not to depend entirely on natural forms of energy, and which farm animals will best meet their needs. There's practical information on building an insulated flue-pipe chimney, identifying edible wild plants, and composting with worms. There is also a recipe for sauerkrat that I'm trying right now. In addition to recipes for jams, rhubarb wine, and other delicious foods, three A-Z sections offer planting and harvesting instructions for vegetables and salad crops, fruits, and herbs.

One of the biggest problems we have in our society, I think, is that we've lost the knowledge to grow and store our own food. We are at the mercy of the big agriculture corporations and big box stores that shovel us full of poisonous crap. Do yourself and your family a favor and spend a little time with this great book.

Order it now from Powells

Migratory Bird Deaths Linked to new Invasive Species

2007-11-15T06:51:00.000-05:00

More than 100 dead loons and other migratory birds have washed up on New York's Great Lakes shores in the past week, prompting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to suspect another botulism-poisoning episode linked to the spread of invasive species.

Evidence closely matches die-offs related to Type E botulism that have occurred every year on Lake Erie since 2000 and Lake Ontario since 2002 during fall migration. Those incidents are tied to two invasive species consumed by birds during migration stopovers: the quagga mussel and a fish called the Round Goby. Loons especially feed on the Round Goby. As the Round Gobies have proliferated in in Eastern Lake Ontario, cases of botulism poisoning have increased. This is now an annual event.

Other birds impacted include the Red-breasted Merganser, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Horned Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Greater Scaup, Double-crested Cormorant and the White-winged Scoter. The single species with the greatest mortality has differed each year.

New Dioxin Hotspot in Saginaw River

2007-11-15T06:43:00.000-05:00

Dow Chemical recently reported a preliminary result of over 1.6 million parts per trillion (ppt) from a single sediment sample in the Saginaw River. Until now, the highest level found in the Saginaw River was 32,000 ppt. Under June 2007 EPA orders, Dow has been removing three dioxin hotspots from the Tittabawasse River which had concentrations of up to 87,000 ppt. The new Saginaw River sample came from a location a half-mile below the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee Rivers, near Wickes Park in Saginaw.

"The sediment concentration recently reported by Dow is probably the highest level ever found in the Great Lakes," said Dr. Milton Clark, EPA Region 5's senior health and science advisor. "While not exactly comparable, the concentration is more than 1,000 times higher than EPA's action level of 1,000 parts per trillion that triggers cleanup of dioxin-contaminated soils at residences. It is more than10,000 times higher than the State of Michigan's residential cleanup criterion of 90 parts per trillion."

"Under most circumstances, EPA is more concerned by high levels of dioxin in sediments because they contaminate the aquatic food chain. EPA national dioxin guidance and risk assessment approaches indicate that dioxin levels found in sediments may need to be lower than those in soils to fully protect public health," Dr. Clark added.

Fish consumption is one of the primary exposure pathways in the Saginaw River system. Adverse human health effects associated with exposure to dioxin include impacts to the reproductive, immune and endocrine systems. Dioxin is also a carcinogen.

Since 1978, the state of Michigan has issued fish consumption advisories for the Saginaw River Watershed. A recent University of Michigan study revealed that people consuming fish from the Saginaw River system have higher than average levels of dioxins in their blood.

Auto Workers and dealers lead fight for higher fuel efficiency standards

2007-11-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

The Auto Lobby Doesn't Speak For Us website (www.35mpgby2020.com) went live on Friday in an attempt to enlist industry workers who believe the domestic auto makers not only can but must build more fuel-efficient cars if the industry is to survive.

The campaign includes local and state speaking engagements, blogging to recruit for the sign-on letter to House and Senate leadership, a trip to the nation's capitol to talk with legislators and a few Washington DC newspaper ads.

The website provides links to National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and University of Michigan studies on the feasibility and impact of higher fuel economy standards on the auto industry. The website reads: "An increase in fuel economy standards will not only benefit the country as a whole, it will also move the industry forward, create new jobs and boost profitability."

Check it out here: www.35mpgby2020.com

See my related post on this effort over on Blue Muskrat: Most Michigan Autoworkers Support 40mpg rule & Climate Curbs

Bad Dow, Bad!

2007-11-11T17:20:00.000-05:00

EPA notifies Dow of clean-air and hazardous waste violations

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 notified Dow Chemical Co. on Friday that it has found clean-air and hazardous waste violations at the company's Midland facility. EPA issued a 'finding of violation' under the Clean Air Act and a 'notice of violation' under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The investigation spanned eight weeks over a two-year period.

The Feds allege Dow violated the Clean Air Act by, among other things, "failing to follow regulations aimed at detecting and repairing leaks, as well as failing to conduct a required stack test. Dow was also allegedly found to be in violation of multiple Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements for managing hazardous waste."

EPA said Dow's clean-air violations have increased public exposure to organic hazardous air pollutant emissions including, but not limited to, ethyl chloride, toluene, ethylene, perchloroethylene, methanol and hydrogen chloride.

Meanwhile, the Republican legislator from Midland is wasting his time and taxpayer moneyby launching a ridiculous attack on the Michigan Dept of Environmental Quality.

WRITE FOR THE BEAR!

2007-11-08T07:02:00.000-05:00

Overwhelmed with the daily drumbeat of work, commute, family and more, I could use some writing assistance with Black Bear Speaks. The quality and timeliness of The Bear is slipping due to inattention and increasing importance of other projects.

I can't pay anyone, Black Bear Speaks does not turn a profit. But what you'll get from writing for the Bear is name recognition in the environmental community in Michigan. I've worked hard to ensure that many non-profit leaders in the Great Lakes are aware of the site. Right now, Black Bear Speaks gets approximately 600 to 900 unique readers per month (Google Analytics). Black Bear Speaks is influencing decision making on the state level, regional legislators read the Bear. For journalism students out there who want to get your writing noticed, this is an opportunity for you.

I'm looking for writers who can cover the following topics - all or some of them - whatever you are comfortable with:

new green businesses in the Great Lakes

Great Lakes water quality ( toxics in groundwater and lakes)

new government environmental regulation... or government non-regulation and stupidity

Non-profit environmental organization activities

miscellaneous topics that affect the health of the Lakes.

So, from this point forward, SUBMISSIONS ARE WELCOMED!!! Click the contact link at the top of the page, and help me take the Bear to the next level.

WRITE FOR THE BEAR!

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals dumped PCB's

2007-10-28T02:34:00.000-04:00

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals in Ashtabula, Ohio has been ordered to address newly discovered PCB contamination in Fields Brook, which flows into northeast Ohio's Ashtabula River, and eventually Lake Erie.

Fields Brook is on the Superfund National Priorities List. During 1999 - 2001, cleanup activities were conducted on almost four miles of the brook and at six nearby industrial sites. The new contamination, a pool of heat transfer fluid containing PCBs, was discovered in September. The Fields Brook channel has been rerouted around the problem area. A Detroit-based EPA Superfund emergency response team will monitor the work of Millennium's contractors.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are a group of toxic chemicals that were widely used as coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs are carcinogens and they concentrate in the food chain. Congress banned the manufacture of new PCBs in 1976.

BP Fined $60Million for Clean Air Violations

2007-10-28T02:31:00.000-04:00

BP Products North America, Inc. has agreed to pay a total criminal fine of more than $60 million for violations of federal environmental regulations in Texas and Alaska. In addition to the penalty, the company will spend approximately $400 million on safety upgrades and improvements to prevent future chemical releases and spills.

This is the largest criminal fine ever assessed against a corporation for Clean Air Act violations and the first criminal prosecution of the requirement that refineries and chemical plants take steps to prevent accidental releases. The requirement was passed in 1990 as part of the Clean Air Act following the explosion at the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India where thousands were killed and injured.

BP will pay $50 million for a catastrophic explosion in 2005 that killed 15 people and injured more than 170 others at its Texas City refinery. BP will also pay a $12 million fine for spilling 200,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Alaskan tundra and onto a frozen lake in March 2006, resulting in the largest spill that ever occurred on the North Slope.

In addition to the $50 million fine, the company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act and will serve three years of probation for the Texas City incident. BP is also required to complete a facility-wide study of its safety valves and renovate its flare system to prevent excess emissions at an estimated cost of $265 million.

For the Alaska spill, BP pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor of the Clean Water Act and will serve three years probation, pay $4 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support research and activities on the North Slope, and pay $4 million in restitution to the State of Alaska. BP is required to replace 16 miles of pipeline at an estimated cost of $150 million.

On March 23, 2005, an explosion occurred at the Texas City refinery when hydrocarbon vapor and liquid released from a stack and ignited during the process of increasing octane levels in unleaded gasoline. Investigators learned that operators regularly failed to follow written standard operating procedures for ensuring mechanical integrity of safety equipment. The stack where the release occurred had been in poor operating condition since at least April 2003. Alarms failed to function or were ignored.

The Texas City refinery is BP's largest U.S. refinery, which covers more than 1,200 acres and can process as much as 460,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The refinery was previously owned by Amoco, which merged with BP in December 1998.

In March 2006, BP spilled more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil on the North Slope in Alaska. A second spill occurred in August 2006, but was quickly contained after leaking approximately 1,000 gallons of oil. Investigators determined the leak was caused by a build up of sediment in the pipe, and that BP failed to properly inspect or clean the pipeline, which is required by law to prevent pipeline corrosion. The investigation revealed that in 2004, the company became aware of increased corrosion in the pipeline.

Conference: Making A Great Lake Superior

2007-10-28T02:28:00.000-04:00

The Making A Great Lake Superior conference will be held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Oct. 29 -31. The conference will bring together for the first time researchers, government officials, educators and the public to present and exchange information on the critical issues facing the Lake Superior ecosystem with an emphasis on climate change.

Sessions will include the impact of climate change on the lake, invasive species, low water levels, contaminated areas around the lake, toxic pollutants and new pollution concerns. More than 300 people from throughout the Lake Superior basin are expected to attend.

Speakers will include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson, EPA Regional Administrator Mary Gade, Arctic explorer Will Steger, former EPA Assistant Administrator Tracy Mehan and John Austin of the Brookings Institution, as well as other experts on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes. In addition, Lake Superior mayors and tribal leaders will participate in a panel discussion about critical issues facing the lake.

The conference agenda is available at http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/superior2007

The meeting will also be available on the Internet as a Web cast and by telephone. A live Web cast can be accessed at http://registration.mshow.com/ecs. To listen by telephone, dial 877-446-8439 toll-free and give the operator the ID code. ID codes for each day are available on the conference Web site.

One Bear's Thoughts on Sustainable Economics

2007-10-25T22:34:00.000-04:00

You dont' know me from Adam, but - if you don't mind - I'm going to give you an assignment.

If you've taken the time to stop and read this blog, I'm certain that you realize the importance of shifting the manufacturing industry in Michigan toward a more sustainable future. We cannot survive - neither as a community, a state, or a species - if we continue business as usual.

Working in a manufacturing environment, I've become painfully aware of the jobs losses that are occurring around me. It hurts to watch them go. This cannot continue, families are in trouble throughout this state. I am convinced that the "green" economy is the solution to this problem, we have every indication that it will lead to innovation and job creation.

I am also strongly convinced that as business people we must fight not only for environmental protection and justice for individuals, but also merge these two values to create a viable, sustainable economic future for Michigan families. The right to clean water, clean air and a good paying job must be had by all.

For decades, Michigan has been a manufacturing powerhouse. It is time to cast off the negativity that surrounds our economic forecasts and boldly forge ahead into the green economy. To reach this end, we need elected officials to pursue this line of thinking as well. As business folk, we must drive legislation that will benefit green business.

First, we must immediately strengthen net-metering laws in Michigan. Net metering allows individuals and companies to generate their own electricity and sell it to their utility company through the existing grid. Stronger net-metering legislation will encourage economic growth through manufacturing, construction and installation of solar and wind generators. This is no longer in dispute. Anyone who tells you that coal or nuclear is cheaper than solar and wind is an outright liar or is working in public relations for a coal company. Michigan can lead the nation in wind generation because of the enormous amount of wind energy generated by Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. We can create jobs immediately by forming business coalitions to invest in wind power development. Guess what, there is currently legislation pending in committee to strengthen net metering laws.

Second, stronger toxics legislation is immediately necessary. No company or individual has the right to threaten the health of the Great Lakes by being allowed to dump toxins directly into them. BP and US Steel are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to toxic dumping in these parts. Fortunately we have philanthropists in West Michigan that have provided a new children's cancer hospital in downtown Grand Rapids. Isn't that wonderful!? Yes it is, but it also makes me want to puke to know that so many kids in my community are dying of cancer that we need a major medical facility to deal with the enormous numbers. Cancer is big business in Grand Rapids. The health of our children is a direct reflection of past business practices in West Michigan. We have only ourselves to blame for this.

Third, taxes. There simply must be greater incentives for businesses to pursue green goals. But hear me out, I'm not considering tax breaks for business, I'm postulating a Pollution Tax. For every gram of mercury released, for every cubic meter of carbon dioxide emitted, for every liter of water poisoned, business should pay. We could stop deadly cancers in a generation if we tax the crap out of the guys who are releasing the poisons into the air and water. We can protect the fresh water supply of this entire continent by levying a tax on those who threaten it, right here in Michgan.

There's your assignment. Get it on it. I want to see results by the end of next week.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,

The Bear

More EPA objections to Indiana's permit for US Steel Gary Works

2007-10-20T11:40:00.000-04:00

In a letter sent October 16th, 2007 to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, EPA outlined three more objections to the draft wastewater discharge permit the state of Indiana has proposed for US Steel Gary Works. EPA had raised initial objections to the permit in a letter sent earlier this month.

EPA's three additional objections involve compliance schedules, Indiana's anti-degradation requirements and cooling water intake structures.

First, the fact sheet for Indiana's draft permit does not show that a one-year compliance schedule is appropriate for installing continuous thermal monitoring equipment or that a three-year schedule is necessary for complying with thermal discharge limits.

Second, while the draft permit includes new discharge limits on several pollutants such as chromium, cadmium, copper, nickel, silver, cyanide, total toxic organics and hexavalent chromium, and total recoverable chromium, it is unclear whether this meets the anti-degradation requirements of Indiana's water quality standards.

Third, the draft permit lacks requirements that reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impacts from the cooling water intake structure.

In an Oct. 1 letter to IDEM, EPA raised objections on how discharge limits were set for several types of pollutants and the inclusion of other compliance schedules in the draft permit. (See Black Bear Post on this issue below)

EPA has raised all its objections during the review period provided by federal regulations. This is part of the federal overview of wastewater discharge permits for major facilities.

Under federal rules, IDEM may not issue the permit over EPA objections.

Another killer site

2007-10-19T20:07:00.001-04:00

If you haven't already, you need to check out www.solarpowerrocks.com

It turns out that solar is better than coal and nuclear, and over the long term it's a hellofa lot cheaper. Whodathunkit.

Oregon owes Dave and Dan a hearty thank you. They have produced a quality site filled with good bits of info that will keep you entertained for hours (or minutes, your choice). Some days I really wish I still lived out in Eugene where the Earth is NOT flat and not filled with the terminally obese.

Here's to the Oregon crew fighting for energy independence and a solar future for us all. Put down the bong and blog like crazy guys! Keep up the good work!

Edutopia

2007-10-19T19:50:00.000-04:00

This incredibly beautiful woman named Rachel sent me some info on a new program by the George Lucas Eductational Foundation.

The Foundation recently launched a "Go Green Database", www.edutopia.org/go-green, on Edutopia.org. Rachel says it is "the centerpiece of an ambitious new package on the state of environmental awareness in public education."

The database features Green projects, lesson plans, service-learning opportunities and other resources that can be searched by topic, grade level, cost and location. It also allows users to add, rate and comment on or upload their own resources. It will be a permanent feature on Edutopia.org.

Thanks George. Thanks Rachel.

US Steel to increase toxic dumping in Lake Michigan

2007-10-13T12:29:00.000-04:00

From the Chicago Tribune

Indiana is moving to scrap, relax or omit limits on toxic chemicals and heavy metals dumped into a Lake Michigan tributary by the U.S. Steel Corp. mill in Gary, according to environmental lawyers and former federal regulators who have reviewed a proposed water permit.

Language outlining the changes is buried in 117 densely worded pages under consideration by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which provoked a public outcry this year when it gave a nearby BP refinery permission to significantly increase pollution discharged into the lake.

How much longer do we have to put up with the State of Indiana shirking its responsibility to the Great Lakes and its neighbors? Why do they think they can get away with this bullshit? It's time for action against the State of Indiana, not only by the Feds, but also from all the States surrounding Lake Michigan. Let's sue the pants off of them.

Read the rest of this story in the Tribune.

EPA vs Dow Chemical

2007-10-11T08:31:00.000-04:00

The following is a press release from EPA Region 5

EPA to Dow Chemical: 60 day clock to negotiate on Tittabawassee River system cleanup starts today

CHICAGO (Oct. 10, 2007) - At a meeting today in Chicago, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 formally notified Dow Chemical that it has a limited opportunity to negotiate with the Agency on a settlement to conduct an investigation, a study and interim response actions for dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River system. The Midland, Mich., company has until Oct. 17 to decide whether it will negotiate.

The targeted area begins upstream of Dow's Midland Plant and may extend downstream to the Saginaw River, its floodplains and portions of Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron.

EPA has the authority to call for negotiations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund. Superfund specifies the process in which a remedial investigation/ feasibility study (RI/FS), cleanup removal actions and remedy design must be conducted.

"The Superfund law provides a strong mechanism to continue necessary actions to comprehensively and definitively address the issue of dioxin contamination in the river system," said Ralph Dollhopf, associate director of EPA's Regional Superfund Division. "The work begun this summer to address three hot spots in the Tittabawassee River is also being performed under Superfund authority."

Dow's expected RI/FS effort must evaluate the nature and extent of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants from the site and assess the risks they present to human health and the environment. It must also provide enough data to develop and evaluate a range of cleanup options.

If the company agrees begin negotiations, Dow will have until Dec. 10 to present EPA with a good faith offer demonstrating its willingness to conduct or finance an RI/FS and design a remedy. EPA may choose to extend negotiations until Jan. 9, 2008, if appropriate.

Top EPA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials are meeting today in Lansing to discuss their respective roles throughout this process.

Dow's Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins and furans were byproducts from the manufacture of chlorine-based products. Past waste disposal practices, fugitive emissions and incineration at Dow have resulted in on- and off-site dioxin and furan contamination.

American Electric Power Corp Gets Hammered by Feds

2007-10-09T16:33:00.000-04:00

Record-Breaking $4.6 Billion Clean Air Act Settlement Announced
After Eight-Year Battle, American Electric Power Agrees to Major Power Plant Upgrades, Pollution Reductions, Environmental Improvements

CHICAGO (October 9, 2007) -- The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 8 states, and 12 other environmental organizations, reached a history-making settlement with American Electric Power (AEP) today after a nearly decade-old battle over AEP’s violations of the Clean Air Act’s “New Source Review” requirements.

The $4.6 billion settlement represents the largest of its kind in the history of the Clean Air Act and the most money an energy company has ever agreed to put towards new pollution controls.

AEP also agreed to pay an additional $15 million civil penalty, which is the highest penalty paid by any electric utility in settlement of a New Source Review case, and also fund $60 million in environmental mitigation projects.

"Today’s historic settlement not only holds AEP accountable, but also puts big polluters on notice that they can no longer run and hide from their actions or circumvent the Clean Air Act," said John Walke, director of NRDC’s Clean Air Program. "The size of the settlement means that we will be able to keep 813,000 tons of harmful pollution out of the atmosphere, improving air quality and public health around these plants and beyond."

NRDC filed suit against AEP in 1999 under the Clean Air Act for violations at 16 of its coal-fired electric power plants because AEP facilities had upgraded and increased smog and soot pollution without installing the pollution controls required by law.

As a result of its Clean Air Act violations, AEP emitted illegal amounts of harmful nitrogen oxides and deadly sulfur dioxide pollution at plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia for over two decades.

The Columbus, Ohio-based AEP owns 25 coal-fired electric plants in the United States, and was the number one industrial emitter of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide pollution in the country, based on 2004 data.

Under the settlement, AEP agreed to undertake approximately $4.6 billion worth of pollution control measures at its existing plants over the next decade. The new pollution controls will, reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 79 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 69 percent from the 16 plants covered by the settlement. The sulfur dioxide reduction is among the largest percentage decrease ever achieved in any settlement with coal-fired electric utilities. AEP will also put $60 million towards projects to mitigate the impacts of their past illegal emissions, including the conversion of heavily-polluting trucks and barges to low-sulfur diesel fuel.

"We are happy that AEP has finally agreed to install the modern pollution controls that the Clean Air Act has required for decades," said Shannon Fisk, attorney in NRDC's Midwest office. "This is an important first step toward reducing the disproportionate air pollution burden that is placed on residents of the Ohio River Valley. With today’s settlement, a new day has dawned in the region and cleaner air will soon follow."

NRDC's lawsuit, which also represented the Sierra Club, was one of several suits filed against AEP. Other plaintiffs included the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which initiated the battle against AEP, as well as 8 states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Rhode Island, and 12 other environmental groups: Citizen Action Coalition of Indiana, Clean Air Council, Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Wildlife Federation, Izaak Walton League of America, League of Ohio Sportsmen, National Wildlife Federation, Ohio Citizen Action, Ohio Valley Environmental Council, Sierra Club, U.S.PIRG, and West Virginia Environmental Council.

War Before Kids

2007-10-03T14:13:00.000-04:00

It is utterly revolting to know that yesterday the Congress of the United States voted to pay an additional $150 Billion dollars for continuing the war in Iraq, but today only 24 hours later, President Bush vetoed the Children's Health Insurance Program, The Children's Health Insurance Program would have provided health care for millions of poor children in the United States, at a cost of $35 Billion. Bush's reason? Because it would have cost too much.

Our government values war over children.

Not only does our President clearly have his head straight up his own ass, our congress is not listening to the will of the people they represent.

It is my opinion that it is time to remove all of these fools from power. Not next year, not next month, but today. Tomorrow the people of the United States should shut down the federal government.

I am embarrassed to be an American.

Funding Cuts to the DNR and the DEQ Threaten The Great Lakes and Your Health

2007-09-29T13:05:00.000-04:00

Michigan's state conservation agencies, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality, are vastly and disproportionately under-funded, according to a new report released today by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. The report analyzes the state's fiscal budget over the last 25 years and finds that the Department of Natural Resource (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have suffered major cuts in critical funding. As a result, Michigan's Great Lakes, state lands,and wildlife are in peril.

The report is authored by Dave Dempsey, environmental policy aide, author, and
Michigan LCV Education Fund consultant. Tom Clay, Director of State Affairs Emeritus
with the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, assisted in the collection and analysis of the financial and employment data.

Key findings in the report outline that over the last decade these two state agencies have suffered more than their fair share of budget cuts, resulting in major losses of funding, causing the closing of campgrounds, and failures to clean up toxic contamination.

"As just one example of the importance of these departments to Michigan's future:
currently the DEQ is working to drastically reduce mercury emissions that pollute our Great Lakes and threaten our way of life and children’s health - a crucial milestone in Michigan's history. Without the proper DEQ funds and staff, programs such as thesewould be threatened and Michigan's Great Lakes could become an open dumping groundfor polluters.” said Kim Pargoff, Energy Advocate with Environment Michigan.

Howard Tanner, former Director of the DNR expressed his concern over the report's
conclusions. “Michigan was once a leader on conservation and environmental protection of our vast natural resources. Somehow that trend has been reversed and our leadership in conservation has been tarnished. It is up to our leaders in Lansing to work together to return to our once proud legacy of environmental stewardship by properly funding the DNR and DEQ."

Some of the major findings of the report include:

• Conservation Funding Slashed: Since 2001, The DNR and DEQ departments have suffered a 62 percent decline in funding. This decline is not at all proportionate to overall declines in statewide funds: for the same period, total general fund spending dropped only 6 percent.
• DNR and DEQ unfairly targeted: No other state department has lost as much proportional support as DNR and DEQ.
• Family vacationers bear consequences of budget cuts: Cuts in this year’s
appropriation caused the agency to close 20 of its 138 state forest campgrounds
early this summer.
• Communities abandoned: By next year, there will be no more funding for the
state's contaminated site cleanup program. Without this program, thousands of
toxic sites around the country will be left as is, posing serious public health and
environmental risks.

In Saginaw, increased budget cuts to the DEQ would have consequences for local
citizens.

"The most pervasive toxic contamination in the state threatens Lake Huron. The DEQ has worked five years to bring the responsible party, Dow Chemical Company, to a point where some dioxins and other toxics are being removed. What happens if the
DEQ's budget is cut again? What happens to our rivers, our lakes, our drinking water, our fisheries, if our first line of defense is hamstrung by budget cuts," said Lone Tree Council Chairperson Terry Miller. "And the DEQ's Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative, an effort to deal with the shoreline muck, invasive species, and sewer overflows -- do we just tell people to hold their noses and hope?"

Given these major funding cuts, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education
Fund along with dozens of environmental and conservation organizations are calling on the State Legislature and Governor Granholm to invest in Michigan's future and place Michigan's air, land, and water as a top priority for the prosperity of our state by providing the critical funding necessary to fully fund the DNR and DEQ.

For more info contact: Brian Beauchamp 734-222-9650, Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
Hugh McDiarmid, Jr. 517-487-9539, Michigan Environmental Council

Here's the link to the report: Losing a Legacy: Why Michigan’s Magnificent Places are at Risk

Knu: what it means to be sustainable

2007-09-27T16:10:00.000-04:00

I'm proud to say that over here at Industrial Woodworking/Knu LLC in Zeeland, Michigan we have just completed our first video project to inform consumers about our efforts toward becoming a fully sustainable furniture manufacturing company.

Industrial Woodworking Corp/Knu LLC has joined the Sustainable Furniture Council, a non-profit industry organization working to promote environmental ethics within the furniture industry. Brad Davis - our CEO - and I now sit on the education committee of the SFC, and we are working hard to instruct retailers and consumers about sustainability. As we move toward using Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood products whenever possible, we will have a dramatic effect on the future of forests here in the US and abroad.

Industrial Woodworking Corporation, along with its subsidiary Knu, is now, I believe, the only fully carbon neutral furniture manufacturing company in West Michigan. We are purchasing renewable energy credits through our partner CarbonFund.org, and have offset all of our electricity, natural gas, vehicle use and air travel. We are also partnering with the National Arbor Day Foundation to plant a tree for every piece of furniture Knu sells in a national forest here in the U.S. As you watch this short video, you'll learn about some of the other steps we've taken to move forward toward a more ecologically sound future for this region and it's economy.

As Brad has stated repeatedly, if we lead and are successful, others will have to follow. The future of West Michigan industry is green.

Other BP Permits Slipping Under the Radar Screen

2007-09-02T14:55:00.000-04:00

This week in the Great Lakes Town Hall – Carolyn A. Marsh

This week, the Great Lakes Town Hall is presenting Carolyn A. Marsh of Whiting, Indiana. A devoted birdwatcher, Carolyn played a pivotal role in blocking the construction of what would have been the nation's largest marina in a migratory hot spot in Hammond, IN. Carolyn is currently putting pressure on BP Amoco to increase public participation in their expansion plans in Indiana. Despite BP's promise to not invoke their controversial refinery wastewater permit, it looks like the fight isn't over yet:

"Local environmental watchdogs and national refinery experts have exposed a series of actions by BP officials and Indiana agencies to "piece-meal" the massive expansion of the Whiting refinery and mislead the public about the extent of the combined pollution to theregion's air and water. While protest has erupted over plans to increase dumping of wastewater to Lake Michigan as a result of the refinery's processing of heavily contaminated "tar sands oil", until now the public has been uninformed about BP's plans to build two more giant plants in the same area under separate permits."

Don't miss your chance to read and respond to Ms. Marsh's perspectives every day this week.

It's important to note that BP is not the only refinery expanding in the Great Lakes region. Marathon is planning and seeking approval for a major expansion in the Detroit area to also process Canadian "tar sands oil." This issue is not going to go away anytime soon, and it up to eco-freaks throughout the Midwest to get informed about this issue and it's ramifications for the Lakes. This is just the beginning of this fight.

The Detroit News published an editorial today in support of the Marathon expansion. If you know anything about the News, you know they have a right-wing conservative bias and they oppose any environmental group's activities. It is my opinion that the Detroit News would be better used as toilet paper than as a news source. Unfortunately they probably use some kind of toxic ink that won't flush well.

Thanks go to the Biodiversity Project in Madison, WI for the info on the Great Lakes Town Hall.

Clean Water Action Job Announcement

2007-08-25T23:06:00.000-04:00

Grand Rapids Area Community Organizer
Full-time position with Clean Water Action

Application Deadline:

September 1, 2007 or until position is filled.
Clean Water Action, Michigan’s largest grassroots environmental group, is looking for a true progressive leader and self-directed individual to mobilize citizens to take action on behalf of environmental protection. Working from our Grand Rapids office, Clean Water Action‘s community organizer will engage citizens throughout West Michigan to mobilize the residents in support of priority environmental and environmental health policies. The organizer will also educate voters on lawmaker voting records and work to hold elected officials accountable.

Organizer Responsibilities:

Manage a busy, one-person office in Grand Rapids
Coordinate multiple public education and political campaigns
Recruit, sustain and manage volunteers and interns
Develop relationships with community leaders and key funders
Plan and implement winning grassroots strategies
Build and strengthen progressive networks and coalitions
Effectively initiate earned media, internet and other communications
Coordinate with other Clean Water Action staff and organizations
Provide program leadership for local canvass staff

Qualifications:

Successful professional or volunteer experience organizing on progressive issues
Strong oral/written communication skills and experience working with computers and doing online communications
Commitment to working with diverse people
Ability to successfully network with individuals and organizations
Well-organized, self-motivated, and able to work independently on multiple projects
Ability to develop and implement earned media strategies
Willingness to travel within Michigan, particularly West Michigan
Willingness to work weekday evenings and weekends as needed

Compensation:

Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits package included.

To Apply:

Contact David Holtz at dholtz@cleanwater.org

Black Bear Speaks has no affiliation with Clean Water Action, I just think they're cool people. Send your questions to them.

Nestle Fight Continues, Getting Uglier

2007-08-22T21:02:00.000-04:00

Citizens Group Fighting Nestle Water Extraction Seeks Reversal of Supreme Court's Crippling Blow to Environmental Citizen Suit Law

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, the citizen group who won a major court victory that limited groundwaterpumping by Nestle for its Ice Mountain bottled water that harmed a stream, two lakes, and wetlands, filed a Motion for Rehearing with the
Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 15, 2007.

On July 25th, the State's highest court, in a 4-to-3 decision, agreed with lower court rulings that Nestle's groundwater extraction illegally harmed the lakes, stream, and wetlands. But the Court also reversed part of the lower court’s ruling by limiting the citizen groups’ legal right to bring a lawsuit against Nestle under Michigan’s Environmental Protection Act for damaging a lake and wetlands on its own property. The citizens group has standing, the right to bring the suit, to protect the lakes and streams which individuals or the group's members owned or used, but no right to bring suit to stop a polluter from destroying a lake and wetland on his or her own property, the Court's decision said.

Ironically, in June of this year, Michigan's internationally renowned environmental citizen-suit law won more acclaim when the law's author, Professor Joseph Sax, who wrote the law at the request of former Governor William Milliken in 1970, was awarded the prestigious international Blue Planet Prize in Tokyo.

"MCWC has asked the Court to rehear its decision, because we think the citizens of Michigan deserve a closer look at a ruling that blocks their right to sue to prevent environmental damage on Nestle’s property," Terry Swier, President of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, said. "Our air, water, and natural resources do not recognize the legal fiction of property boundaries when it comes to environmental harm."

The citizen group requests the Court to rehear its July 25th decision, because it denies them their legal right to bring a citizen suit to prevent Nestle from causing undeniable harm, according to the findings of the lower courts, to the water resources of the state. "In a larger sense, the decision may have exceeded the Court's judicial power under our constitution and denied these people their first amendment right to petition government to redress wrongs," said James Olson, from Olson, Bzdok & Howard, who represents the citizen groups in its battles with Nestle. "In the immediate sense, the decision ignored a model environmental law passed by our legislature and knocked the teeth out of citizens individual rights to protect the environment," he said.

The Court's blow to the right granted to citizens by the Legislature to bring suits to protect the environment has met with outcry on the editorial pages of most newspapers.

Former Governor Milliken, who with a bipartisan Legislature spearheaded the adoption of the landmark environmental law in 1970, condemned the Court's decision in various news articles.

George Weeks, a well-respected political columnist, in an Op Ed, July 29th, described the Michigan Environmental Protection Act as “crippled” by “the Michigan Supreme Court, which Weeks dubbed as the "Engler Four – justices elevated to that bench or the Court of Appeals by ex-Gov John Engler."

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation's reason for filing the Motion for Rehearing is to give the Court an opportunity to reconsider its earlier July 25th decision.

"It makes no sense to us. The Court says we have standing to prevent the damage to the stream and one lake within the affected area of Nestle’s pumping, but then says we don’t have the right to protect the lake and wetlands on Nestle’s property, even though these water resources are also harmed and within the same affected area," Swier said.

Sustainable Living on the Great Lakes

2007-08-22T20:44:00.001-04:00

"Sustainable Living on the Lakes" will be the theme of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Great Lakes Commission, Oct. 1-2 in Chicago, Ill. The meeting will feature expert panels on climate change and its impacts on the Great Lakes, water conservation, and renewable energy and economic development. There will also be a series of field trips to Chicago's Center for Green Technology and the electric aquatic nuisance species dispersal barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. In addition, the meeting will feature updates on Great Lakes-related legislation making its way through Congress, the implementation of the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact and other high-priority Great Lakes issues. For more information, see www.glc.org/meeting. Contact: Tim Eder, teder@glc.org.

Great Lakes Restoration Conference - Chicago

2007-08-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

Join key players from government, business and advocacy groups who are at the center of the movement to restore the Great Lakes. Help set the Great Lakes restoration agenda for the coming year; hear first-hand about the issues facing the Great Lakes; and help advance the actions needed to protect the world’s largest surface fresh water source.

And, best of all, have fun doing it: Enjoy an evening at the Shedd Aquarium, a beautiful sunset cruise, dynamic speakers, field trips and much more!

When: September 6-8, 2007

Where: Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois

About the conference:
We have a once-in-a-generation chance to significantly restore the health of our Great Lakes, to help our children and their children enjoy the Lakes as we have. This year’s event, to be held near the Lake Michigan lakefront and Chicago’s new international attraction, Millennium Park, will build on the success of the First and Second Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conferences.

Why attend?
To advance the effort to restore the Great Lakes for future generations.

Set the restoration agenda:
Conference participants have an opportunity to advance Great Lakes restoration by unifying the region behind a priority list of restoration programs to advocate for in Washington, D.C., building a compelling case for passing the national Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act, and inspiring citizens and organizations to join the drive to restore the Great Lakes.

Gain the skills to take action for the Great Lakes:
The conference will help participants better understand the issues facing the Lakes and the actions they can take to protect them.

Network with people at the center of the effort to restore the Great Lakes:
As always, leading stakeholders will attend the conference, providing attendees with the opportunity to meet key players from government, business and advocacy groups who are essential to making Great Lakes restoration succeed, build partnerships, and join the movement to restore the Great Lakes.

Who should attend?

* People committed to Great Lakes restoration
* Business leaders dependent on the Great Lakes
* Local, state, federal and tribal government officials
* Federal and state lawmakers and legislative staff
* Community leaders from across the Great Lakes Basin
* Scientists and researchers
* Environmental and conservation groups
* Travel and tourism interests
* Boating, fishing and recreation interests
* Environmental consulting firms and agencies
* Governmental affairs staff

For more information contact:
Marie Borie Wood, events program manager, Alliance for the Great Lakes, at: 312-939-0838 ext. 227, or mboriewood@greatlakes.org.
annual conference, Chicago, Conference events

Illinois ratifies Great Lakes Compact

2007-08-22T20:39:00.000-04:00

Illinois has become the second Great Lakes state to ratify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, an interstate agreement to protect and conserve the waters of the Great Lakes basin. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the legislation into law on Friday, Aug. 17, joining Minnesota in approving the Compact. Other legislation is pending in Indiana, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. A companion agreement, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, has been enacted by Ontario and approved by the Québec National Assembly. For more information, visit the Council of Great Lakes Governors web site at www.cglg.org or the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body web site at www.glslregionalbody.org.

Eco-heads File BP Pollution Permit Appeal

2007-08-17T23:31:00.000-04:00

Seeking to put on hold BPs permit to discharge more pollution to Lake Michigan and allow the public to weigh in formally on the matter, the Alliance for the Great Lakes today filed a petition asking the court to suspend the permit and re-start the public appeal process.

Filed with Indiana's Office of Environmental Adjudication, the petition calls into question the states handling of the discharge permit it granted BPs Whiting, Ind. refinery, and says the Alliance and others weren't served notice about the final permit and the appeal process.

The Indiana permit process goes to the heart of peoples right to fully scrutinize governmental decisions allowing pollution discharges to our waterways, said Alliance President Cameron Davis, who filed the petition for review of the permit.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is under fire from the public and lawmakers for issuing BP a permit to discharge nearly 1,500 pounds of ammonia and 5,000 pounds of suspended solids from treated sludge into Lake Michigan daily -- increases of 54 percent and 35 percent respectively. The permit also gives BP until 2012 to meet strict federal limits for discharging mercury, a dangerous neurotoxin.

The departments failure to notify some or all stakeholders who submitted comments on the draft permit, including the Alliance and the LaPorte County Environmental Association, resulted in the public being shut out of the formal appeal process, according to the Alliance petition.

Sometime after the close of the public comment period, the agency posted the BP discharge permit on its website -- but didn't list an effective date or otherwise indicate that it was a final permit. The agency now says the 15-day period in which the public could appeal the permit a period that starts as soon as interested parties receive notice of the permit has already expired.

Everyone who drinks Lake Michigan water should have the ability to challenge pollution permits, but the public never had much of a chance with the BP permit, said Davis. Indiana went from the close of the public comment period, to permit issuance in about a month; this is unheard of.

The last time BPs permit was re-issued was in 1990.

The petition seeks a stay of the BP discharge permit, and further asks the court to start the clock over with a new permit appeal time.

The petition is online at http://www.greatlakes.org/news/pdf/Petition-Indiana.081407.doc

Anti-BP video from YouTube

2007-07-27T17:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Michigan Liberal for this video. Scroll down for more information on the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana and then do your part. Join the nationwide boycott of BP!

Michigan Supreme Court Sides with Nestle Corp

2007-07-27T16:42:00.000-04:00

A Message from Jim Olson, Attorney for Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation

The Supreme Court Clerk's office left a message this morning that it issued an opinion and order today. While Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, and the Doyle and Sapp families reserve further comment after digesting the opinion and order in more detail, for the moment,it appears the four of the Justices --Justices Marksman, Taylor, Corrigan, and Young -- have put another nail in the coffin of citizen standing, and that Michigan's environment and individual and public rights have taken another severe blow at the hand of this Court. The Court now says it will require that any person bringing a lawsuit to protect our air, water, and natural resources, or the public trust in our waters, must allege and prove harm to waters, wetlands, or other environmental features on the Defendant polluter's property; i.e. standing has been used as a sword to cut-off or cripple the citizen suit to protect Michigan's environment, and to give Nestle and other businesses a license to destroy and pollute on their own property unless a citizen can show a specific interest in Defendant's property, such as use, aesthetics, recreation.

Nestle asked the Court to cripple the state's Michigan Environmental Protection Act ("MEPA"). And Nestle succeeded in damaging the rights of citizens to protect our water and water resources. The Court followed suit. It's decision is regressive, punitive, and illogical in the extreme. In 1963, citizens enacted a Constitution that mandates the legislature to pass laws to protect the environment as an important public interest to the health and welfare of people in the State. in 1970, our legislature passed a law, the MEPA, that granted citizens to maintain lawsuits against those who propose or act in ways that are likely to pollute, impair, or destroy the air, water or natural resources or the public trust. Why and how could an injured Plaintiff from Nestle's conduct not be able to maintain a lawsuit to protect all of the environment and water resources harmed by Nestle's pumping ? MCWC and the Doyles and Sapp families in the MCWC v Nestle case proved unreasonable harm from Nestles pumping. Once this has been shown, the law intends all harm can be stopped or controlled. For the Court to condone harm on a company's property is irrational. Such an approach ignores judicial restraint called for by the doctrine of separation of powers that is supposed to protect our constitution, the rights and interests protected by it, and the powers of the legislature to follow it. The approach by the Court condones the piecemeal, wholesale destruction, and ruin of Michigan's treasured and fabled water resources and the environment. Four justices have cast their vote in favor of big business and against individual property rights, citizens, our local governments and communities , and the waters, wetlands, and environment. In the bigger picture, these Justices have also cast their vote in favor of big business and squarely against all citizens and the community in which they live.

In addition, the Court's opinion fails to address the important water law issues before it, so critical to the people of Michigan, including groundwater, riparian, the public trust and future of the waters of the Great Lakes. The Court simply affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the Court of Appeals decision, not stating what was affirmed, but stating only that it has ruled on the MEPA standing issue, and remanded that to the trial court. In my mind, this means, Plaintiffs will go back to circuit court to (a) address standing in the wetlands and Osprey Lake on Nestle's property, and (b) request the trial court to explain how the unreasonable harm, which is not in dispute, constitutes an impairment under the MEPA to the riparian and public waters of the stream and, if (a) is established, to the wetlands and Osprey Lake on Nestle's property. Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation and individually harmed plaintiffs will continue to fight for Michigan's water and related water resources and the public trust.

It's time for all citizens to take standing, our air, water and public trust into their hands. The Constitution is of and for the people. These issues belong to the people. It is time for massive unified action, without regard to our politics, to demand respect for and protection of the environment by the Supreme Court, since that's what our Constitution and laws demand. If necessary, this means citizens should petition to amend the Constitution of the state to make it clear to the Court, that when the people declare the environment is of paramount concern and the legislature shall pass laws to protect it, they mean it. This includes the authority to enact citizen suits without regard to the artificial barriers erected by the Court. Such barriers destroy our heritage, our water and natural resources, and communities. These matters should be a first priority on the agenda for the people in the State, and particularly landowners and private property owners who live on lakes and streams or near industry, and those with an interest in conservation, the environment, and the future health of our communities and quality of life.

In solidarity of the rights of citizens to vindicate the public interest as declared by our State Constitution,

Yours,

Jim Olson
Attorney for Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation

"The Supreme Court's decision to not allow citizens to protect our water and water resources under the MEPA does not affect the water ruling of the Court of Appeals. MCWC still has standing and that Nestle's pumping still has been determined to be unlawful under common law and MEPA as to the Dead Stream, Thompson Lake, and adjacent wetlands. The remand order to restrict Nestle's pumping in the future remains unaffected." Terry Swier, Director, MCWC

US Congress Opposes BP Refinery Plan

2007-07-27T11:25:00.000-04:00

This article was in the Detroit Free Press....

House says BP can't dump more pollutants

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly this afternoon to send a strong message opposing expansion plans by BP to dump more pollutants into Lake Michigan as part of its oil refinery expansion.

BP does not plan to delay the expansion of its refinery at Whiting, Ind., where the extra pollution would occur, but after a meeting between BP’s chairman and members of Congress from Great Lakes states, the company promised to continue a dialogue with the legislators and to review its options, said Scott Dean, spokesman for BP in Chicago....

Click here to read the rest of this article

The following article was in the Detroit News

BP lake discharges under fire
Lawmakers oppose company's plan to boost dumping of pollutants into Lake Michigan.
Deb Price And Gary Heinlein / The Detroit News

WASHINGTON -- Oil giant BP ran into fierce resistance Tuesday in Congress over its plan to dramatically increase daily discharges of ammonia and other pollutants from its Whiting, Ind., refinery into Lake Michigan.

"This is crazy. This is nuts," U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, said during House debate on a resolution to condemn BP's plan and urge the federal Environmental Protection Agency to stop it.

Miller said the decision by Indiana and federal authorities to permit BP to dump more pollutants into Lake Michigan "marks a huge step backwards in our efforts to keep our Great Lakes clean."

Click here to read this article in the Detroit News

Indiana Environmental chief should resign

2007-07-25T08:21:00.000-04:00

Citizens in Whiting, Indiana are calling for Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Thomas Easterly to resign, claiming he has "failed to protect the public interest" regarding the increase of toxic pollution from the BP refinery directly into Lake Michigan.

The Hoosier Environmental Council will be asked to approve a resolution Saturday calling for Easterly's ouster. If it is approved, a "no-confidence" call will be presented at an Aug. 9 IDEM public hearing taking place at its regional office in Merrillville. The hearing is on a BP variance request to alter which portions of the plant can release smokestack particles.

Folks in Indiana are getting pissed. Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. of Hammond, Indiana has stated his opposition to BP and says he's concerned that the BP Whiting Refinery is dumping near the intake pipe for city of Hammond drinking water. Hammond's Water Works supplies water to residents of Hammond and 10 other communities, including Munster and Lansing. The intake pipe is about a mile from where BP is proposing to increase its wastewater discharge.

Meanwhile, over here in West Michigan, a local radio station is broadcasting live today from a BP gas station in Cedar Springs, Michigan. This BP store is attempting to lure customers in by giving away its merchandise. Apparently the folks at BP are scared shitless, enough to start giving away the store in order to stay in business.

So, I'm going to write a letter to the Grand Rapids Press today asking local businesses to pull their advertising from this radio station until they apologize to the citizens of the Great Lakes for being such massive idiots. This is reprehensible and a blatant act of irresponsibility on the part of the radio station's management.

BP is a BAD corporate citizen. They've been lying for years, telling us how green they are. In fact, they've been poisoning Lake Michigan for decades. The time has come to tell them to shut down their refinery operation on the lakeshore.

See the related posts below regarding this issue.

Chicago Battles BP Refinery Over Lake Michigan Pollution

2007-07-20T08:36:00.000-04:00

from the Chicago Tribune, July 19, 2007

The City of Chicago joined the fight Wednesday to stop the BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., from dumping significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan.

City administrators said they hope to meet with BP officials next week. They've hired a consultant to review the water permit granted by Indiana regulators that will allow BP, one of the largest polluters along the Great Lakes, to dump 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day.

The word is out thanks to the Tribune. Let's continue to blog the boycott of BP and spread the word until they agree to stop polluting Lake Michigan. This is a winnable fight, BP is already on the defensive due to the public outcry being generated by the Tribune articles.

The Merriville Post-Tribune is running an article entitled BP Defends Permit.

This is the power of the internet kids. Let's crush them.

More to come.

BP Increases Toxic Sludge Dumping into Lake Michigan

2007-07-15T01:05:00.000-04:00

BP will now be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge mixed with 21 million gallons of contaminated wastewater into Lake Michigan EVERY DAY. An immediate boycott of BP is necessary.

There are thousands upon thousands of people who get drinking water directly from Lake Michigan. This is a message for you folks who are ingesting BP's bullshit.

From the Tribune:

The massive BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., is planning to dump significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan, running counter to years of efforts to clean up the Great Lakes.

Indiana regulators exempted BP from state environmental laws to clear the way for a $3.8 billion expansion that will allow the company to refine heavier Canadian crude oil. They justified the move in part by noting the project will create 80 new jobs.

Under BP's new state water permit, the refinery—already one of the largest polluters along the Great Lakes—can release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day. Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish, while sludge is full of concentrated heavy metals...

BP, which aggressively markets itself as an environmentally friendly corporation, is investing heavily in Canadian crude oil to reduce its reliance on sources in the Middle East. Extracting petroleum from the thick goop is a dirtier process than conventional methods. It also requires more energy that could significantly increase greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Environmental groups and dozens of neighbors pleaded with BP to install more effective pollution controls at the nation's fourth-largest refinery, which rises above the lakeshore about 3 miles southeast of the Illinois-Indiana border...

State and federal regulators, though, agreed last month with the London-based company that there isn't enough room at the 1,400-acre site to upgrade the refinery's water treatment plant.

This is the purest example of corporate green washing. We've been hearing from BP for years now about how green they are becoming and how sustainable their operations are. Well, it's an outright lie. BP is poisoning Lake Michigan, the water you swim in and drink. This is not some remote oil spill in Alaska, this is right in our backyard.

I'M CALLING FOR AN IMMEDIATE BOYCOTT OF BP THROUGHOUT THE GREAT LAKES. LET'S SHUT THESE BASTARDS DOWN, PERMANENTLY. DO NOT PURCHASE ANY BP GAS UNTIL THIS NEW ATROCITY HAS STOPPED OR THE BP FACILITY IN INDIANA IS SHUT DOWN. IF THEY THINK THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS, THEY ARE DEAD WRONG.

Do the math:
1584 pounds of ammonia per day multiplied by 365 days equals 578,160 pounds per year, and 5,781,600lbs in the next decade.

4925 pounds of toxic sludge multiplied by 365 days equals 1,797,625 pounds per year, or 17,976,250 pounds over the next 10 years.

The Grand Total? 23,757,850 pounds of BP bullshit.

At 21 million gallons of contamintated water per day, they will pollute 76,650,000,000 gallons of fresh water in the next ten years.

Read the Chicago Tribune article for yourself, get motivated and get involved: Chicago Tribune
Published July 15, 2007

Bush Administration to Slaughter Recovering Wolf Population

2007-07-13T18:55:00.000-04:00

The Bush Administration has just issued plan that will order the extermination of half the gray wolves in Wyoming and Idaho, starting in October. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments on this proposal until August 6.

Our best hope for blocking this "open fire" order is to generate a tidal wave of public outrage and protest...so please sign your send your comments immediately.

In preparation for these mass killings, the government has already purchased planes and helicopters capable of gunning down entire packs of wolves in minutes. The goal is to immediately kill up to 700 wolves in Greater Yellowstone and central Idaho.

Only three months ago, online activists sent more than 137,000 comments protesting the Bush Administration's plan to remove Greater Yellowstone's wolves from the endangered species list. But even before that issue has been decided, the Bush Administration is declaring open season on wolves.

They will order the slaughter to begin while wolves are still on the Endangered Species list.

The administration wants to be able to kill wolves anywhere that elk herd numbers may be affected by wolves. It is focusing on areas where elk herds are smaller than the states want.

But those few cases of declines in elk herds have been caused by a combination of factors including habitat destruction, drought and human hunting -- not just by wolves. In most areas of the northern Rockies, elk numbers are at all-time highs!

Please block this newest disgraceful act by Washington by expressing your personal opposition while the Bush Administration is still taking public input.

Submit your comments now by clicking on the big red "Take Action" button. Help protect the wolves of Greater Yellowstone and Idaho from the coming gunfire.

Your Water, Your Rights, Your Future

2007-07-08T15:42:00.000-04:00

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation Releases Report About Problems with Bottled Water

Choosing tap water over bottled water is better for consumers’ health, their pocketbooks, and the environment, according to a new report written by Food & Water Watch and released today by Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation who has been battling the spring water bottled giant Nestlé Waters North America (Ice Mountain) for over six years.

In 2005, Americans spent $8.8 billion for almost 7.2 billion gallons of non-sparkling bottled water. In 2006, they drank even more, about 26 gallons per person. The bottled water industry spends billions on advertising that promises purity in a bottle while implying that tap water is somehow less safe, something that is simply not true, according to the report.

“Bottled water generally is no cleaner, or safer, or healthier than tap water. In fact, the federal government requires far more rigorous and frequent safety testing and monitoring of municipal drinking water,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “Rather than buying into this myth of purity in a bottle, consumers should drink from the tap.”

In the trial of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation v Nestle Waters North America, the taking of spring water by Nestle, Ice Mountain, is diminishing the flow and level of a stream and two lakes, and reducing the stream width according to the Mecosta County Circuit Court. The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's factual findings and Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation is awaiting an opinion from the Michigan Supreme Court. When you drink bottled spring water, you are drinking water that would feed the headwaters of a stream. “Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation is hoping that other cities in Michigan follow Ann Arbor's lead after it adopted 'The Resolution to Drink Tap Water' on June 6, 2007 and promote drinking tap water,” said Terry Swier, president of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation.

Among the facts highlighted in Food & Water Watch’s report, Take Back the Tap, are the following:

Bottled water costs hundreds or thousands of times more than tap water. Compare $0.002 per gallon for most tap water to a range of $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon for bottled waters.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates only the 30 to 40 percent of bottled water sold across state lines.

The Environmental Protection Agency requires up to several hundred water tests per month by utility companies while the FDA requires only one water test per week by bottling companies.

Nearly 40 percent of bottled water is simply filtered or treated tap water.

U.S. plastic bottle production requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 100,000 cars.

About 86 percent of the empty plastic water bottles in the United States land in the garbage instead of being recycled.

But just kicking the bottle in favor of the tap is not enough, says Food & Water Watch. Our nation’s public water and sewer infrastructure is old and in the coming years will need billions of dollars of investment to maintain and further improve treatment, storage, and distribution. Each year we fall more than $20 billion short of what is needed to maintain our public water and sewage systems.

“It’s time for Congress to establish a clean water trust fund that would give communities the financial help they need to invest in healthy and safe drinking water for every American and for future generations,” Hauter said.

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation joined Food & Water Watch to encourage consumers in Michigan and across the United States to take back the tap by choosing tap water over bottled water whenever possible and supporting increased funding for safe and affordable public tap water.

The report is posted at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/pubs/reports/take-back-the-tap

Individuals can pledge to Take Back the Tap at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled

Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer rights group based in Washington, D.C. that challenges the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources. Visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation is a nonprofit group based in Mecosta, MI organized to conserve, preserve, and protect Michigan’s natural water resources and the public trust in those natural resources. Find them at www.savemiwater.org