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WIMS Environmental News Blogs   NOW THAT WE ARE ON OUR HOLIDAY BREAK IT'S A GREAT TIME TO CHECK OUT OUR ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS BLOGS

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We'll be back on Monday, January 5, 2015.

EDITORIAL: U.S. Senate leaves Great Lakes high and dry

Subscribers Note: WIMS will not be publishing for the next two weeks of Christmas & New Years. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy & safe holiday season. We'll be back on Monday, January 5, 2015.

 

<> EDITORIAL: U.S. Senate leaves Great Lakes high and dry - Despite assurances that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014 was fast-tracked for passage before Congress shut down for the holidays, at least one unknown, unnamed senator torpedoed it

EPA Awards Additional GLRI Funding to Federal and State Agencies to Expand Efforts to Target Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Erie

<> EPA Awards Additional GLRI Funding to Federal and State Agencies to Expand Efforts to Target Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Erie - U.S EPA announced the award of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds totaling over $3.1 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to target harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie

Great Lakes News for 12/17/14

<> Ohio EPA grant targets runoff feeding Lake Erie algae - Ohio's environmental regulators are handing out a grant that will be aimed at reducing farm runoff that contributes to algae in Lake Erie.

<> COMMENTARY: We need national program to access risks to Great Lakes - As the events of last summer showed, the threat to our Great Lakes -- and our water supply -- from algae blooms and cyanotoxins is real.

<> Ohio OKs funds to monitor toxic algae, Asian carp - In Ohio, the state Controlling Board OK'd funding for separate efforts to monitor streams for toxic algae and invasive Asian carp.

<> GVSU researchers find more of invasive snail species in Lake Michigan - The faucet snail is spreading in Lake Michigan, and that bodes ill for water birds native to Michigan, says Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute.

 

WIMS REPORTS EACH DAY ON MAJOR GREAT LAKES ISSUES AND NEWS, along with National/International news, all U.S. Appeals Courts' environmental decisions, important Federal Registers announcemsnts, details environmental happenings in Michigan and complete Michigan environmental legislative tracking. Your one-stop source for environmental, energy and climate change issues and news (click here).

Oil & Water Presents to Petroleum Task Force

<> Oil & Water Presents to Petroleum Task Force - Dec 15. In formal remarks to a state task force on oil pipelines, representatives of key environmental and Great Lakes groups – echoing the concerns of businesses, governments, and thousands of citizens – called on Governor Snyder to take swift and meaningful action to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill from a pair of 61-year-old Enbridge pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac.

Stabenow, Camp, Slaughter Introduce Guarding Our Great Lakes Act

<> Stabenow, Camp, Slaughter Introduce Guarding Our Great Lakes Act - Senator Debbie Stabenow and Representatives Dave Camp (R-MI) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced the Guarding Our Great Lakes Act, bipartisan legislation designed to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of invasive Asian carp. S.3002 - Guarding Our Great Lakes Act H.R.5861 - Guarding Our Great Lakes Act Great Lakes Commission welcomes legislation aimed at protecting the Great Lakes from Asian carp

Study casts doubt on leaking contaminates theory

<> Study casts doubt on leaking contaminates theory - In Ohio, two scientists cast serious doubt on claims that the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority's Facility 3 man-made island is leaching phosphorus into the Western Basin of Lake Erie

Great Lakes on a record-breaking water-level rebound

<> Great Lakes on a record-breaking water-level rebound - Lakes Michigan and Huron have recovered 3.2 feet since January 2013; Lake Superior 2.3 feet, marking the fastest recovery over a 23-month period since the mid-1800s University of Michigan to explore strategies for dealing with Great Lakes water level changes - The University of Michigan's Graham Sustainability Institute is launching a two-tiered, two-year collaborative research initiative called the Great Lakes Water Levels Integrated Assessment. NOAA and partners document surge in Great Lakes water levels - Scientists at the Army Corps of Engineers, Environment Canada, and NOAA recently documented a record-setting surge in water levels on Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron that began in January 2013

House Passes H.R. 5764: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014

<> House Passes H.R. 5764: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014 - The bill passed by voice vote in the House on December 9, 2014 and goes to the Senate next for consideration.

H.R.5764 - Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014

<> H.R.5764 - Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014 - House debate may begin on the GLRI Act of 2014 which would formally authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for five years at up to $300 million annually. Regional groups support congressional action authorizing Great Lakes restoration - Download  HR 5764 – GLRI Group Letter – December 2014 Seven regional Great Lakes groups weighed in today with the Great Lakes congressional delegation in support of legislation being considered this week

Great Lakes ice season -- confusion?

<> Lake Erie temperature at end of November was the coldest in decades - Lake Erie's water temperature at the end of November fell to 40 degrees. Great Lakes ice season to be 'near normal' - It's going to be a near-normal ice season for the Great Lakes, according to the Canadian Ice Service. Great Lakes ice breaking all the rules - Ice is forming on the Great Lakes faster this year than any other.

IJC Provides Great Lakes Human Health Indicators for Governments' Consideration

<> IJC Provides Great Lakes Human Health Indicators for Governments' Consideration - A report proposing five indicators to assess the potential risk to human health from use of Great Lakes waters has been submitted to the Canadian and United States governments by the International Joint Commission (IJC) -- Recommended Human Health Indicators for Assessment of Progress on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was prepared by the IJC's Health Professionals Advisory Board (HPAB).

Proposed rule for farms aims to improve Lake Erie

<> Proposed rule for farms aims to improve Lake Erie - Ohio's lawmakers are taking their first step toward slowing the spread of algae in Lake Erie since a toxin contaminated the drinking water for more than 400,000 people.

"Paddle to D.C." team to reach Washington

<> "Paddle to D.C." team to reach Washington this week with petition to protect Boundary Waters, Lake Superior from proposed sulfide mining - Dave and Amy Freeman of Ely, Minnesota, and members of their team  plan to arrive in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2, 2014, with their canoe full of signatures for a petition to protect Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Lake Superior from plans for sulfide mining in northern Minnesota.