Holiday Break

Subscribers Note: WIMS will be on Christmas – New Year break for the next two weeks. We will resume publication on Monday, January 4, 2016.   Have a safe & happy holiday season.

Scientists predict huge Lake Erie algae blooms

<> Scientists predict huge Lake Erie algae blooms - Scientists at the American Geophysical Union's annual conference in San Francisco are releasing a report today that predicts huge algal growth in Lake Erie for decades, even if the region's policymakers are able to achieve their goal of a 40 percent reduction in farm fertilizers and other nutrients going into the water over the next 10 years. Climate Change Rapidly Warming World's Lakes

Federal Budget Advances Key Great Lakes Priorities

<> Federal Budget Advances Key Great Lakes Priorities -- Provides $300 million to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to clean up toxic pollution, restore fish and wildlife habitat, reduce farm and city runoff, and combat invasive species -- also, approximately $510 million for the eight-state Great Lakes region -- MN, WI, IL, IN, MI OH, PA, & NY

EDITORIAL: Lake Erie wind farm could blow away last vestiges of Cleveland Rust Belt rep

<> EDITORIAL: Lake Erie wind farm could blow away last vestiges of Cleveland Rust Belt rep - The $120 million pilot wind farm project in Lake Erie just eight to 10 miles northwest of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, will help the city become a center of innovative alternative energy -- The non-profit Lake Erie Energy Development Co., or LEEDCo, has been planning a six-turbine pilot project that will generate about 20 megawatts of electricity at peak output.

Marine sanctuary possible for Lake Superior

<> Marine sanctuary possible for Lake Superior - The possibility of naming a Lake Superior National Marine Sanctuary in western Lake Superior is the topic of this month's Iron County Citizen's Forum -- the designation is eyed mainly for Chequamegon Bay near Ashland, WI but the designation could extend east to Iron County, WI.

2016 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day

<> 2016 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day - Registration is now open for the 2016 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting and Great Lakes Day in Washington, D.C., to be held Feb. 23-25.

Peters Pipeline Safety Provisions Move Forward in the Senate

<> Peters Pipeline Safety Provisions Move Forward in the Senate - The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved bipartisan legislation U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced with his Commerce Committee colleagues to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) through 2019, and improve pipeline safety and oversight. Great Lakes would be 'high consequence' area under pipeline bill - A U.S. Senate committee has approved a bill that would boost scrutiny and review of submerged pipelines by adding the Great Lakes to a "high consequence" categorical area of federal crude oil pipeline regulation that requires higher safety standards. Bipartisan Pipeline Safety Bill Passes Committee

U.S. House approves bill to ban plastic microbeads

<> U.S. House approves bill to ban plastic microbeads - The House on Monday approved a bill by unanimous voice vote, co-sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), that would phase out the production and sale of tiny bits of plastic called microbeads in personal-care products, starting in 2017 -- the Microbead-Free Waters Act, sponsored by Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ). H.R.1321 - To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the manufacture and introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of rinse-off cosmetics containing intentionally-added plastic microbeads

Michigan Can do More to Protect Lake Erie, Curb Harmful Algal Blooms

<> Michigan Can do More to Protect Lake Erie, Curb Harmful Algal Blooms - The National Wildlife Federation and Michigan League of Conservation Voters today urged the state of Michigan to bolster its plan to protect Lake Erie from harmful algal blooms like the 2014 bloom that left more than 400,000 people without access to safe drinking water and the largest bloom on record this year.

Funding Opportunity: NOAA's Great Lakes Regional Habitat Restoration Partnerships

<> Funding Opportunity: NOAA's Great Lakes Regional Habitat Restoration Partnerships - NOAA's Restoration Center has released a federal funding opportunity (FFO) for habitat restoration in Great Lakes Areas of Concern -- the closing date is February 2, 2016.

IJC Calls for Improved Great Lakes Atmospheric Mercury Monitoring

<> International Joint Commission Calls for Improved Great Lakes Atmospheric Mercury Monitoring - IJC, concerned by the lack of sustained funding for the number of monitoring sites, is recommending in a new report that the Canadian and U.S. governments provide stable long-term funding to monitor atmospheric deposition of mercury in the Great Lakes region -- concerned that mercury concentrations in some Great Lakes fish in some locations are increasing or may increase in some fish species in the future due to significant increases in coal burning in Asia.  Report: Atmospheric Deposition in Pollution of the Great Lakes

Toxic Lake Erie shipwreck never should have been on Great Lakes, research shows

<> Toxic Lake Erie shipwreck never should have been on Great Lakes, research shows - The Argo, a tanker barge that sank Oct. 20, 1937, in a storm, was operating illegally during its final journey — a trip from New Jersey to Sault Ste. Marie and back to load 4,700 barrels of benzole that is still threatening the lakes eight decades later.

Canada delays decision on Lake Huron nuke waste storage

<> Canada delays decision on Lake Huron nuke waste storage - Canada's environmental minister will delay making a final decision on a controversial plan to bury nuclear waste within a mile of Lake Huron in Kincardine, Ont., until March 1, 2016.