The bill deemed either the "Homeowner Fairness Act" or "Polluters' Protection Act," depending on which side of the issue residents chose, is dead -- vetoed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm Tuesday.
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15828071&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6
Because man meddled with nature 105 years ago, two of the world's major water systems — the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins — were joined together.
Now it's time for man to think seriously about separating the two, a growing number of scientists, advocacy groups and public officials believe. It may be the best way, they say, to stop the spread of invasive species between the basins.
With that in mind, the Alliance for the Great Lakes has launched the first study of what would be a gargantuan undertaking costing billions of dollars.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/3_1_EL28_A4BASINS_S1.htm
Michigan Gov. Granholm on Tuesday rightly vetoed the so-called "Homeowner Fairness Act" that would have made it impossible for homeowners who believe their property is part of a widespread contamination problem to get cleanup done. The bill was actually authored to delay further the cleanup of watersheds contaminated with dioxin discharged by Dow Chemical Company, among others.
Here's what the Detroit Free Press said about the bill:
Moolenaar's bill is an overreaction. It would require the DEQ to test for pollution in every individual parcel of a contaminated area and allow the suspected polluter to contest the findings, case by case. The cost of such testing would be enormous, draining money much better spent on cleanup plans, as would the delays in fixing pollution problems that really do affect property values. Such roadblocks could also prevent planned cleanups using previously committed EPA Superfund money.
From a scientific standpoint, such testing also is unnecessary. If pollution is spilled into a river and testing downstream finds contamination in, say, every 50th property, it is a reasonable and prudent assumption that the 49 in between are damaged as well.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051227/OPINION01/512270301/1068
Here's what Gov. Granholm said:
"Michigan homeowners deserve protections for their investments, but changes in Michigan law that threaten the protection of public health and the environment under the guise of homeowner fairness are not acceptable," Granholm told lawmakers in her veto letter.
Now here's a true Homeowner Fairness Act -- a proposal that would criminalize as trespass the discharge of toxic chemicals such as dioxin onto the property of an unwilling party. It would read simply:
Without the permission of an owner of private property, a person shall not knowingly and willfully trespass upon said property by the release through air, water or other environmental media of a toxic chemical that contaminates the soil, biota, residence, business, water supply of said property. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 30 days or by a fine of not more than $5000.00, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Minnesota is a Great Lakes state -- although it also feeds the Hudson Bay, Missouri and Mississipp ecosystems. Only a few hundred miles from Lake Superior, there's not enough water in some places to support the needs of expanding industries like ethanol processing. A warning of water scarcity to come in many areas of the Great Plains, putting increasing pressure on the Lakes.
It might be hard to imagine a water shortage in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But in arid southwestern Minnesota, a scarcity of water has forced utilities to distribute water from well fields via thousands of miles of pipelines and to turn away more than a dozen coveted factories that could make fuel and food from local farm products.
"People can see they're running out of water," said Tim Cowdery, a Minnesota-based hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "They'd like to build more industry. They'd like to build more ethanol plants. They just don't have the water to do it."
Cowdery and other water resource experts said the region's predicament offers an early glimpse of the sorts of water shortage issues expected to be commonplace across the country in decades to come as demand rises. A farming region such as southwestern Minnesota faces a triple whammy:
• Farms need a lot of water for irrigation and livestock.
• Farm pesticide runoff has polluted groundwater, shrinking the available supply.
• Ethanol plants, soybean processing plants and slaughterhouses use hundreds of millions of gallons more water.
The area relies, not on one large underground aquifer, but on many smaller ones, and more than a century of well-drilling has pretty much found what seems to be available. Healy said his water system and three others have "searched for water throughout a fairly large portion of the area. We haven't found anything in large enough quantity to be of any real value."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5801665.html
...is really, as Jim Olson points out here, an issue of ownership. Does the public own the water or can the public's water be put in millions of bottles and sold for private profit without any public body authorizing such a sale? Unfortunately, the otherwise progressive new Great Lakes compact takes a pass on the issue.
When governors of the Great Lakes states endorsed a strategy for preventing water raids by covetous outsiders, some of the loudest cheers came from leaders of environmentalist groups.
But an attorney known for leading the fight against a water bottling operation in Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula doesn't share their enthusiasm.
A warm summer and cold early winter are dumping Lake Michigan moisture in the lake effect belt...this article is the first in memory that suggests not all of the water will flow back and replenish it.
Lake-effect snow is covering ski hills, cross-country paths and snowmobile trails.
But it also is taking precious water from the Big Lake, likely leaving a little less for summer frolicking in the waves.
While much of the snow trickles back to Lake Michigan during the spring meltdown, one Great Lakes researcher figures it makes a difference.
"If you have a sudden warm-up in February where the ground is still frozen, some of the snow will just evaporate and be lost," said Cynthia Sellinger, a hydrologist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-26/1135266402233260.xml&coll=6
This agreement is different than other "handshake deals" of the past, said Molly Flanagan, a Great Lakes water-resource advocate for the National Wildlife Federation. This one has teeth.
Past interstate accords simply were good-faith agreements. None were binding; most quickly were broken, experts said.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/NEWS01/512220301/1002
Anyone over 40 will have a flash of deja vu. Is this terrorism counterintelligence, or the work of insecure rulers who fear criticism or "alien" beliefs?
Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.
One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
But the groups mentioned in the newly disclosed F.B.I. files questioned both the propriety of characterizing such investigations as related to "terrorism" and the necessity of diverting counterterrorism personnel from more pressing investigations.
"The fact that we're even mentioned in the F.B.I. files in connection with terrorism is really troubling," said Tom Wetterer, general counsel for Greenpeace. "There's no property damage or physical injury caused in our activities, and under any definition of terrorism, we'd take issue with that."
Cleveland officials unveiled a $4.6 million plan Monday to create a nature preserve with bicycle paths and hiking trails on Dike 14, an 88-acre Lake Erie peninsula built with sludge.
But before the project can begin, officials must pull together at least $200,000 to test the ground to see whether the fill -- polluted sediment dredged from the Cleveland Harbor and the Cuyahoga River -- is too contaminated for public exposure.
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/113507121287690.xml&coll=2
A judge fined two commercial fisherman $87,000 for stealing tons of yellow perch from Lake Erie.
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=4237133&nav=5Uai
A Muskegon Township teen was sentenced to nearly 10 months in jail Wednesday for intentionally shooting and killing a bald eagle in April 2004 on the Muskegon River.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1134663332165560.xml&coll=8
A chilly heron standing on one leg...in Arkansas.
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051219/NEWS01/512190316/1002
A chilly heron standing on one leg...in Arkansas.
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051219/NEWS01/512190316/1002
This story addresses one of the major Great Lakes issues -- pollution from many diffuse sources -- the kind of issue that is hard for journalists to capture and convey. But it's at the heart of Great Lakes restoration.
Actions to address nonpoint source pollution are high on the agenda in the final version of the $20 billion Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy released earlier this week in Chicago.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2005/2005-12-16-04.asp
Lee Botts felt her blood pressure rise, but did her best to bite her tongue.
On Monday, local, state and federal leaders in Chicago publicly unveiled their $20 billion, 15-year strategy for cleaning up the Great Lakes.
Botts, who has been defending the lakes for decades, was tempted to rise to her feet and remind them about the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which has spawned myriad lakes protection projects since first signed in 1972.
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2005/12/14/news/top_news/ddc4b0b5fb1a7244862570d7000cd94c.txt
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R., Ohio) yesterday vowed to follow up on this week's release of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy report with a committee hearing in which senators can discuss funding for the plan.
The report - the most comprehensive of its kind - outlines a need for an estimated $20 billion of work, including better sewage treatment, more harbor cleanups, expanded wetlands, more environmental buffers, and more barriers to stop exotic species.
The projects are intended to protect human health and enhance wildlife diversity.
Area officials recently submitted a request for $300 million to get some of the work started after feeling they were rebuffed by administration officials.
A Cabinet-level task force on Oct. 28 advised President Bush to reject pleas for funding beyond existing programs.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051216/NEWS24/512160341
Tribal Presider Comments
Frank Ettawageshik, Tribal Chairman
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, Summit II, Chicago, IL
December 12, 2005
I'd like to acknowledge our distinguished attendees today: Members of Congress, Tribal Leaders, Great Lakes Mayors, Federal Representatives from Executive Departments and Agencies, and many friends of the Great Lakes. I'd like to remind everyone that I speak today with the consent, and on behalf, of
the members of the Tribal Caucus for this Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. Either individually or through consortium, we have here today elected leaders or staff from many of the 35 Great Lakes Basin Tribal governments. The importance of this issue of water is certainly demonstrated by the presence of so many distinguished leaders from such a broad group of governments and organizations.
I am humbled to be able to be able to bring these words to such a group. Our children should not have to fear for their future. Our elders should no longer have to hear the cries of pain from Mother Earth. Over the past year I've spoken with Tribal and First Nation citizens and leaders from throughout the entire Great Lakes Basin: young people, elders, men and women, hunters, fishermen, farmers, dancers and storytellers, council members and chiefs, pipe carriers and other tradition bearers. What they have told me is that they fear for the water. They fear for their own survival and the survival of our people.
They also have told me that we are one with creation, that we have sacred duties to ourselves and to all those beings with whom we share this world. These duties are exemplified in our thoughts and actions towards each of the elements that make up this creation: represented by the physical, the spiritual, the emotional and the mental.
Through the work of hundreds of volunteers throughout the entire Great Lakes Basin a strategic plan for restoring and protecting the waters of the Great Lakes has been prepared. Do we all now breathe a sigh of relief? Do we now go home and get on with other matters? No. Our work has barely begun. This Strategic Plan that we offer today outlines and defines issues that we must work on. It also suggests ways by which we can address these issues. Quoting from the Executive Summary, "The Collaboration partners have rallied around a shared vision of a restored, sustainable Great Lakes ecosystem that has generated optimism and engendered a spirit of cooperation. What is needed now is the will to act and the leadership to proceed if we are to realize our vision and reach our goals. The time to begin is now."
The question of how to pay for the restoration after years of the effects of harmful actions has been raised. This certainly will be a challenge for governments at all levels. Listening to the myriad thoughts that have come together over the past year it would be easy to be overwhelmed. But the real issue that we need to face is first within ourselves, within our own hearts and minds.
Last December we signed the Great Lakes Declaration that started us on this shared journey. Today we sign a Resolution that acknowledges the work of the past year that created this Strategic Plan and moves us on to implementation. All of this plan and the hundreds of pages of appendices can be summed up as follows: If it is harmful, don't do it; if we are already doing it, then stop; if harm is coming from what we already have done, then we must undo it.
These are simple words, but they lead to great and complicated tasks.
The most difficult task however doesn't have to cost us any money. That task is one that is a challenge for everyone here, everyone who is listening to these words, and everyone who reads them in the future. Change yourself and your own life. Conserve water, respect the life that depends upon it, accept the fact that there are limits to our natural resources, demand that our businesses and governments adapt to these limits, and finally, celebrate the limitless potential that is within us all.
Some of the highest levels of this toxic chemical (deca-BDE) in the world are found in the blood and tissue of Great Lakes residents. It's time to find safe alternatives through a Great Lakes green chemistry initiative.
Blazes sparked by televisions, stereo equipment, VCRs and other home electronics account for the largest number of fire deaths in the United States.
But the flame retardant, known to the industry as "Deca," also shows up in our bodies. And there is much debate about what happens once it gets there.
Deca is one of three brominated flame retardants known collectively as PBDEs and commonly found in the home.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_3301888
A male loon that lingered on Mayhew Lake when other loons migrated this fall has finally flown south -- with the help of Northwest Airlines.
The loon was flown to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic in Sanibel Island, Fla., this week in the cargo hold of a Northwest jet.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/5781671.html
Grand Valley State University website has posted the full report, fact sheet and peer report of “Ocean Shipping in the Great Lakes: Transportation Cost Increases That Would Result from a Cessation of Ocean Vessel Shipping” by Dr. John C. Taylor and Mr. James L. Roach.
http://www.gvsu.edu/business/index.cfm?id=11971F16-DBAF-2179-96B0680A95CC6F83
Highlights include:
· The cessation of ocean shipping on the Great Lakes would result in a transportation cost penalty of US$54.9 million per year.
· Ocean vessels on the Lakes make only a modest contribution (5.9%) to total transportation cost savings for users of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence System.
· Findings are relevant to the growing debate over whether or not ocean ships in the Lakes provide sufficient benefits to society, given the much larger costs of ocean borne invasive species.
· An expert peer panel reviewed the Taylor and Roach research publicly in Chicago, IL on November 30th and found the methodology acceptable.
· The expert peer panel made suggestions on how to extend and improve the study, and believed the suggestions would result in a decreased estimated value of ocean shipping on the Great Lakes –St. Lawrence System.
At Monday's Great Lakes restoration announcement in Chicago, the Bush Administration got plenty of mileage...and made it sound like it is serious about preventing the entry of enormous, destructive, non-native Asian carp into the Great Lakes by supporting funding for an electric barrier in the Illinois River.
The EPA also confirmed that the electrical barrier blocking invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes via the Mississippi River will be made permanent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121201402.html?nav=rss_nation
But look behind the rhetoric. Here's what one insider said:
The administration was pathetic: regarding the listing of Asian carp as
"injurious," all they said yesterday was that they were going to study
the issue and make an "informed decision." What kind of crap is that?
Just list the damn things as injurious! Also, they supported building
the barriers but did not support the legislation to make them federal.
So, they're trying to back out of that.
November 28, 2005, Tarrytown, New York - An international coalition of grassroots environmental advocates announced today its disappointment with several key provisions of the latest draft Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and the companion state Compact.
Waterkeeper Alliance, one of the world’s fastest growing environmental coalitions, has 143 members around the globe, including 15 member programs in the Great Lakes Basin.
http://great-lakes.net/lists/enviro-mich/last30days/msg17656.html
The compact signed today in Milwaukee by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and chief executives of other Great Lakes states reflects important improvements but does not go far enough to save the Great Lakes from the coming threats of large-scale water withdrawals, exports and water sales, Clean Water Action, Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation and PIRGIM said today.
The Compact signed by Governor Granholm is an improvement over the region’s patchwork of laws, the groups said. Admirably, the agreements ban all diversions of water by nearly any means out of the basin, except for diversions through the extension of water service pipelines to communities or growing urban areas that straddle the basin divide. They also impose standards on reasonable use of water inside the basin, including environmental and conservation measures.
But the Compact fails to close important holes in the region’s system of water protection, leaving a “leaky bucket” of protection, said David Holtz, Michigan Director of Clean Water Action. “Michigan will have to set a higher standard of stewardship if we’re to save the Lakes,” said Holtz.
http://great-lakes.net/lists/enviro-mich/last30days/msg17655.html
Great Lakes United weighs in that it's good:
Great Lakes United Praises Signing of the Annex Water AgreementsDecember 13, 2005 – Great Lakes United today praised the eight states and two provinces of the Great Lakes basin for signing two landmark agreements to protect the region’s waters from diversion and abuse...
One of the natural wonders of the world, the Great Lakes are a key source of jobs, drinking water, and quality of life for 42 million people. Bulk export of water from the lakes and abusive withdrawal of water for use within the Great Lakes basin threaten the region’s long-term future. The two “Annex” water agreements—one between the eight states and enforceable in U.S. federal courts, and one between the eight states and the two provinces—are the first viable plan to ensure the long-term protection and sound management of our Great Lakes water.
Great Lakes United said the agreements provide several key elements needed to do the job, including:
1) strongly discouraging all bulk water diversions and prohibiting large-scale, long-distance
2) covering ground, stream, and river as well as lake water
3) assuring that most proposals to withdraw water for local use will, for the first time in most jurisdictions, be scrutinized for potential harm to the basin environment, and
4) requiring the provinces and states to institute water conservation programs.
Others see more problems and a need to go far beyond the minimum threshold provided by the compact:
Sierra Club Applauds Agreement to Protect the Great Lakes and Calls on States to Adopt Stronger Implementing Legislation
“The Great Lakes are one of the natural wonders of the world and it is our responsibility to protect them,” said Jan O’Connell, Sierra Club Board of Directors and resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Now more than ever, we have a chance to guarantee the long-term protection of this vast, but vulnerable, public trust resource.”
Added Emily Green, Director of the Sierra Club’s Great Lakes Program: “We applaud the Great Lakes Governors and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec for their leadership in protecting the Great Lakes for the benefit of future generations. Their sustained commitment has given us a rare opportunity to ensure that our Great Lakes, one of the natural wonders of the world, will not be sold to the highest bidder.”
However, noting that the Great Lakes Compact allows each state to adopt additional statutory provisions to strengthen protections for our waters, the Sierra Club recommends that state legislators adopt implementing legislation that strengthens protections in five key areas:
1) Require the implementation of measurable water conservation programs, including water recycling and reuse, prior to any application for a diversion of Great Lakes water;
2) Require the implementation of water conservation measures for all withdrawals of water in amounts at or above 100,000 gallons per day;
3) Bar loopholes to the diversion prohibition based on the size of the container or bottle being used to transport the water out of the Great Lakes Basin;
4) Require the return of diverted Great Lakes waters, following appropriate treatment, to the point of its initial withdrawal from a Great Lakes water body; and
5) Establish the political boundaries for “straddling communities” and communities within “straddling counties” seeking prospective diversions as of the date of the legislation’s enactment.
The real headline on the story linked below should be:
Great Lakes state officials, mayors, tribes and environmental advocates challenge Bush to keep promise to protect the Great Lakes as a "national treasure."
The lead ought to be:
Governors and mayors of the Great Lakes states offered to put up $140 million in matching money for a commitment of $300 million in new federal funds to restore the health of the Great Lakes, but EPA officials dodged the challenge and said they would provide no new money for the Lakes at this time.
If you believe this story, the Great Lakes are about to get $20 billion in rescue money. They may -- but only if the people of the region fight for it, and overcome apparent federal resistance (i.e., from the Bush Administration) to promising even one new dime at this point.
As one member of Congress remarked today, this is the ninth Great Lakes "plan" in the last five years. Although more comprehensive and broader-based than previous plans, it means nothing without money. If plans were cleanups, the Great Lakes would be spic and span.
Two major Great Lakes proposals are being pushed ahead this week.
Today, a Great Lakes cleanup plan that lacks significant new money.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/dec05/376936.asp
President Bush made a big splash in the Great Lakes region in the middle of the last presidential campaign when he announced a new effort to restore the world's largest freshwater system.
And there likely will be no grand Great Lakes restoration plan coming from the Bush administration, at least not one on the scale longed for - if not expected - by the political leaders, conservationists, tribes and scientists Leavitt brought together to participate in the drawn-out regional effort to design a blueprint for Great Lakes restoration.
On Monday, leaders of the group Leavitt convened, called the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, will release their Great Lakes restoration plan in Chicago.
A draft of the plan released this summer called for about $20 billion worth of federal, state and local programs over the next 15 years, but already the federal agency leaders who make up the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force are distancing themselves from that group's recommendations.
Specifically, the task force is saying no new federal dollars should be committed to the lakes.
Tomorrow, a Great Lakes water conservation compact.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/dec05/377082.asp
The Great Lakes governors are expected to sign a new set of rules Tuesday tightening diversions from the world's largest freshwater system. But the ceremony might signal only the beginning, not the end, of the fight over the future of who controls the Great Lakes.
If all eight governors do sign the new rules during the two-day meeting at the Pfister Hotel - and while this is likely, there is no guarantee that they will - those rules must still be approved by each of the eight Great Lakes state legislatures. Then Congress must sign off on the eight-state agreement, known as a compact.
A "no" vote from any governor, legislature or Congress could undo the four years of work that has already gone into writing new rules intended to ensure the Great Lakes aren't diminished - or drained - to benefit areas outside the region.
But even if the effort is ultimately successful, nobody is predicting how long the process will take.
West Michigan municipalities find it difficult to promote water conservation when they are drawing from one of the world's largest lakes.
"It's been a real problem for us. Everybody wants to conserve," said Joe VanderStel, water facilities manager for North Ottawa Water Systems.
"But it's hard to do when you're sitting with 400 trillion gallons out your back door."
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1134299820184630.xml&coll=6
“One hundred and fifty years ago we had a resource in the Great Lakes region that was considered inexhaustible. It lasted barely two generations. This was the White Pine forest. The White Pine of this century is Water.” -- Frank Ettawageshik, Chairman, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
Some locations have reached a ''tipping point'' where the environment goes downhill quickly and unexpectedly as nature's protective buffers fail, the report said.
Protecting and upgrading coastal wetlands and rivers that flow into the lakes should be ''at the heart'' of the restoration plan, said Buchsbaum, co-chairman of a coalition that advised government agencies working on the federal plan.
''This report suggests you can solve many of these problems at the same time if you focus on the buffering capacity of the Great Lakes,'' he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-lakes09.html
Tune in Monday, when EPA and the states are supposed to announce the "final" Great Lakes restoration plan, and see how much money they put behind restoring the immune system of the Lakes. This region has the chance to avoid the fate that befell coastal Louisiana because of federal and state officials' failure to invest in prevention.
Apparently not, in Tennessee.
http://www.southernstandard.net/news.php?viewStory=23492
Interesting how the bottled water industry there argues that water is NOT just like Coke and therefore can't be taxed. In Michigan the industry says the water in its bottles is just like the water in soda and therefore there's no problem with profiting off it.
Water captured from springs or rivers or lakes most definitely is not just like Coke.
Legislative bodies rarely vote against giving themselves final say over a controversial matter, but Michigan's State Senate voted yesterday not to require legislative approval of new water for sale projects in Michigan that would divert water out of the Great Lakes Basin. The key vote was on an amendment to link water withdrawal legislation that did pass the Senate with a bill requiring legislative OK of diversions. The amendment failed 16-19. The roll call is at the bottom of page 2407 and top of page 2408 in the document below. A "yes" vote was for control of water diversions.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2005-2006/journal/senate/pdf/2005-SJ-12-08-110.pdf
...but gives a pass to water exporters who put the public's water into bottles instead of pipelines or tankers.
An amendment to require legislative signoff on any water diversion, including diversions in bottles, failed on a 16-19 vote. The 19 voted against the Great Lakes. And against public control of the public's Great Lakes. The 19 names will be available on the Michigan Legislature's website tomorrow by going to today's Senate Journal.
ON AN ISLAND, winter’s arrival is abrupt. It begins the moment the ferry can no longer break through the ice to reach the mainland, the moment the residents are cut off from the rest of the world until the spring thaw.
There is little warning. On Kelleys Island, the largest American-owned island in Lake Erie, the moment may come in the form of a call from the skipper of the Shirley-Irene (the ferry that shuttles people to Marblehead and back) to Rob Watkins at the Island Market.
http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2852
To this story:
LANSING, Mich. Some businesses would need state permits to withdraw large amounts of water under long-awaited bills that have moved forward in the Michigan Legislature.
http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=4211131
Michigan's environmental community says this:
Senate Must Strengthen Water Use Bills
Bills fail to address diversions of Great Lakes water or require conservation
Lansing — Last night, the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs committee passed a package of water use bills that fail to address major water issues. While the bills are an improvement over current law, they fall short of providing adequate protections for the Great Lakes. The bills are expected to move to the full Senate this week where amendments will be offered to strengthen protections for the Great Lakes.
“These water use bills are a step in the right direction, but they still have major holes that need fixing,” said Kelly Dardzinski of PIRGIM. “We urge the Senate to stand up for Michigan’s water and pass amendments to strengthen these bills.”
“Michigan citizens expect better protections for our Great Lakes water than these bills would provide,” added Cyndi Roper of Clean Water Action. “This package of bills can be improved, and after spending more than a year working on a plan for strong water use laws, our state deserves more than what is on the table.”
The major problems with the Senate bills are that they do nothing to protect against diversions outside of the Great Lakes basin, only protect against the most catastrophic natural resource damage, and fail to require conservation practices.
“These bills do nothing to address the looming threat of our water being sent away to other states and far-off places, whether by tanker, pipe, or bottle,” said Cheryl Mendoza of Alliance for the Great Lakes. “Everyone in Michigan agrees that we need to keep our water at work for Michigan, but current laws leave our water vulnerable to being diverted from the Great Lakes basin.”
Amendments will be introduced this week on the Senate floor to improve the bills. The amendments will:
* Protect against diversions by requiring legislative approval for diversions outside of the Great Lakes basin,
* Protect all of our natural resources from water use impacts by expanding protections to include wetlands and other habitats without fish populations, and
* Ensure water conservation by requiring generally accepted conservation practices for each sector.
These amendments were offered last night in committee, but Senators Birkholz and Van Woerkom voted against and defeated them.
“Michigan’s water use protections are like a leaky bucket with ten holes in it,” said Gayle Miller of the Sierra Club. “Without the amendments, these weak bills would plug some of the holes, but still leave us with an empty bucket at the end of the day.”
"Unless these bills are strengthened, this is a really bad package of legislation that just creates the illusion of regulation and protection of our precious water resources,” added Chris Shafer, Law Professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Earlier drafts of the bills actually weakened existing protections of Great Lakes water. The Great Lakes, Great Michigan coalition has worked for months to strengthen the bills to their current form. Strong packages of bills introduced in the House by a bi-partisan group of legislators and in the Senate by Senator Brater would address all of these shortfalls identified in the weak Senate bills.
The Senate is considering the water bills more than a year after Governor Granholm introduced water legislation warning that the Great Lakes were largely unprotected by state law from diversions. A Michigan Appeals Court decision last week, upholding some protections but weakening others, created additional urgency for legislation action.
The Great Lakes, Great Michigan coalition is an unprecedented alliance of 45 organizations united around the need for strong water use laws. For a full list of endorsers, visit www.greatlakesgreatmichigan.org.
Contacts:
Becky Beauregard, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, (517) 485-8820
James Clift, Michigan Environmental Council, cell: (517) 256-0553
Kelly Dardzinski, PIRGIM, (517) 664-2600
Cheryl Mendoza, Alliance for the Great Lakes, (616) 850-0745
Cyndi Roper, Clean Water Action, cell: (517) 490-1394
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund board today recommended funding for the purchase and protection of some Great Lakes jewels, including:
An expansion of Gratiot River County Park, in the Keweenaw Peninsula, including 4000 feet of Superior shoreline.
http://www.northwoodsconservancy.org/grpark.htm
A portion of the remaining funding for an easement on the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, including public access:
Also, Tricentennial State Park on the Detroit River in the City of Detroit was recommended for funding.
Congratulations to John and Jane Griffith at the North Woods Conservancy (Keewenaw) and Brian Price and Natasha Lapinski and other staff at the Leelanau Conservancy.
A master plan for Pennsylvania's Erie Bluffs State Park, the newest in that state's system, is now out for public comment. Reading the"visitor experience" that begins on page 22 is enough to make you want to pay a visit someday.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/park_plans/eriebluffs_plan.pdf
What do you get when you mix scientific anomalies, big ugly fish and some kooky local science writers? Fear and Loathing at the Great Lakes Aquarium.
Jim and Allen Richardson, the brothers of Gonzo Science, like muckraking journalist Hunter Thomas, look at and write about issues on the periphery of mainstream science.
“Lake Superior has scattered reports of sea serpents and lake monsters,” said Jim Richardson, whose presentation will include photos as well as reports on these supposed creatures. “We won’t be coming down on either side — we’ll just be examining the evidence and photographs,” he said.
http://www.duluth.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=212002
Cadillac Sportsman’s Club · Four Seasons Fishing Club · Friends of the Detroit River · Huron Valley Conservation Association · Indiana Wildlife Federation · Izaak Walton League of America, Dwight Lydell Chapter · Izaak Walton League of America, Illinois Division · Izaak Walton League of America, McCabe Chapter · Izaak Walton League of America, Michigan Division · Izaak Walton League of America, Ohio Division · League of Ohio Sportsmen · Michigan Trappers Association · Michigan United Conservation Clubs · National Wildlife Federation · Pine River Association · Pine River Long Riflemen · Sturgeon for Tomorrow, Inc. · Wisconsin Wildlife Federation · Trout Unlimited - Wisconsin State Council
Sportsmen to President Bush: Endorse a
Strong Plan to Restore the Great Lakes
Protect Hunting and Fishing Opportunities for Our Children in Dec. 12 Plan
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (December 2, 2005)–Hunters, anglers, trappers, and conservationists today sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to endorse a strong plan to clean up the Great Lakes.
“President Bush has the opportunity to write a new chapter in the region’s conservation history,” said Andy Buchsbaum, director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office, which was among 19 signatories on the letter. “Restoring the Great Lakes will provide hunting and fishing opportunities for our children and grandchildren for generations to come.”
The letter from sportsmen and women comes as a presidential taskforce prepares to release on December 12 its plan to clean up the lakes—the largest surface source of freshwater in the world.
The letter states: “Sportsmen and women strongly support the vision for a restored Great Lakes as outlined in the plan—one in which fisheries flourish, habitat recovers, and wildlife thrive, providing abundant hunting and fishing opportunities.”
Sportsmen support the current version of the plan, which calls for nearly $20 billion to prevent aquatic invasive species like the zebra mussel from wreaking havoc on native fish and wildlife; to upgrade sewer systems to prevent sewage from closing beaches; and to restore wetlands and other habitat to provide a home for fish, waterfowl, and other wildlife.
“We encourage you to fund the restoration effort commensurate with the job at hand,” states the letter to President Bush. “Successful conservation requires an investment—and always has. Hunters and anglers have been the lifeblood of America’s monumentally successful conservation movement through their willingness to pay license fees and excise taxes on equipment. But sportsmen and women cannot do it alone. We all share the responsibility to clean up the Lakes, and it’s time local, state and federal government invest in restoring this great resource.”
A letter leaked recently from several federal agencies to the president has raised concern that the Bush Administration might back away from endorsing the current plan citing federal financial constraints. In response, the region’s governors, mayors, and Congressional delegation wrote to President Bush, requesting that the federal government uphold its commitment to a solid restoration plan, including new funding.
“We stand with the Great Lakes Governors, Mayors, and Congressional delegation in solid support of (the current) plan,” states the letter from sportsmen. “Show us you remain committed by endorsing a strong restoration strategy so that our nation’s children and grandchildren can fish, swim, hunt and enjoy the Great Lakes for generations to come.”
Conservation organizations including the National Wildlife Federation have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to craft the restoration plan as part of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, a fast-track process established by President Bush to draft a plan to clean up the Great Lakes. More than 1,500 citizens have participated, including people from Tribal, governmental, industry, and conservation organizations.
“Citizens have made their voices heard and the priorities of the region are clear,” said Buchsbaum. “It is time that elected officials stand and deliver for the Great Lakes.”
The Great Lakes comprise almost 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water and supply drinking water to more than 40 million U.S. and Canadian residents. The Great Lakes also support local agriculture; a diversity of wildlife, including a world-class fishery; maritime trade; industry; and tourism.
“The Lakes have provided their generous bounty to hunters and anglers for centuries,” said Buchsbaum. “The lakes are now in trouble and need our help. We have manageable solutions to protect this great resource. It is time to use them.”
The sportsmen letter to President Bush is online at:
http://www.restorethelakes.org
# # #
For immediate release: December 2, 2005
Contact:
Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation – (734) 904-1589; lubetkin@nwf.org
BIG RAPIDS -- Will the paddlin' judge come out of retirement to reopen Michigan's bottled-water dispute?
Lawrence Root says he's considering it.
"I'm aware of the Court of Appeals request," said Root, 57, who retired this year after more than two decades on the Mecosta County bench.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1133695081155960.xml&coll=6
But think about this: The typical urinal in a public building, office, school, department store, uses 1.5 to 2 gallons of water per flush. About 40,000 gallons per year, according to industry studies. Multiply by all those bazillions of urinals out there and the trickle becomes a flood, or, shall we say, a great lake.
Which explains why the new YMCA building in downtown Grand Rapids, designed to qualify for certification as environmentally sustainable, features no-water urinals in its bathrooms.
"Anywhere we can conserve, we've done it," says Donald McCarthy, the Y's chief operating officer. "We also have water-constricting shower heads."
Such gadgetry has been around for years where water is scarce. But now it's showing up in the Great Lakes region, as a budding conservation ethic and the age-old desire to save money inspire efforts to use less water without sacrificing productivity or quality.
John Flesher of AP out of Traverse City, MI has a new series launching this weekend on water conservation in the Great Lakes region. Good news. Here's the opener of the first piece.
When the Metalworks company set out a couple of years ago to manufacture office furniture in a more environmentally friendly way, a consultant made a suggestion: Why not use less water?
Managers realized they hadn't given much thought to the roughly 24 million gallons used each year to prepare metal filing cabinets for painting. They reconfigured the Ludington plant's conveyor washing system to recycle water before sending it down the drain.
By 2004, Metalworks' water usage had fallen to 11.5 million gallons. This year's projected total: 8 million gallons — with no drop-off in production. The company's municipal water bill is down from $45,000 to about $15,000, more than recouping the $10,000 cost of upgrading the system.
"Not only do we save money, but the environment wins, too," said Sidney Shaw, the environmental, health and safety director for Metalworks.
It's no big secret: Saving water is good for the environment. And it helps the bottom line of businesses and households alike. For many in the world's arid climes, making every drop count is second nature.
Now, conservation is slowly catching on around the Great Lakes, an aquatically blessed region where prevailing attitudes toward saving water have ranged from benign neglect to scorn. The lakes contain 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water and their drainage basin abounds with inland lakes, rivers, wetlands and subterranean aquifers
Won't be long before an industry-funded study emerges that puts the value at 100 times this -- but getting these numbers should help frame the debate.
Authors of a controversial study that puts the value of overseas ships operating in the Great Lakes at $55 million a year appeared before an independent panel of transportation experts at the Shedd Aquarium to defend their work.
That $55 million figure is important because many argue that the economic benefits of overseas shipping in the Great Lakes is a pittance compared with the ecological and economic costs wrought by shipborne invasive species.
One estimate, for example, puts the total cost of the zebra mussels alone over the past 20 years at about $2 billion.
While that peer review process continues today, early indications are that the study, though not perfect, essentially holds water.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/13309374.htm
Michigan residents can get detailed information about how much raw sewage overflow winds up in streams and rivers after a storm with just a couple of mouse clicks on the Internet.
In Ohio, that's not the case. And a state legislator, environmental activists, and even those who use the waterways for recreational purposes want to change that.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051201/NEWS06/512010357/-1/NEWS