Great Lakes Blogger

looking back, looking forward

Lots of good Minnesota environmental history here on the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. But in some ways the most striking feature is the look forward 40 years:

"I don't think there's much future for lynx and moose in Minnesota. They are boreal (northern forest) species, and if the boreal forest disappears, they will, too. That goes for a number of warblers, too."

(p. 12)

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/mnenvironment/summer2007/me-summer2007.pdf

is trash a 'renewable resource'?

It's good when garbage dumps are adapted to recover methane to generate electricity -- for one thing, the buildup of methane can cause explosions and other hazards. But to call this tapping "renewable energy" is stretching things. Trash is certainly not a renewable resource like timber nor is it renewable like solar or wind power. Ultimately, we've got to learn to generate less and less trash. Counting methane from landfills toward a quota of renewable power set by state laws isn't advisable -- it will create incentives for more waste, more trash, and more landfills.

Next year, when the lights go on in Glencoe, residents can thank orange peels, rotten broccoli and leftover lasagna that was thrown out years ago for some of the electricity that keeps their houses glowing.

Waste Management Inc., heeding the proverb that one person's trash is another person's treasure, is spending $3.5 million to poke holes and run pipes to help the Spruce Ridge landfill expel gases that soon will run three electrical generators.

The project is part of a $350 million investment to be made by Waste Management over the next five years to turn 60 landfills across the country into sites for creating renewable energy.

http://www.startribune.com/535/story/1302422.html

pesticides -- a factor in MN 'impaired' waters

State pollution control officials have recommended that the middle branch of the Whitewater and sections of four other rivers, all in southern Minnesota, be designated as "impaired" because of acetochlor, commonly used to control weeds for corn crops. It has been measured in the rivers at various times between 1998 and 2005 at concentrations up to five times higher than the state's limit for what's considered environmentally sound.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1304355.html

restoring the Great Lakes

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.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pollute_15jul15,1,647384.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

the hazards of bottled water

The bottled water industry says drinking bottled water is good for your health, but the city of Ann Arbor says it's bad for the planet.

To Treetown politicians, bottled water could someday lead to a day when "only the wealthy could be able to afford'' water.

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-23/11843378674480.xml&coll=2

It's good Ann Arbor officials are on this. But one issue not mentioned upfront is the prospect that the Great Lakes themselves will belong to the wealthy.

what WRDA?

Wisconsin's DNR has apparently signed off, for now, on a proposed diversion of Great Lakes water to supply New Berlin, Wisconsin. That means a 21-year-old federal law that requires the approval of all eight Great Lakes governors, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), does not figure in the state's position. Sad day. Even though this does not constitute a formal approval -- New Berlin still needs to take several steps to get access to more Lake Michigan water -- it is not a good sign.

July 13, 2007

Mayor Jack Chiovatero

City of New Berlin

3805 S Casper Drive

New Berlin WI, 53151

 Dear Mayor Chiovatero:

The Department of Natural Resources Division of Water has completed its review of the Amended Sample Application For Straddling Community Water Diversion for the City of New Berlin, Wisconsin, submitted by Steven H. Schultz, P.E., Ruekert Mielke, and received on March 9, 2007. As part of the review the proposal was evaluated in comparison to the basic principles of the Great Lakes Compact and current State Administrative Rules.

 
Based on this evaluation the proposal does not require a water loss approval under ch. NR 142 Wis. Adm. Code. Approvals are required from the Department for the construction of any new water supply facilities under chs. NR 108 and NR 811 Wis. Adm. Codes. At this time no other additional information is necessary for evaluation in comparison to the Compact.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in the Department’s evaluation and information efforts related to the Great Lakes Compact.

 Sincerely,Todd Ambs, Administrator

Division of Water

July 13, 2007

Mayor Jack Chiovatero

City of New Berlin

3805 S Casper Drive

New Berlin, WI 53151

Dear Mayor Chiovatero:

The Department of Natural Resources, on behalf of Governor Jim Doyle, is authorizing the City of New Berlin to immediately begin discussions with potential water suppliers to determine the feasibility of securing Lake Michigan water for use by those residents of New Berlin in the west side of the city who are currently served by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District (MMSD). The Department is also instructing New Berlin to bring any agreement reached with a jurisdiction to provide water to New Berlin
back to the Wisconsin DNR so that we can ensure that any such agreement complies with all aspects of New Berlin’s application for Great Lakes water. The review step will be required before any water could flow from Lake Michigan to the west side of New Berlin.We have also informed other jurisdictions in the Great Lakes Basin that we will be happy to share that water provider agreement with them at that time prior to completing our review.

This authorization enables your community to move forward with technical discussions to determine if a
Lake Michigan water source can be secured to address radium contamination, as you know, a serious public health concern with your water supply. This authorization is limited to the service area within the City of New Berlin.

We strongly believe that these discussions must move forward now. If a Lake Michigan source can be secured your application clearly demonstrates that there will be NO adverse impact whatsoever on the water quantity in Lake Michigan and the water quality of Lake Michigan water will be improved.

We also firmly believe that this application meets the standards of the Great Lakes Compact – even though those standards are not yet law. In fact, the application and process went well beyond what is envisioned for communities like New Berlin under the Compact. You are to be commended for your excellent effort.

Again, we wish to stress that a final decision can only be made once we are satisfied that any water supply agreement that you negotiate clearly complies with all aspects of New Berlin’s application. The final review and how it will be conducted will be heavily influenced by the status of the state legislation here in Wisconsin to ratify the Great Lakes Compact.

In short, we need to pass the Compact in Wisconsin. If the Compact is law in Wisconsin by the time New Berlin reaches an agreement with a water provider, the path to the completion of the final review will be much easier to walk.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Scott Hassett, Secretary

 

Great Lakes worm watch

And it has nothing to do with Internet security breaches.

http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/default.htm

out of control administration?

The chair of the U.S. section of the International Joint Commission, which among other things oversees the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, has been removed from that post and the International Boundary Commission by the Bush Administration.

A dejected Schornack said Wednesday: "I am ashamed of my government." Bush nominated him to the IBC in 2001.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003785546_border12m.html

visualizing GL water temps

From frosty to tepid on July 6 --

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/2007/07/06/great-lakes-water-temperatures/

"pure" bottled water

To get to a store shelf in Chicago, for instance, a bottle of water from France must first travel more than 5,000 miles on ships and in trucks. And because water is heavy, transporting it requires a lot of fuel.

ABC News crunched the numbers -- taking into account mileage and fuel requirements -- and found that even before you drink that one-liter (or a 33.8 ounce) bottle of French water in Chicago, you've already consumed roughly 2 ounces of oil. And that doesn't include the oil used to make the plastic.

"It's ironic that on some of the labels of the bottles, you see snow-capped mountains and glaciers when in fact the production of the bottle is contributing to global warming, which is melting those snowcaps and those glaciers," said Allen Hershkowitz at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/GoingGreen/story?id=3351812&page=1