Michigan Environment Watch

In St. Louis, taxpayers have spent millions of dollars and decades cleaning a chemical plant that new research has shown caused numerous health problems. Cuts to the Superfund program would hinder similar cleanups.

Great Lakes mussels are giving scientists a clearer picture of where the chemicals are concentrated, according to a recent report.

Michiganders returned less than three-quarters of their 10-cent bottle deposits last year, the lowest redemption rate on record. In all, $116 million went unreturned. A ballot measure may be in the works.

Anglers are warned not to eat their catch from 98 Michigan waterbodies, up from 33 last year, after state officials revised their health guidance in light of growing evidence that PFAS is more toxic than previously thought.

The review considered impacts of the Line 5 project along with several alternatives. It’s the first major step toward a permitting decision expected this fall.

As May’s cooler temperatures give way to summertime warmth in Michigan, the Great Lakes are slightly cooler than usual but warming. But where are Michigan’s warmest waters?

After years of delays, Flint is nearly done replacing the city’s lead-containing water pipes. But residents and activists aren’t sure they can celebrate yet.

Unlike Silicon Valley’s ascent, which was significantly bolstered by steady public research funding—federal investment, for instance, paid 25 percent of the cost of developing the transistor—Great Lakes blue economy development is taking shape in an era of resistance to US government research outlays.

Thunder Bay’s shoreline has seen decades of pollution, but an agreement between Canada and the U.S. has seen massive investments of time and money to clean it up.

Michigan, Ohio and Ontario failed to reduce the total phosphorus entering Lake Erie in 10 years. State officials and environmentalists are butting heads on where to go from here.

One of the poorest cities in Michigan has a proposed $3 billion data center as a potential lifeline — but environmentalists and locals warn of high costs to water, climate and community.

With the election of President Donald Trump, the conflict over glyphosate’s risks and benefits entered a new realm of confrontation that has the potential to alter its stature as the favored chemical tool in agriculture, the largest user of fresh water in the blue economy of Michigan and the Great Lakes.

Nearly two months after an ice storm slammed northern Michigan, state and federal aid to farmers has yet to arrive. Now, local organizers are taking matters into their own hands.

The lock construction is facing an upcoming financial deadline. Under the current Continuing Resolution budget in Washington, the money for the new lock needs to be allocated before Sept. 25.

A year after the Biden administration enacted nationwide limits on PFAS in drinking water, the Trump administration announced a plan to rescind some of those limits and lengthen the compliance deadline on others. State-level limits enacted in 2020 will remain in effect.

Once ringed by polluting factories, Muskegon Lake has attracted a wealthier clientele to blue-collar Muskegon thanks to a taxpayer-funded cleanup. Cheers about the economic gains are mixed with fear that the lakeshore will become ‘a gated community.’

Several moves are aimed at clawing back billions in spending authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Research on all kinds of fish is conducted in labs around the Great Lakes region. The different state agencies have agreed to a Joint Strategic Plan that compiles their data to provide a big picture of the fisheries in the lakes.

Michigan last year began allowing landowners to get permits to kill nuisance geese. But after outcry from animal rights activists, the state is pausing the program and looking into non-lethal options.

How can states, provinces and tribal nations manage their water resources to create jobs and attract businesses without inflicting severe ecological damage?