Clean Production and Toxics
Great Lakes can’t wait
In a letter to President Obama and Prime Minister Harper, groups across the region urged the leaders to commit to revitalizing an historic water quality pact.
Return of the Detroit River’s Charismatic Megafauna
Over 35 years of pollution prevention and control undertaken in response to the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, U.S. Clean Water Act, Canada Water Act, U.S. Endangered Species Act, and more have resulted in a return of charismatic megafauna.
Green stormwater management gaining ground
For fifty years, stormwater engineers have considered rain a nuisance. It is something best evacuated quickly from roads and sidewalks and diverted into concrete gutters and underground pipes.
Toxic ‘not’ spots
Across the region, heavily polluted and impaired waterways are going unnoticed, despite pleas from citizens to designate their site an Area of Concern. Unfortunately, these appeals are falling on deaf ears. But why would any community want to be deemed a toxic hotspot?
Lake Superior harbour to be mined for Michigan highways
A large block of former Algoma Central Railway lands on Lake Superior’s Michipicoten Harbour, near Wawa, Ontario, was sold to Superior Aggregates Company, a U.S. corporation. The company intends to strip the site of soil, vegetation, and timber, and then drill, blast and crush the coastal rock to within 65 metres of the shoreline. The privately-held block of land is nestled within 160 miles of Lake Superior shoreline protected by a national park, three provincial parks and two conservation reserves. The resulting aggregate is destined for shipment by freighter to Michigan for use in highway construction.
Canada’s toxic mining secret goes to court
On Monday, Canada’s federal court will be hearing a lawsuit against the Minister of the Environment for failing to ensure that the millions of kilograms of toxic pollution generated every year by Canada’s mining industry is publicly reported.
100 years of shared water protection
This past Sunday was the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Boundary Waters Treaty. To commemerate the hundred years of water cooperation it ushered, the Consulate General of Canada, the United States Consulate General, and the International Joint Commission are hosting Boundary Waters Week from June 5 to 14 in Niagara Falls, New York and Ontario.
A Great Lakes year
This has been a remarkable year for Great Lakes protection. As 2008 comes to a close, we reflect on some of the achievements citizens and organizations across the region deserve to celebrate.
When is a hotspot no longer a hotspot?
With remediation activity completed, the push is on to delist Torch Lake as an Area of Concern. But with millions of tons of sediment still contaminated, delisting this site before these sediments are buried by natural processes may be hasty.
Sewage in the St. Lawrence: Solutions
In the last edition of Great Lakes News, we discussed some of the problems facing Quebec’s wastewater system. Overcoming these challenges can be met by a mix of infrastructure upgrades and ‘green’ solutions that prevent rainwater from reaching overburdened storm sewers.
© 2008 Great Lakes News. 
