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Last week's edition

About this Newsletter

May 16, 2005

Latest postings:

• NJ: Ozonia North America: Sales Engineer
• ID: City of Boise: Civil Engineer
• CA: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Senior/ Deputy General Counsel
• CA: Heal the Bay: Science and Policy Director
• AZ: Yavapai County Board of Supervisors: Water Advisory Coordinator
• AZ: Lake Havasu City: Public Works Project Manager
• AZ: Maricopa County Flood Control District: Chief Engineer
  

Want more? See all postings.

National/International News

—  Great Lakes News

• Great Lakes drilling limits unsettled
  (Detroit News, 05/13) "Residents of states surrounding the Great Lakes agree they don't want new drilling for oil or gas in the lakes, which contain one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water."
  
  
• Lawmakers differ on protecting Great Lakes
  (Lansing State Journal, 05/13) "Residents of states surrounding the Great Lakes agree they don't want new drilling for oil or gas in the lakes, which contain one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water."
  
  
• IJC expands Great Lakes study to include St. Clair River channel
  (Canada NewsWire, 05/11) News Release. "The International Joint Commission's plan for an Upper Great Lakes Study will be revised to include an examination of the St. Clair River channel and its impact on water levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron, the Commission announced today."
  
  
• Rep. Kaptur presents wide-ranging Lake Erie strategy
  (Toledo Blade, 05/10) "Nearly $5 million of federal funds will be used to help western Lake Erie communities in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana put together one of the largest water inventories ever attempted on a regional basis, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur said yesterday."
  

—  Water Supply

• Canada wants end to North Dakota water project
  (National Post, 05/13) "Canada appealed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday to put a hold on a drainage project in North Dakota that environmentalists fear will take polluted water and alien species of wildlife across the border into Manitoba province."
  
  
• Calif. agency gets $23 million for pipeline plans
  (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 05/13) "The Pajaro Valley’s water agency accepted $23 million in state funds that will go toward construction of $200 million worth of water supply projects — including a 23-mile pipeline to import freshwater designed to lessen the load on the valley’s overused aquifers."
  
  
• Senate bill could secure rural water sources
  (Portales News Tribune, 05/11) "Clovis, New Mexico Mayor David Lansford testified Wednesday before a U.S. Senate Committee about a bill that may help rural communities secure long-term sources for drinking water."
  
  
• Florida city looking to dig deeper for water supply
  (Sun-Sentinel, 05/11) "As part of Boynton Beach's scramble to find new water supplies, workers began Tuesday on new test wells that will tell how much water can be drawn from the deep Upper Floridan aquifer."
  
  
• Wyoming looks for ways to keep more water
  (Billings Gazette, 05/09) "State officials are considering building new reservoirs or expanding existing reservoirs in the Green River Basin to ensure that water will be available for future use."
  
  
• Chinese scientists make major water find
  (Sci-Tech Today, 05/09) "Chinese Academy of Sciences research suggests lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau may be the country's largest source of fresh water, Xinhua reported Monday."
  

—  Water Quality

• New Jersey judge orders controversial water treatment to proceed
  (Gloucester County Times, 05/13) "Camden County and state environmental officials have been ordered by a federal judge to proceed with a controversial plan to ship contaminated groundwater from a closed landfill through public sewer lines for treatment."
  
  
• D.C. water lead levels below federal limits
  (Washington Post, 05/11) "Lead levels in the District's drinking water have fallen substantially in recent months and dropped below the federal action limit for the first time in four years, the general manager of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority said yesterday."
  
  
• Federal court allows MTBE cases to proceed
  (AWWA WaterWeek, 05/11) "A federal judge in April ruled that most of 56 lawsuits from 15 states involving 136 separate plaintiffs seeking judgments against dozens of MTBE producers for contaminating or threatening to contaminate water supplies can proceed."
  

—  Water Resources

• Standard to measure 'dead zones' changing
  (Baltimore Sun, 05/12) "This summer, as scientists with the state and federally funded Chesapeake Bay Program follow their annual ritual of reporting on the size of the low-oxygen 'dead zone' in the Chesapeake Bay, they will be using a more relaxed standard of what 'low oxygen' means."
  
  
• America's unheralded water cleanup
  (Christian Science Monitor, 05/11) "With little fanfare, counties, states, and the federal government have collectively spent an estimated $14 billion or more - at least $1 billion a year since 1990 - to restore rivers and streams to their natural condition."
  
  
• Report clears Newmont in Indonesian bay health concerns
  (Denver Post, 05/10) "A summary of a new report that sides with Newmont Mining Corp. regarding its environmental practices in Indonesia may help clear six Newmont employees under criminal investigation, company officials said Monday."
  
  
• Agreement signed for Dead Sea, Red Sea canal study
  (Washington Times, 05/09) "Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority Monday signed an agreement to conduct a feasibility study on building a canal linking the Dead and Red seas."
  

—  Wastewater

• Expert questions time it took to find Alabama sewer spill
  (Mobile Register, 05/13) "Utility officials should have taken days, not months, to respond to clear signs of a sewer line break that caused a massive sewage spill in Prichard, an outside consultant helping direct improvements of the city's sewer system testified Thursday."
  
  
• Malibu, Calif., wastewater project could cost $50 million plus
  (Malibu Times, 05/11) "A consultant firm hired by the city of Malibu says a complex wastewater/storm water treatment project can be implemented in the city in less than five years."
  
  
• EPA hears Portsmouth, N.H., request about wastewater discharge
  (Foster's Online, 05/10) "More than a dozen people spoke out Monday against the city’s proposal to extend its wastewater discharge pipe while continuing to release it directly into the Piscataqua River without more stringent treatment."
  
  
• Report on EDCs finds wastewater treatment provides protections
  (PR Newswire, 05/10) WERF News Release. "The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) has released a report, Endocrine Disrupting Compounds and Implications for Wastewater Treatment, that summarizes the latest research on endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and provides an easily accessible primer on the endocrine system, the nature and sources of EDCs, their fate in wastewater treatment, and their potential effects on human health and the environment."
  

—  Hazardous/Toxic Waste

• Dozens of shut bases make most-toxic list
  (Detroit News, 05/13) "Thirty-four military bases shut down since 1988 are on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list of worst toxic waste sites -- most of them for at least 15 years -- and not one is cleaned up."
  
  
• House: Interim storage needed at nuke dump
  (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 05/12) "A House spending panel is directing the Energy Department to start sending nuclear waste to an interim storage site next year, a shift from the Bush administration's focus on the troubled Yucca Mountain dump in Nevada."
  
  
• EPA: Toxic pollution levels fall six percent
  (ABC News, 05/12) "Despite increases in levels of mercury, PCBs and dioxin, overall chemical pollution released into the environment fell more than 6 percent in the latest report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency."
  
  
• Pentagon asks Congress to ease pollution rules for military
  (New York Times, 05/10) "After three unsuccessful tries, the Pentagon is asking Congress again this year to loosen major environmental laws to allow military training exercises around the country to proceed unimpeded."
  

—  Brownfields

• $75.9 million in brownfield grants announced by EPA
  (US Newswire, 05/10) EPA News Release. "Communities in 44 states will share more than $75 million in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfields grants to help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, transforming them from problem properties into community assets."
  

—  Everything Else

• Federal energy bill leaves water utilities leery
  (NWI Times, 05/07) "If you were to try to name the easiest jobs in the world, lobbyist on behalf of laws protecting the nation's drinking water would seem to be right up there with national spokesperson for niceness. Turns out it's tougher than it looks."
  

Illinois

—  Water Supply

• Water concerns raised at hearing about Peabody project
  (Southern Illinoisan, 05/13) "Close to 100 people attended a sometimes loud public hearing Wednesday night to express their concerns, show their support or gather information about a proposed power plant."
  
  

• New Charleston water plant online
  (Mattoon Journal Gazette, 05/12) "Community members should be noticing a difference in the taste and odor of their drinking water soon if they have not already, reported city officials."
  
  

• Lawmakers pass legislation to revamp Rend Lake board
  (Belleville Democrat, 05/12) "The district, which oversees the water supply for 160,000 people in 60 surrounding communities in southern Illinois and is supported by water fees and revenue generated by the 19,000-acre lake and resort, has been under intense scrutiny, the focus of investigations by a variety of agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office and the Internal Revenue Service."
  
  

• Surplus, loan will help pay for Forest Park water plant
  (Park Forest Star, 05/09) "A $6.4 million budget surplus will help Park Forest pay for its new water treatment plant. The additional money is part of an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency loan."
  
  

• Orland Park: Excessive water use will charged
  (Orland Park Star, 05/09) "Orland Park's proximity to Lake Michigan does not mean water is disposable. 'We share the water with every state that borders the Great Lakes, plus Canada,' said Doug Medland, a utility foreman with the department of Orland Park Public Works Department."
  

—  Water Resources

• Chicago River cleanup set for Saturday
  (NWI Times, 05/11) "The Dave Matthews Band is not the only source of sewage in the Chicago River, West Side high school students learned Tuesday."
  
  
• Cleanup Saturday for Brooks Memorial Wetlands
  (Waukegan News Sun, 05/09) "For the fifth year JAM, Community Bible Church's youth group, will help the Friends of the Wetlands organization with its annual Brook Memorial Wetlands Cleanup. The event will be held Saturday."
  

—  Wastewater

• Galesburg sewer plan unblocked
  (Peoria Journal Star, 05/11) "Plans for a $3.3 million downtown storm sewer system can continue now that the city has received lower bids for the project."
  

—  Hazardous/Toxic Waste

• Formosa gets good marks from EPA on air, water quality
  (Decatur Herald & Review, 05/12) "So far, so good - that's the bottom line in an update on pollution hazards in the wake of the Formosa Plastics Corp. plant explosion in Illiopolis a year ago."
  
  
• State collecting hazardous waste
  (Bloomington Pantagraph, 05/09) "This is a good time to trash your old cell phone, give your computer the boot and round up the oil-based paint, antifreeze and motor oil crowding the garage."
  

—  Everything Else

• Waterless urinals on trial in Chicago
  (Daily Southtown, 05/13) "No touch, no flush. No water, even. Waterless urinals are being tested at Chicago City Hall. But while they are saving hundreds of thousands of gallons of precious water in 29 states — and in high-profile venues such as Disney World and the Rose Bowl — the devices are illegal in Illinois." 
  
  
• Gov. offers Scott leading role in state EPA
  (Rockford Register Star, 05/13) "Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants former Rockford Mayor Doug Scott, his friend and fellow Democrat, to head the state agency charged with enforcing environmental protection laws."
  
  
• DuPage County wants residents to benefit from water-rate cuts
  (Wheaton Sun, 05/11) "The DuPage County Board passed a nonbinding resolution Tuesday supporting the Water Commission's proposed 20-cent water rate reduction and efforts to return some of its estimated $119 million surplus to water customers countywide."
  

Indiana

—  Water Supply

• Windsor Park water users want meter fee waiver
  (NWI Times, 05/11) "They didn't ask for city water because they were getting water for free, so Greg Walls and Dale Kroeger don't think they should pay almost $600 to connect to city water."
   

—  Water Resources

• Agencies serious about cleaning up the Grand Calumet
  (NWI Times, 05/10) "Federal and state agencies are getting serious about cleaning up the Grand Calumet River across its entire length in Lake County."
  
  
• Chemical treatments in Center Lake begin Thursday
  (Warsaw Times Union, 05/09) "Thursday, Center Lake and Center Lake channels will be chemically treated to remove Eurasian Watermilfoil. The lake will be treated with Sonar."
  
  
• Retention ponds: Hazard in the suburbs
  (Indianapolis Star, 05/08) "When divers pulled his body out of the murky water of his neighborhood retention pond, 7-year-old David Samuel Kern joined a steadily growing list of Hoosier children whose curiosity turned deadly."
  

—  Wastewater

• Hammond: 'Nicked' line causes raw sewage leak
  (NWI Times, 05/13) "A mixture of stormwater and untreated sewage from the River Park Apartments gurgled out of a damaged Hessville sewer pipe Thursday, but the line was fixed by the day's end."
  
  
• Porter, Chesterton fight over sewer treatment plant
  (NWI Times, 05/12) "Porter's declared intention to take possession of Chesterton's waste water treatment plant is a blow to relations between the neighboring towns, Chesterton's Town Council president said Wednesday."
  
  
• Plymouth sewer guidelines alive in split vote
  (South Bend Tribune, 05/12) "Guidelines for how to handle requests for city wastewater hook-ups from outside city limits almost died an early death this week."
  
  
• No decision reached on White River sewer work
  (Indianapolis Star, 05/10) "A proposed sewer project in White River Township might be treading water. The Johnson County Commissioners on Monday all but washed their hands of the issue, citing little if no funding to repair roads that would be torn up as a result of the project."
  

—  Hazardous/Toxic Waste

• First batch of VX nerve agent successfully destroyed
  (Indianapolis Star, 05/10) "Two more containers of the deadly Cold War-era nerve agent VX will be destroyed this week, after extensive tests over the weekend confirmed the first container was destroyed last week, U.S. Army officials said Monday."
  
  
• New Jersey Congressman: Stop VX byproduct transport
  (Today's Sunbeam, 05/11) "With the first batches of the deadly nerve agent VX destroyed last week in Indiana, one South Jersey congressman said he is negotiating to outlaw importing any byproduct from the process to New Jersey, he said Tuesday."
  

—  Brownfields

• EPA announces $400,000 for Indiana brownfields
  (EPA News Release, 05/11) "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $400,000 to a pair of Indiana communities to help address brownfield sites. Brownfields are abandoned or under-utilized properties where the stigma of possible pollution or a lack of solid technical information has discouraged redevelopment."
  

—  Manure Waste

• Cow manure plans surprise Blackford County neighbors
  (Muncie Star Press, 05/10) "Some rural Blackford County residents were surprised to learn from The Star Press that millions of gallons of cow manure could be applied to farm land in their neighborhoods."
  

—  Air Quality

• Report flails state utilities on pollution
  (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 05/12) "Indiana is home to six of the nation’s dirtiest power plants, including two of the worst four, an environmental group said Wednesday."
  

Michigan

—  Water Supply

• Kids' lesson: Don't waste water
  (Lansing State Journal, 05/13) "The question was posed to four groups of fifth-graders from Mason's Steele Street Elementary School. Which used up the most water in a typical home: Laundry, toilet, bathroom shower and sink or kitchen?"
  
  
• Merrill, finally, getting municipal water system
  (Saginaw News, 05/10) "Merrill residents this fall will learn how much more in taxes they will pay as village leaders buy a $4.72 million municipal water system."
  
  
• Tawas River Trailer Park fails EPA water standards
  (Iosco County News-Herald, 05/10) "Residents of the Tawas River Trailer Park are drinking water that fails Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards."
  
  
• Problems with arsenic in Mattawan water supply
  (Paw Paw Courier-Leader, 05/09) "The EPA has changed the arsenic standard for drinking water from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb to protect consumers against the effects of long-term, chronic exposure to arsenic in drinking water."
  

—  Water Resources

• Gaylord discharge plan under fire
  (Traverse City Eagle, 05/13) "A state biologist blasted a plan approved by another state agency that would pump a million gallons per day of discharge water from a pollution cleanup project into Kolke Creek, headwaters of the Au Sable River."
  
  
• Teens help in Saline River study
  (Ann Arbor News, 05/12) "Raising his arm like a champion, Josh Stommen could have just won a contest or aced a test. Instead, what Josh, 14, was excited about as he stood in the Saline River was finding a water penny, an organism that doesn't do well in contaminated waterways."
  
  
• Meetings on future of Kalamazoo River set
  (Kalamazoo Gazette, 05/12) "The status and future of the Kalamazoo River are the topics of public meetings scheduled in June by the Department of Natural Resources' Fisheries Division."
  
  
• We're the culprits in Huron River pollution, speaker says
  (Ann Arbor News, 05/07) "Forty years ago, the primary sources of pollution in the Huron River were factories and primitive sewage treatment."
  
  
• Little Traverse Bay contamination cleanup to begin
  (Detroit News, 05/07) "The cleanup of highly caustic water that has collected along the shoreline of Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay is expected to begin next week."
   

—  Wastewater

• NPS: Wastewater disposal by The Homestead legal
  (Leelanau Enterprise, 05/12) "The continued disposal of treated wastewater by The Homestead resort on National Park Service property is 'legal' and 'no action' is required, according to officials of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore."
  
  
• Bagley Citizens: Flush sewer proposal
  (Traverse City Eagle, 05/11) "A sewer proposal resurfaced in Bagley Township and residents asked leaders to flush it. Some even threatened to recall elected officials if they won't do so."
  
  
• Sewer line concept gets Tittabawasee OK
  (Saginaw News, 05/11) "Tittabawassee Township officials are scoping out a new sewer line that could mean more development in the southern portion of the suburb."
  
  
• Ironwood sewer project advancing
  (Ironwood Daily Globe, 05/09) "The $7.8 million sanitary sewer collection and transmission system in the Big Powderhorn Mountain area is moving along at a steady pace."
  
  
• Dept. of Public Works inspecting Flushing sewage pipes
  (Flint Journal, 05/08) "While a pipe-break in the sanitary sewer line is one of those problems that's hard to anticipate, Department of Public Works personnel are out this spring looking for weaknesses in the system in an effort to avoid such problems."
   

—  Hazardous/Toxic Waste

• Man hopes suit leads to Grand Rapids site cleanup
  (Grand Rapids Press, 05/07) "Local industrialist William Tingley said Friday his lawsuit against the city of Grand Rapids and the developers of the Boardwalk apartment complex is back on track after a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling."
  

—  Landfill/Solid Waste

• Water removal continues at closed Macomb dumps
  (Detroit News, 05/11) "Work crews returned this week to the old South Macomb Disposal Authority landfills at 24 Mile and Card Road, installing underground pipes in water extraction wells to expand an ongoing program to remove contaminated groundwater from the abandoned garbage dumps."
  
  
• Pfizer ready to cap Kalamazoo landfill
  (Kalamazoo Gazette, 05/11) "Pfizer Inc. officials said Tuesday night they are ready to move forward with a plan proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to scrape trees off the former 87-acre KL Avenue landfill and cap the property with clay and plastic."
  

—  Brownfields

• USEPA announces $6.3 million for Michigan brownfields
  (US Newswire, 05/10) "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today that it has awarded $6.3 million to 17 different communities and government consortiums to help address brownfields sites in Michigan."
  

Minnesota

—  Water Supply

• Princeton fares well in state water quality report
  (Princeton Union-Eagle, 05/12) "No one is taking the quality or quantity of water in the city of Princeton for granted at the Princeton Public Utilities Commission office, it appears."
  
  
• Red Rock receives $6.9 million for rural water service
  (Jackson County Pilot, 05/12) "Officials gathered in Lakefield Friday morning to announce that Red Rock Rural Water System has been awarded $6.9 million in funding to expand its rural water service, a service that will greatly benefit many ag producers, businesses and citizens in Jackson County."
  
  
• Unsafe water found in Dakota County wells
  (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 05/10) "Test results from 66 private drinking-water wells in Dakota County have revealed contaminants that are potential human health threats."
  
  
• Goodview, La Crescent facing drinking water issues
  (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 05/10) "Goodview and La Crescent are among 13 Minnesota communities identified in a state report as exceeding drinking water standards for radioactive contaminants in 2004."
  
  
• Better drinking water on tap in St. Paul
  (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 05/07) "A wetlands project in Vadnais Heights could finally end a stinky problem for St. Paul and nine suburbs to which it supplies drinking water."
  

—  Water Resources

• Briefing: House panel OKs waterways bill
  (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 05/12) "After weeks of deliberations, a Minnesota House committee has passed a bill that would pay for an assessment and cleanup of state lakes and rivers."
  
  
• DNR report on Grand Marais harbor, marina revealed
  (Cook County News-Herald, 05/12) "A special field team from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says that building a safe harbor/marina in Grand Marais could have major impacts on the natural resources in the harbor and Lake Superior if care is not taken in its design and concept."
  
  
• PolyMet wants to fill 1,200 acres of wetlands
  (Duluth News Tribune, 05/11) "PolyMet Mining Co. has formally applied for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit to fill or drain 1,200 acres of wetlands for a proposed copper mine in the Superior National Forest near Babbitt."
  
  
• Clean Water funding debated
  (Grand Rapids Tribune, 05/12) "With jars of polluted water collected from Minnesota’s lakes and rivers placed atop tables in the hearing rooms, two legislative committees finally developed plans to fund legislation that aims to clean up those impaired waters."
  
  
• Minnesota River valley mining questioned
  (Minnesota Public Radio, 05/08) "A fight is on in the Minnesota River valley over mining. Some counties want to expand mining of the valley's abundant hard rock and granite formations."
  

—  Wastewater

• Lawmakers offer different means for Minn. water cleanup
  (Fargo Forum, 05/11) "Minnesota House and Senate committees on Tuesday approved widely differing ways to fund water cleanup efforts."
  
  
• Dent gets funds to update wastewater treatment
  (Fergus Falls Daily Journal, 05/09) "In the interests of protecting ground water in the City of Dent, the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development office has provided a $652,000 low-interest loan and a $113,000 grant to upgrade the city's existing wastewater treatment system."

—  Mercury

• How much mercury is too much?
  (Cook County News-Herald, 05/12) Opinion. "I will be taking my 7-year-old granddaughter to the BWCA this summer. She loves to catch fish, but the traditional shore lunch is not a part of our plan because of the high levels of mercury in the fish."
  

—  Everything Else

• MPCA takes questions on joint Virginia-Hibbing biomass project
  (Mesabi Daily News, 05/12) "Officials got only a few questions Wednesday night on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet and draft air permits prepared for the joint Virginia-Hibbing biomass project."
  

Ohio

—  Water Supply

• DuPont agrees to settle EPA allegations
  (Marietta Times, 05/11) "DuPont officials recently agreed to settle Environmental Protection Agency allegations that the company failed to disclose health data concerning a chemical that pollutes several area water systems."
  

—  Water Resources

• Muskingum watershed fee opposition grows
  (Marietta Times, 05/13) "Opposition is mounting against a proposed $12 annual assessment for all households and businesses within the 18-county Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District that is set to be voted on in coming weeks."
  
  
• Dam seen as barrier to Euclid Creek future
  (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 05/11) "The first barrier on Euclid Creek - a concrete spillway - sits about a mile upstream from Lake Erie."
  
  
• Ohio EPA releases water quality report for Salt Lick Creek
  (Ohio EPA, 05/10) "The closed Jackson County Landfill is not negatively impacting fish and other aquatic communities in the 3.4 miles of Salt Lick Creek Ohio EPA sampled last year."
  
  
• Wetlands amendment is, well, all wet
  (Akron Beacon Journal, 05/09) Opinion of Rich Shank, Ohio state director of the Nature Conservancy. "The debate at the Statehouse over the fate of Ohio's few remaining natural wetlands comes, appropriately, at springtime."
  

—  Stormwater

• Ironton City council reluctantly passes stormwater fee
  (Ironton Tribune, 05/13) "Even the councilmen who voted for the stormwater fee were against it. Nonetheless, Ironton City Council adopted Thursday a monthly fee that will cost residential property owners an extra $14.55 per month and some businesses that own a lot of property quite a bit more."
  

—  Wastewater

• Clay Township: Grant to pay for sewer lines
  (Toledo Blade, 05/12) "The sanitary sewer system for 120 households soon will be improved, thanks to a $323,200 grant to be awarded to Ottawa County."
  
  
• Bascom sewer improvements come with hefty price tag
  (Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, 05/10) "The Seneca County Commissioners and the Hopewell Township Trustees received some bad news and some good news from the Ohio EPA on Monday."
  

—  Brownfields

• U.S. EPA announces $7.75 million for Ohio brownfields
  (US Newswire, 05/10) News Release. "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today that it has awarded $7.75 million to 12 different communities and government consortiums to help address brownfields sites in Ohio."
  

—  Landfill/Solid Waste

• Ruling clears way for Tuscarawas County landfill
  (Akron Beacon-Journal, 05/13) "Stark County commissioners are concerned about a federal court decision that clears the way for regulatory consideration of a landfill proposed for Tuscarawas County."
  

—  Air Quality

• Report lists dirtiest power plants
  (Cincinnati Post, 05/12) "Two Cincinnati power plants are listed among the top 50 dirtiest in the country, according to a report released Wednesday by a non-partisan, non-profit environmental group."
  
  
• Ohio EPA, Williams County company reach settlement on violations
  (Ohio EPA, 05/12) "Key Plastics has paid a $24,300 civil penalty through an Ohio EPA settlement for reporting violations at its former plant in Montpelier."
  

Wisconsin

—  Water Supply

• Pipeline panel riles suburbs
  (Green Bay Press Gazette, 05/11) "While some residents welcome a panel’s analysis of Lake Michigan water pipeline options, a suburban coalition that has a pipeline deal under way with Manitowoc discussed possible litigation against the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce for organizing the panel."
  
  
• Animal waste runoff taints Brown County well water
  (Green Bay Press-Gazette, 05/09) "About a dozen wells in southern Brown County were contaminated earlier this year from manure spread on frozen ground."
  
  
• Chenequa to look into effects of well
  (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 05/09) "Concerned about its potential impact on lake levels, village officials Monday took preliminary steps to determine the effect a proposed Delafield municipal well might have on local water resources."
  

—  Water Resources

• Wis. power plant will kill billions of lake fish, Sierra Club claims
  (Chicago Sun-Times, 05/13) "Billions of fish in Lake Michigan will die over the next 50 years if a new power plant is built south of Milwaukee, according to a Sierra Club lawsuit."
  
  
• Pewaukee's plan for lake rejected
  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/11) "A $64,000 grant for a new machine to cut weeds on Pewaukee Lake is being held up after a state agency cut off the city's effort to implement its own lake management plan."
  

—  Stormwater/Runoff

• Stormwater ponds create anxiety in Appleton
  (Appleton Post-Crescent, 05/12) "Proposals to create at least two stormwater management ponds in Memorial Park drew comments from concerned residents at an informational meeting Wednesday on the park’s future."
  
  
• UW biological systems engineer to study erosion and runoff
  (UW News Release, 05/12) "Spring rains may make flowers and crops grow, but it also carries topsoil, chemicals and nutrients such as phosphorus into rivers and streams when storm-water overflows from fields."
  
  
• Brown County panel studies farm waste runoff problem
  (Appleton Post-Crescent, 05/09) "Spreading manure in winter is a practice coming under fire recently. The state Department of Natural Resources is studying a new statewide rule that would ban winter spreading."
  

—  Wastewater

• Brookfield sues over sewer connection
  (Milwaukee Business Journal, 05/09) "The Town of Brookfield made good on a promise to sue the city in a sewer connection battle, but the city attorney said Monday that the lawsuit was doomed to fail."
  
  
• MMSD plans to line some sewers with fiberglass
  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/09) "A four-year, $107 million sewer project starting next year would stuff high-tech fiberglass liners into ancient sewers deep below the city, from the Marquette Interchange through downtown and the Third Ward."
  

—  Mercury

• Baldwin brings back bill curbing mercury
  (Capital Times, 05/09) "The 14,000 thermostats discarded each year in Dane County contain enough mercury to pollute 140 lakes the size of Lake Mendota."
  
  
• Mercury levels prompt fish warning
  (Washington Times, 05/09) "Children and women in their childbearing years are being advised to limit consumption of fish taken from all Wisconsin lakes because of high mercury levels."
  

—  Air Quality

• Nine counties flunk pollution test
  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/08) "More than 4 million Wisconsin residents at risk for respiratory complications live in counties with unhealthy air, a national study shows."
  

—  Everything Else

• Doyle asked to replace DNR board member
  (Appleton Post-Crescent, 05/12) "The Republican-controlled state Senate asked Gov. Jim Doyle on Wednesday to replace an environmentalist appointed to the Natural Resources Board, saying he is not qualified to serve."