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Legislation banned most TVs and computer monitors from Michigan dumps to reduce pollution started in 2006.

Cathode ray tubes, are the guts inside a standard television or computer monitor. An average CRT has 15 pounds to 20 pounds of lead, according to Garrett Jones, sales manager at Great Lakes Electronics Recycling, a Detroit-based business.

That lead - plus smaller amounts of mercury, cadmium and other toxic metals - is what state Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor, wants to keep from polluting the land, air and water.

Ingested lead causes brain damage, and researchers say U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards prove CRTs leak lead from landfills. Read the rest of this entry »

The Michigan Legislature can’t refuse trash from Canada or other states, due to rules governing interstate commerce and free trade agreements.

But, it can devise plans to limit or even reduce the amount of waste brought into the Great Lakes State.

The Legislature is considering a number of laws that would provide greater protection to Michigan’s natural resources and to residents dependent on those resources. Senate Bill 721 is one of those vehicles.

The key element in the proposal is a $3 increase in the tipping fees charged at landfills. Read the rest of this entry »

Mecosta County Circuit Judge Lawrence Root ruled that the Ice Mountain plant, owned by Nestle Waters North America Inc., must stop pumping from a shallow underground aquifer because it might reduce water levels in neighboring lakes, streams and wetlands.

The case dealt solely with the water bottling plant.

But as the Michigan Farm Bureau convened its annual meeting, some delegates wondered whether the ruling might lead to restrictions on groundwater use for irrigation and other agricultural purposes.

“It threw a red flag in front of us, that’s for sure,” Farm Bureau President Wayne Wood said. Read the rest of this entry »

It was about a year ago that I first covered a meeting of the Central Brown County Water Authority. I now know how the man feels in the song “House of The Rising Sun:”

“It’s been the ruin of many a poor boy.

“And God, I know, I’m one.”

All right, so it’s not that bad. But in one year, I’ve collected enough paper in the form of agendas, diagrams, spreadsheets, letters and notes to build my own pipeline to Lake Michigan, or at least a giant straw.

Over here are thirsty people needing water. Over there is a big lake. All you have to do is connect the two. Sounds easy, right? Read the rest of this entry »

Boehlert hopes to secure $2.7 million for the Grape Genetics Research Center and Laboratory at Cornell University’s Agriculture & Food Technology Park in Geneva. The funding would help secure USDA scientists to work with Cornell scientists to establish and coordinate a national, concentrated grape research program.

A portion of the funds would be used to design and prepare a building to house the grape research center.

Walsh said the appropriations bill reflects his work to bring money to much needed areas of Wayne County. The appropriations bill includes more than $200,000 for projects at Newark-Wayne Community Hospital in Newark and $100,000 to Wayne County for a feasibility study at the former Newark Developmental Center in Newark. Read the rest of this entry »

A diverse group of organizations is putting the finishing touches on a legislative proposal to upgrade the quality of the state’s lakes and rivers, many of which are polluted. That strategy, outlining how the state should conduct and pay for the effort, carries a huge price tag: an estimated $75 million to $100 million a year.

To finance it, the group, which includes public, private, business, agricultural and environmental groups, is proposing a broad fee or tax: All homeowners would pay $36 a year and businesses $150.

“We thought a flat rate was the right way to start out,” said Craig Johnson, a lobbyist for the League of Minnesota Cities, one of about 60 groups involved. Read the rest of this entry »

The Job Creation Act of 2003 would cause irreparable damage to Wisconsin waterways and eventually cripple the state’s tourism industry, according to several regional environmental and conservation groups.

Environmentalists at a press conference in Green Bay outlined opposition to the 114-page act crafted by Republican lawmakers to stimulate economic development and help the state pull out of a financial tailspin.

Buried in the jobs document are provisions to allow landowners to alter the course of streams and the banks of lakes and rivers in a way that will threaten fisheries, the environmentalists said.

“Every selfish property owner can do what they want. There’s nothing here for the general public,’’ said Ken Murray, of the Green Bay Area Great Lakes Sport Fishermen. “If everyone had a nice, clear shoreline with a nice little beach, wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Read the rest of this entry »

The commission, in an informal vote, asked the City Council to approve a permit for the trail with the Superior Hiking Trail Association. The association, which will build and maintain the trail, also has to get approval from St. Louis County and some private landowners.

“Duluth is known as one of the most forested cities in the United States,” said Richard Gitar, a hiker and an association volunteer. “This would enhance that reputation.”

The trail would be about 40 miles long, almost all of that on public land. It would wind from Fond du Lac to Hawk Ridge through woods, along streets and to and from scenic outlooks along Duluth’s craggy ridgeline. Read the rest of this entry »

Great Lakes fish lovers have long awaited controls on the mercury that falls into the water from the smoke of coal-fired power plants. An unconscionably weak proposal coming from the Bush administration meant, the wait will be at least couple of decade longer.

Mercury works its way up the aquatic food chain and into the human body in a toxic form. The threat is especially great to the offspring of women who have high levels of mercury — hence the advisories that urge women of child-bearing age and children to space out some fish meals and avoid others completely. Read the rest of this entry »

The House could vote on a bill to settle a property dispute between state officials and Lake Erie homeowners, despite protests from environmentalists and the Department of Natural Resources.

Committee approved the measure by a 12-1 count. Chairwoman Rep. Nancy Hollister, R-Marietta, said she expects the bill will be put up for a full House vote.

The bill establishes permitting procedures for all structures built past the lake’s high water mark and declares public property to begin “where the waters of Lake Erie make contact with the land.” Read the rest of this entry »