May 17, 2022

Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.

— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns against reissuing a critical permit for a controversial mine in northeastern Minnesota.
• Nuclear plant closures may put Michigan’s clean energy goals out of reach.
• Some leaders of Canada’s First Nations voice dissatisfaction with the government’s drinking water settlement.
• New York’s legislature passes what may become one of the toughest environmental justice laws in the country.
• A survey finds that many Minnesota cities are not adequately planning for climate change.

Candidates in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District grapple with the environmental health toll of industry.

Fresh from the Great Lakes News Collaborative

As the nation prepares to pour hundreds of billions of federal dollars into rescuing water systems, the Great Lakes News Collaborative investigates the true cost of water in Michigan. Read stories from the GLNC’s ten-part series:

• High Cost of Water Hits Home — Circle of Blue
• Michigan’s Lack of Septic System Regulations is Causing Problems for Some of its Most Pristine Lakes— Michigan Radio
• Some Michigan Water Systems Are Overbuilt, Underfunded. Are Mergers The Answer? — Bridge Michigan
• Short-Changing Michigan Local Governments Has Resulted in Deteriorating Water Systems and Other Services — Michigan Radio
• Michigan’s ‘Very Big Opportunity’ in Infrastructure Windfall — Circle of Blue
• Five Fixes for Michigan’s Drinking Water Woes — The Great Lakes News Collaborative

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader. We work together to produce news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.

EPA Discourages Reissuing Critical Permit for Contested Minnesota Mine

Federal regulators urged the Army Corps of Engineers not to reissue a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine, the Star Tribune reports. In hearings over the Section 404 wetlands permit, the Environmental Protection Agency warned that the project could contaminate the St. Louis River with mercury and other pollutants. The Army Corps had previously approved the permit, allowing PolyMet to fill around 1,000 acres of wetlands at its proposed mine site with dredged material, but the permit was revoked after a federal court found that the company failed to notify tribes downstream of the mine. While the recommendation is non-binding, parties opposing the project believe it will influence the Army Corps. The project has long faced opposition from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which is invoking its sovereignty under the Clean Water Act as a “downstream state” to review the permits. It is the first tribe in U.S. history to do so.

In the News

NUCLEAR ENERGY: The looming closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan may push the state’s clean energy goals out of reach. Carbon emissions will likely increase as the electricity sector pivots from carbon-free nuclear power to natural gas, industry experts and energy regulators told MLive. The plant is shuttering due to economic pressures, a move experts believe will jeopardize Michigan’s goal of generating 60 percent of its electricity through renewable sources in the next eight years. In April, President Joe Biden announced a $6 billion program to rescue struggling nuclear plants. Whether the funds will materialize in time to save the Palisades plant is still unknown.

FIRST NATIONS WATER CRISIS: Leaders of some First Nations communities say they are dissatisfied with a settlement reached with the Canadian federal government over a drinking crisis that has haunted the country’s Indigenous peoples for decades. CBC reports that some nations are compensated for only a fraction of the time they spent under a drinking water advisory. According to Canada’s Indigenous Services minister, a dozen of the 33 active long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations communities are expected to be lifted this year.

• In context: HotSpots H2O: Report Spotlights Funding Gap in Canada’s First Nations Water Crisis

Looking Ahead

Laura Gersony

Laura Gersony is a reporter with Circle of Blue and a third year at the University of Chicago, where she’s studying Political Science and Environmental Studies. She’s passionate about communicating how climate change and other environmental issues are experienced on the ground. In her free time, you can find Laura nursing seedlings on her windowsill, skateboarding around Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, or making unreasonably specific playlists on Spotify.

www.circleofblue.org/