The Great Lakes hold nearly 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater, making them a resource of national and international importance. They power regional economies, support shipping routes vital to global trade, and provide drinking water to 40 million people across the U.S. and Canada. Safeguarding the Great Lakes is not only essential for the communities that rely on them daily, but also for the stability of North America’s environment, economy, and international partnerships.
Fresh is a weekly 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 Wednesday.
— Christian Thorsberg, Fresh Editor
Weekly Watershed
- The U.S. House approved an appropriations bill that will cut $125 million in federal funding for replacing toxic lead service lines.
- Illinois is the first state to adopt rewilding as an official conservation strategy, with lawmakers hoping to expand wetland protections next.
- Democratic lawmakers in Ohio announced a collection of new bills requiring data centers to be more transparent and responsible with their usage of water and electricity.
- Senators in Ohio and Indiana introduced new legislation that would create a dedicated office within the EPA to manage, protect, and restore the Ohio River basin.
Fresh from the Great Lakes News Collaborative
- Federal cuts to agriculture science will hurt farmers and grocery shoppers, experts say — The Narwhal
- Company can’t find documents showing safety of welding at Palisades — Michigan Public
- Michigan agencies, outside groups question Consumers dam sale plan — Bridge Michigan
- Michigan accuses oil companies of blocking EVs, inflating power costs — Great Lakes Now
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, Michigan Public and The Narwhal work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.
The Lead
Lead Pipes: The U.S. House last week voted 217 to 214 approving an appropriations bill that will cut $125 million in federal funding for the replacement of lead drinking water pipes. The decision has angered environmental advocates and lawmakers, especially those in the Great Lakes basin, where lead service lines remain a pervasive health risk.
Illinois, Ohio, New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin are among the nation’s leaders in the number of legacy pipes containing toxic lead. Chicago has more lead service lines — 412,000 — than any other city in the country. Despite a federal mandate to replace these pipes by 2047, the job is unlikely to be finished until the 2070s. Cleveland, New York City, Detroit, and Milwaukee are other hotspots where replacement efforts have lagged.
The money is cut from a dedicated funding source enshrined in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That piece of legislation set aside $15 billion between 2022 and 2026 — $3 billion annually — for states to proceed with replacement efforts.
Though the $125 million represents just over 4 percent of this year’s final $3 billion tranche, it is a significant blow to potential work in Midwestern communities. Both the Milwaukee Water Works and City of Detroit estimate that the average cost of replacing a lead service line is $10,000. Using this figure, 12,500 service lines could have been swapped for non-toxic alternatives for $125 million.
An earlier draft proposed cutting $250 million, prompting 45 House Democrats to sign a letter in December urging House and committee leaders to retain the full funding. In the end, they salvaged half.
“To urgently achieve the decade-long task of removing lead service lines once and for all, it is crucial that this funding be protected,” House Democrats wrote in the letter. “Too often, our local communities do not have the resources and capacity to address this health risk without a more aggressive funding approach to this growing crisis.”
In the News
Illinois Rewilding: As of January 1, Illinois is the first state to recognize rewilding as an official conservation strategy. The Illinois Rewilding Act, introduced a year ago this week and signed into law by Gov. Pritzker in August, gives the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the ability to “exercise all rights, power, and duties conferred by law” to restore land to its natural ecological condition, including by reintroducing native apex predators and keystone species.
Though gray wolves are unlikely to return to the Illinois landscape in the near future, the restoration of wild prairie is the legislation’s primary goal. Roughly 200 years ago, 60 percent of Illinois was covered by prairie. Today, less than 0.01 percent of these original 21 million acres remain.
Lawmakers are now hoping to parlay the Illinois Rewilding Act’s success into renewed protections for wetlands. Following the 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision, 72 percent of the state’s wetlands — which filter water, offer habitat, and mitigate flooding — are now left unprotected by the federal Clean Water Act. These protections were again weakened in the fall, when the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers proposed additional rollbacks.
The Wetlands Protection Act would give the DNR greater ability to shield wetlands from filling and dredging with stronger permitting requirements. Introduced last year, the bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary but has not received any action since May.
Ohio Data Centers: Democratic lawmakers in Ohio have announced a plan to introduce several new pieces of legislation regulating data centers. With 101 such facilities currently in operation, Ohio has more planned (77) than any other state in the region.
“I’ve been hearing from my constituents as they struggle with an affordability crisis and rising electricity costs that many Ohioans simply can’t afford,” state Sen. Corey Weinstein (D-Hudson), who serves on the Senate Energy Committee, says in a statement. “We want economic growth in new technologies, and we welcome innovation in Ohio. But that growth shouldn’t come at the expense of reliability or affordability, and it shouldn’t shift new costs onto Ohio families and small businesses.”
Among the new pieces of legislation is an act that would prohibit data centers from consuming more than 5 million gallons of water per day, require them to report annual water usage, and mandate they pay for all needed water infrastructure upgrades.
Looking Ahead
Ohio River Restoration Program Act: U.S. Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced new legislation last week to create an Ohio River National Program Office within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ohio River basin, which encompasses parts of 15 states, is home to 10 percent of the country’s population. Millions of people rely on the watershed for drinking water, though elevated levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and heavy metals have been found throughout its tributaries.
The senators say the new office would oversee watershed restoration and protection efforts, prioritize data collection, and support public engagement in environmental decision-making.
“The Ohio River is vital to southern Indiana’s economy, ecosystem, and supply of drinking water,” Sen. Young said in a statement. “Our legislation would establish a non-regulatory restoration program and provide needed federal support to protect the Ohio River. This bill also would help restore Indiana’s rivers — like the White and Wabash — that flow downstream into the Ohio. Congress should pass this bill to preserve the Ohio River Basin for generations to come.”
You can find more stories from the Great Lakes region here.
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