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
- Illinois legislators have introduced a bill requiring data centers to disclose and track the pollutants they are likely discharging to water treatment plants.
- A new study suggests that PFAS concentrations in all five Great Lakes have declined measurably over the past 20 years.
- A bill that would weaken environmental reporting requirements across Indiana moves one step closer to becoming law.
- Roughly 37 percent of Pennsylvania’s stream and river miles are impaired, according to a new analysis from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Fresh from the Great Lakes News Collaborative
- Michigan officials criticize end to EPA’s “Endangerment Finding” — Michigan Public
- A mining company says new tech could help it manage risk to groundwater — The Narwhal
- Michigan agencies, outside groups question Consumers dam sale plan — Bridge Michigan
- How Wild Rice Goes From Water to Table — 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
Power Agency: Legislators in Illinois have introduced a bill aiming to better understand and monitor data center water pollution. Senate Bill 3830 would require data centers to identify and track all likely pollutants in wastewater that is discharged from these facilities into treatment plants. The bill would also task the state Environmental Protection Agency with analyzing and assessing this data.
Recent investigations have shown that chemicals such as PFAS and nitrates, which are harmful to human health, are often a part of these data center discharges. The concentrations are high enough to be concerning, but their environmental and human health impacts have not been adequately studied. In September, the U.S. EPA ordered a priority review of these chemicals.
The bill, which is included in a larger package related to artificial intelligence and data privacy, would also charge the state Department of Natural Resources with maintaining water consumption data from these facilities in a publicly accessible website.
“This package is about responsibility,” says state Sen. Rachel Ventura in a statement. “Responsible innovation, responsible data practices and responsible stewardship of our communities and resources. Illinois can lead by setting smart, balanced guardrails that protect people while allowing technology to serve the public good.”
In Context: Ohio EPA Considers ‘Lowering of Water Quality’ Necessary for Data Center Growth
In the News
PFAS Declines: A study published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research suggests that concentrations of PFAS in the Great Lakes have gradually declined over the past 20 years, a trend that coincides with the phasing-out of “forever chemicals” — which have been shown to increase the risk for certain types of cancer and kidney and liver disease — from household products.
The study was conducted by researchers at the EPA’s Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Lab in Duluth, Minnesota, a facility that last summer faced serious risks of defunding and closure amid the Trump administration’s staff and spending cuts.
The lab’s scientists examined frozen samples of walleye and trout from all five Great Lakes dating back 50 years. These samples had previously been studied to glean how pollutants including pesticides and mercury had traveled throughout the watershed, but the fish tissue had not been analyzed for PFAS until now.
Though it is encouraging that PFAS concentrations have decreased, the researchers make it clear that there is no established “safe” baseline for humans. In September, environmental watchdogs were alarmed when the U.S. EPA filed a court motion to vacate drinking water limits for four PFAS chemicals — GenX, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFBS. In January, a circuit court denied this motion.
Fish consumption advisories across the region, spurred by high levels of PFAS in waterways, remain common. In December, the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network (GLPAN) published a new online map detailing consumption and do-not-eat warnings in Michigan.
“For many Michiganders, fishing is not just recreation — it’s a tradition, a way of life, a means to put food on the table,” Tony Spaniola, co-chair of GLPAN, said in a statement. “As thousands of anglers head out to fish Michigan’s lakes, rivers and streams this winter, this tool serves as a critical resource to ensure people know if the fish they are catching are safe to eat. People shouldn’t have to comb through complicated government websites to figure that out.”
Indiana Environmental Protections: A controversial bill that would overhaul the scope of Indiana’s Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) by making dozens of mandatory environmental reporting provisions optional continues to gain momentum in the Legislature.
Senate Bill 277 passed narrowly out of the House Committee on Environmental Affairs last week in a 6-5 vote. The bill would eliminate more than 250 reporting mandates considered “unnecessary” and “burdensome,” and would no longer require IDEM divisions of air quality, water quality, land quality, legal counsel, and program support.
Environmental advocates have said the bill represents the state’s commitment to being no more stringent than the federal government’s environmental regulations, many of which have been rolled back in the past year.
Looking Ahead
Pennsylvania Stream Impairment: Approximately 37 percent of Pennsylvania’s 85,000 river and stream miles are impaired — up from 34 percent in 2024 — according to a draft water quality report from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Agricultural runoff, drainage from mining operations, and urban runoff were determined to be the three primary contributors to water degradation.
In a two-hour-long meeting last week, Pennsylvania’s House Committee of Environmental and Natural Resource Protection discussed the report’s findings with environmental scientists, county officials, and department leaders. Experts urged the committee to devote a greater number of resources to designing strategic projects, and identified state agency siloing as an impediment to watershed restoration.
“Human health is a priority for our surface water assessments and monitoring,” said Jill Whitcomb, the deputy secretary of the DEP’s Office of Water Programs. Roughly 80 percent of Pennsylvania’s residents receive their water from surface waters, which is slightly above the national average.
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