Global Rundown
- A new report details the record number of internal displacements due to weather disasters globally in 2024.
- In Pittsburgh, residents will vote next week whether to ban privatization of the city water system.
- In the United States, federal regulators aim to roll back certain PFAS limits in drinking water, while a chemical company agrees to pay New Jersey $450 million to settle a PFAS lawsuit.
- $1 billion mining deal seeks to speed up development of one of the world’s largest gold deposits, in western Alaska.
The Lead
More than 45 million people were forced to leave home in 2024 due to weather disasters. This number of weather-related internal displacements set an annual record, according to figures compiled by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.
A quarter of the displacements happened in the United States, where severe storms like Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed homes and scattered people. Internal displacements refer to people who are uprooted but remain within their home country.
Conflict and violence are also major drivers of displacement, causing some 20 million people to flee home last year.
Though they are usually temporary, the displacements are still disruptive. They represent a cost of money, planning, and mental and physical stress. In crowded camps and shelters, water, sanitation and hygiene can be inadequate and disease can spread. These temporary living situations can sometimes last for years.
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This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
$450 Million
Amount that 3M, a Minnesota-based chemical company, will pay to New Jersey to settle a lawsuit over environmental contamination from the firm’s PFAS pollution. NJ Spotlight News reports that the settlement will help the state improve drinking water quality, remediate polluted sites, and reduce PFAS discharges. The bulk of the damages are from the Chambers Works plant in Salem County. In 2018, 3M agreed to an $850 million settlement with the state of Minnesota over PFAS pollution.
Meanwhile, at the federal level, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would rescind drinking water limits for four PFAS and delay by two years the implementation date for regulations on two others. The rules were established during the Biden administration and are being challenged in court by water utility groups.
On the Radar
In a precautionary move, Pittsburgh residents will vote next week whether to amend the city charter to prohibit privatization of the public water utility.
The referendum will be part of the May 20 mayoral primary ballot, Inside Climate News reports.
Pittsburgh officials have said the water utility will not be sold, but Pennsylvania has incentivized the sale of public water systems. The state has a higher-than-average number of residents who are served by a private water utility.
49th State Focus: Gold Prospects
$1B Mine Investment: One of the world’s largest undeveloped gold deposits is getting a new owner. Barrick Gold is selling its half of the Donlin Gold project, in western Alaska, to a pair of investors for $1 billion. One is Novagold Resources, which already owns half the project. The other is Paulson Advisers, which will now claim a 40 percent stake. As gold prices hit record highs, Northern Journal reports that Paulson wants to speed up the contentious project and begin developing what investors contend is a $100-billion mining prospect. Elected officials and Alaska Native-owned corporations are in favor of the project, while conservation groups worry about its effect on water quality and salmon runs.
Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region
Blood Lead Testing: State officials finalized new rules that require Michigan children be tested for lead at age one and two years, Michigan Public reports. Blood tests show the levels of lead in the body. The lead can come from dust, soil, drinking water, and other sources. The state has been at the forefront of lead regulations following the Flint water crisis that began more than a decade ago.
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.
- An $80M cleanup made Muskegon Lake trendy. Will ‘eco-gentrification’ follow? – Bridge Michigan
- Ontario’s Bill 5 sparks new concerns where a legacy of environmental damage remains – The Narwhal
- Keeping the $5.5 billion Great Lakes fishery afloat as Trump administration considers cuts – Michigan Public
- Whitmer: Trump’s invasive carp action a ‘huge win’ for Michigan, Great Lakes – Bridge Michigan