MPCA criticizes ‘cargo sweeping’ in Great Lakes
Interesting comments from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the practice of washing coal and other residue off freighters into the Great Lakes. “Minnesota solid waste rules prohibit the disposal of solid waste into waters of the state of Minnesota, including Lake Superior,” said Paul Eger, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, in a [...] Read more.

Great Lakes Compact Nears Finish Line
Great news for Minnesota and the Great Lakes! The Great Lakes Compact has nearly passed its last hurdle. The eighth and final state legislature approved the Compact last Thursday. Signatures by Pennsylvania’s and Michigan’s Governors will complete the ratification process by all participating states and Canadian provinces. Now the next move is for Congress to [...] Read more.

Oil drilling in Lake Superior?
With the news last week of the two final Great Lakes states passing the Compact (the governors of MI and PA are expected to sign it after lawmakers recently passed it in both states), it seems that the final showdown over the agreement has now moved to Congress. But before we all turn our full attention [...] Read more.

Everyone wants to be like Minnesota
You know what they say about imitation and flattery. In 2007, Minnesota led the effort to provide uniform protection for new or expanding water usage within the Great Lakes basin, by being the first state in the region to endorse the Great Lakes Compact. Great Lakes states Illinois, New York, Indiana, and Wisconsin followed our lead. [...] Read more.

Report details possible impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes
A new report from the Healing Our Waters coalition summarizes potential impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes region. It also details how proposed Great Lakes restoration legislation in Congress could help the Lakes buffer themselves from some of these effects. Read more.

Wind turbine component shipments boost Duluth-Superior port profits
This is a good news, bad news story. It’s good that demand for wind energy is booming in the region. It’s good that there is a benefit to the port. It’s also not as good that Minnesota is not manufacturing all or many of these components. And the more oceangoing vessels dock in Duluth-Superior, the [...] Read more.

check your Minnesota lake before swimming, fishing
This summer, Minnesota families who want to know if their favorite Minnesota lake is clean enough for swimming and eating fish caught in that lake have an easy way to find out – www.CheckMyLake.org. Powered by Conservation Minnesota, the new website is a user-friendly way that Minnesotans can find out whether their favorite lakes are clean [...] Read more.

Great Lakes Restoration and the Republican Debate
Hats off to the mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan for submitting this question to the Republican You Tube debate:  YouTube link to: video link Read more.

Illinois Endorses Great Lakes Compact
The word from National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is that Illinois officially became the second state to adopt the Great Lakes Compact today when the Governor signed the bill into law. For more info check out the NWF release on Illinois Compact Signing (pdf). Read more.

Keeping Great Lakes protections afloat
Might Lake Superior be approaching a record low this fall because the shipping industry has been using it to water down federal legislation designed to keep invasive species out?   The Great Lakes shipping industry seems to have a new scheme up their sleeve: keep up business as usual (i.e. introducing the vast majority of non-native invasive species that have been found in the [...] Read more.