Fresh, October 29, 2024: With $20 Million Funding for Milwaukee River, Farmers Will Lead on Climate Solutions

October 29, 2024

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.

— Christian Thorsberg, Interim Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

A new grant for $20 million to improve the health of the Milwaukee River will see farmers adopt new techniques to reduce agricultural runoff.
The Minnesota DNR and local residents have independently filed suit to block a proposed $45 million development project near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Century-old pipes in South Haven, Michigan, will finally be replaced following a $20 million grant from the state.
The Ohio EPA has joined the federal EPA and other agricultural groups as defendants in a landmark case that could decide the future health and management of Lake Erie.

Leaks at the nation’s first commercial carbon storage plant in Decatur, Illinois, raise concerns over future water pollution.

“It’s a little terrifying. Because if the operator, in fact, made the wrong decision, and there is, in fact, a major problem, then not only will local officials not know about it, EPA [is] not going to know about it, which is indeed what appears to have happened here.” — Jenny Cassel, a senior attorney with Earthjustice.

In September, E&E News was first to report on a leak at ADM’s Decatur, Illinois, facility — the first permitted, commercial carbon sequestration (CCS) wells in the country. This was news to residents of Decatur, as was notice of a second leak — discovered after tests mandated by the EPA — directly beneath Lake Decatur, which supplies the area’s drinking water. “The EPA has confirmed these leaks posed no threat to water sources,” WBEZ reports.

But the public is concerned and outraged, especially after it was gleaned that ADM knew about the first leak back in March, and failed to disclose it to the city. In fact, the company waited three months, until July 31, to alert the EPA. A spokesperson for ADM said that they did not immediately notify the public because the leak “posed no threat to the surface or groundwater, nor to public health.”

Decatur has yet to pursue any legal action. But the situation is a cautionary tale for central Illinois. Ample underground sandstone formations make the region a “national hotspot” for a multi-billion dollar CCS industry that is expected to boom.

Fresh from the Great Lakes News Collaborative

Canada’s environment minister has 90 days to decide whether to review Ontario’s Highway 413 — again — The Narwhal
Industry opposition, partisan politics slow state polluter-pay bills — Michigan Public
Nibi Chronicles: Manoomin as medicine — Great Lakes Now
Michigan winter may be warm — and wet — Bridge Michigan

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.

New Funding For Milwaukee River Basin Will Prioritize Runoff Reduction

Two years ago, the 880-mile Milwaukee River basin received a C-minus health grade from Wisconsin Riverkeeper, including a D for its bacterial content and an F for phosphorus, a common ingredient in fertilizers. The river flows through large swaths of farmland before moving through Milwaukee, where, along with Lake Michigan, it is one of the area’s two most important freshwater bodies.

Last week, The Milwaukee River Basin Conservation Partnership — led by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District — was awarded $20 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the river’s clean up and long-term health. The proposed project places farmers at the center of climate solutions, encouraging them to use alternative fertilizing techniques that reduce runoff.

With the money, easements are going to be created to protect farmland from development. With this protection comes requirements that environmentally friendly practices — such as planting year-round ground cover crops which help absorb rain, or reducing soil erosion — are introduced. Since 2016, the Milwaukee River partnership estimates these techniques have prevented 25,000 pounds of phosphorus from entering the river.

The effort is “allowing agriculture to take a leadership position … in this new clean economy that we’re generating and creating,” Tom Vilsack, the U.S. agriculture secretary, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

In the News

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and northeastern Minnesota residents have filed separate lawsuits against a proposed $45 million resort development near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The development would add 49 “fractional share” cabins, renovate existing cabins, build a large new lodge, and construct a 75-boat dock. Residents have voiced concerns that the project would disrupt the area’s natural ecosystem, clean waters, and serenity.

South Haven Water Infrastructure: Water pipes, a standpipe, and a booster station are among the public infrastructure in South Haven, Michigan, that are more than 100 years old, Michigan Public reports. Their age has contributed to several sanitary sewer overflows in recent years. But by 2028, thanks to a new $20 million grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, South Haven will have completed the “construction of a new elevated storage tank, booster station, water main replacement, and the replacement of approximately 2,100 lead service lines,” in addition to the installation of an ultraviolet disinfection system.

Looking Ahead

Total Maximum Daily Load: This year’s harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie arrived earlier than ever, and 30 square miles of the toxic algae still remain. This condition makes Lake Erie an “impaired body of water,” and subject to a planning document called a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) — sometimes called a “pollution diet.” A TMDL is the “calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant allowed to enter a waterbody so that the waterbody will meet and continue to meet water quality standards,” according to the U.S. EPA. Earlier this year, The Board of Lucas County Commissioners, the city of Toledo, and the Environmental Law & Policy Center filed a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. EPA, asserting that the existing TMDL, required under the federal Clean Water Act, is “substandard,” the Toledo Blade reports. In the latest update, the Ohio EPA has joined the federal EPA and 11 agricultural groups as a defendant in the case.

Upcoming Events

November 5-8 — North American Lake Management Society Annual Symposium — learn more

November 8 — 24th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference “Climate Migration in the Great Lakes Region” — learn more

November 12 — Great Lakes Seminar Series: Elena Litchman — learn more

November 14 — 2024 Binational Lake St. Clair Conference — learn more

Other News

Georgetown Water Supply: Beginning the week of November 4, roughly 15,000 residents of Georgetown, Ontario, will receive their drinking water from Lake Ontario following a decade-long effort to facilitate access, Halton Hills Today reports.

Ottawa Sands County Park: After operating as a sand mine for more than 70 years, the 345-acre span of land and waters on Lake Michigan’s shore — split between Ferrysburg and Grand Haven, Michigan — has reopened as a public park with walking trails, an inland lake, and coastal dunes, Michigan Live reports.

Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer from Chicago. He is passionate about climate and cultural phenomena that often appear slow or invisible, and he examines these themes in his journalism, poetry, and fiction.