• In Gogebic County, Michigan, a planned copper mine is once again placing environmental conservation and renewable energy at odds. 
• Officials and environmentalists in Fremont, Michigan, are debating the future of a biogas digester, whose energy production may come at a cost to groundwater health.
• The Port of Cleveland, Ohio, will receive $94 million from the EPA to decarbonize its operations.
• Minnesota voters overwhelmingly backed an amendment to continue to use a large chunk of state lottery proceeds for environmental research and protection.

Through Wisconsin’s Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, 86 communities will receive more than $273 million to address PFAS pollution and replace lead service lines. 

“Across Wisconsin, countless folks and families worry about harmful contaminants like PFAS and lead every time they turn on their tap—and that is a reality we have been working hard to change.” — Gov. Tony Evers, in a statement.

While visiting Milwaukee in early October, President Joe Biden announced an EPA ruling that will require communities to replace all lead service lines by 2037. With 167,000 lead lines still remaining in Wisconsin, the state will need to significantly exceed its current pace of removals and replacements in order to meet that deadline. 

The newly announced $273 million, secured through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and allocated to 86 Wisconsin municipalities via the state’s Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, will go a long way toward helping the state meet this federal goal. Each community will receive base funding “for lead service line principal forgiveness.” Most remaining funds will be awarded with a low interest rate of 0.25 percent. 

Among the state’s largest awardees are Milwaukee (more than $30 million), Watertown (more than $14 million), Kenosha (more than $7 million), and Manitowoc (more than $5 million). In total, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide the state more than $900 million in additional funding for water infrastructure between fiscal years 2022 and 2026, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

Biogas Business: The expansion of the market for biogas — a renewable energy made from microorganisms breaking down food manufacturing and animal waste — is backed by both Democrats and Republicans in Michigan, Michigan Live reports. But the agribusiness has a spotty track record in the state, as leaks and spills from biogas digesters have alerted regulators and environmentalists to the harm that unchecked facilities can do to water supplies. The tension has come to a head in Fremont, where a digester facility owned by a firm called Generate has been shut down by its owner in response to the state’s EGLE requiring a groundwater discharge permit. According to Michigan Live, “the permit would allow Generate to land-apply 125,000 gallons of digestate per-day on roughly 30 fields in Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana counties.” Generate says complying with such a permit would be too expensive.

Upcoming Events

November 13 — Let’s Talk Lake Ontario: Getting to the bottom of things: Sediment contamination — register here

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

December 4 — Let’s Talk Lake Superior: Invasive Species in Lake Superior — register here

December 19 — Adaptive Forestry for a Resilient Climate — learn more

Other News

Western Lake Erie Algal Bloom: This year’s algal bloom has reached a dubious milestone, becoming just the second “in modern history” to last into November, the Toledo Blade reports. At about 10 square miles, it is large enough to be seen from space. The first bloom to persist until November occurred in 2022.

Indiana’s Foam Disposal: By December 30, citing funding concerns, the state’s program to collect and dispose of PFAS-containing firefighting foam will come to an end, Indiana Public Radio reports.