Mayors from around the eight Great Lakes states met in Chicago this month and delivered a unified message: They want a voice in the future of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports:
Transcript
Mayors from around the eight Great Lakes states met in Chicago this month and delivered a
unified message: They want a voice in the future of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports:
The winter meeting of the Great Lakes Cities Initiative was hosted by Chicago Mayor Richard
Daly. Thirty-five Great Lakes mayors voted to push Congress to pass a 4-billion dollar clean-up
bill pending in the House. Superior Mayor Dave Ross says only the federal government has the
resources to do the job right.
“It’s a great burden on local governments and municipalities to take on the burden of water
quality because in any small cities such as Superior, that would be an enormous financial burden.
We certainly need financial help from outside sources, and of course the federal government
would be the prime source.”
Ross says mayors will lobby their members of Congress to support similar legislation in the
Senate.
“We can’t do it ourselves. We can’t do it alone. One new invasive species is being found in the
Great Lakes system each year. If this continues at the rate it is, we’re going to destroy the Great
Lakes.”
The mayors say until now local governments have been bypassed in Great Lakes decisions. Now
the mayors say they want to be part of the federal Great Lakes Advisory Board.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mike Simonson.
A new report finds outdated sewage systems are polluting waters throughout Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Transcript
A new report finds outdated sewage systems are polluting waters throughout Ontario. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
The report says aging treatment plants are dumping improperly treated sewage into Ontario
waterways, especially when rain or snow overload the system.
It’s a problem that’s found all over North America.
The latest report comes from the Ontario Environmental Commissioner. It says 38 percent of the
province’s sewage is released into Lake Ontario. Commissioner Gord Miller says that waste
threatens the ecosystem.
“You can actually get the risk of fish kills, of fish avoidance, loss of fish habitat, and then you can
get discharges of actual toxic materials, like ammonia.”
Miller says the sewage is not threatening people’s drinking water. But it’s harming fish and
wildlife, and leading to the closure of beaches.
He wants to see Ontario study and address the problem.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I”m Karen Kelly.
Conservation groups are criticizing a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to relax sewage discharge rules. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, there’s disagreement about what impact the change would have on water quality and public health:
Transcript
Conservation groups are criticizing a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to relax sewage
discharge rules. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, there’s disagreement
about what impact the change would have on water quality and public health:
The EPA says during heavy rains, sewage plants can’t handle the excess wastewater. So it wants
to allow plants to divert some water from the second step in the treatment process. That’s the part
when microbes break down pathogens that can harm public health.
EPA officials say the process is safe. They say the partially treated sewage would be blended with
fully treated water. And they say it would have to meet water quality standards.
But Nancy Stoner with the Natural Resources Defense Council says those standards only protect
against bacteria – not viruses or parasites. She predicts the policy would have a serious impact on
public health.
More people will get diarrhea and vomiting, they’ll get respiratory illness. They may even get very
serious illnesses, like Hepatitis A, that are carried in sewage.”
The EPA says the practice is already widespread at many treatment plants. The agency will take
public comment on the proposal until early January.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.
The U.S. EPA is launching studies to look at a new class of chemicals that is being found in water and fish. So far, very little is known about these so-called emerging contaminants – including whether they’re dangerous to human health. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:
Transcript
The U.S. EPA is launching studies to look at a new class of chemicals that is being found in water
and fish. So far, very little is known about these so-called emerging contaminants – including
whether they’re dangerous to human health. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Tracy Samilton reports:
The new chemicals include PBDE’s, used as flame retardants, and PFOS,
which are used in Teflon and other products. One study will look
at the levels of the chemicals in Great Lakes fish. Another will test
water in Lake Michigan for their presence. Canada is doing tests in the
other Great Lakes.
Melissa Hulting is an environmental scientist with the U.S. EPA. She says it’s a mystery how
PFOS in particular have spread so fast.
“People thought they were fairly inert and they would
stay put and what we’ve found is, they haven’t. They’re being found in
the Arctic and in remote areas.”
While the EPA studies the levels of the chemicals in fish and water,
Hulting says other researchers are trying to figure out if the chemicals
are harmful to human health – and if so, at what level they are dangerous.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.
For almost 20 years, the federal government has paid farmers to convert some of their land to natural habitat for plants and animals. The Conservation Reserve Program is designed to protect the creeks and rivers that border farms. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expanding the program to take on an additional two million acres, including 132,000 acres in Illinois. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Transcript
For almost 20 years, the Federal Government has paid farmers to convert some of their land to
natural habitat for plants and animals. The Conservation Reserve Program is designed to protect
the creeks and rivers that border farms. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is
expanding the program to take on an additional 2 million acres, including 132,000 acres in
Illinois. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Ted Gilles farms about a thousand acres along the Spoon River in Central Illinois. But the land
closest to the river doesn’t look much like a farm at all. This land was once planted with rows of
corn and soybeans and contained an area for his cattle to graze. Now it has rolling hills with
trees, and an assortment of prairie grasses.
“This here is probably, it’s not in flower now, but this is what they call the grey-headed
coneflower, which is a yellow one. There’s some blooming up there if you see that yellow one
there.”
Gilles is proud to show off the 300 acres of his land that is in the Conservation Reserve
Program. Before it was converted to a natural prairie, the soil, herbicides, and fertilizer from
Gilles’ farm would flow nearly uninhibited into the Spoon River, down to the Illinois, and
eventually to the Mississippi River. Now this land acts as a buffer and a filter. Gilles says he sets
aside time every day to visit his natural preserve.
“Like yesterday morning, I probably saw twenty pheasants in this half a mile, out along the edges,
catching grasshoppers. It’s really nice. It makes you think it’s really worth for it for doing all
this.”
It’s situations like Gilles’ that led to the U.S. Department of Agriculture adding to the
Conservation Reserve Program this year. Paul Gutierrez is the Assistant Deputy Administrator
for Farm Programs at the USDA. He says the CRP is meeting the goals of finding a voluntary
way to get farmers to protect land that is at risk. Guiterrez says the biggest obstacle to getting
farmers to act in a more environmentally friendly manner is finances. He says that’s why CRP
works.
“They still have their mortgage payments out there. They still have operating costs, property
taxes, and if they can look at a way to look at these lands that may not be as well-suited for
farming, and a way to partner up and save the environment, then they are definitely going to look
to help the environment out while still being able to feed their families.”
Environmental groups are generally supportive of the program, but they caution it might not
always be the right way to help rivers and streams. Ken Midkiff is the Director of the Clean
Water Campaign for the Sierra Club. He says while the Sierra Club supports the CRP, they
would like to see something that lasts longer. Midkiff says the program’s biggest weakness is
that farmers only have to protect the land for ten years.
“There’s nothing that prevents a farmer from resigning. But basically the Conservation Reserve
Program is for a set period of time. These are marginal lands, lands that aren’t very productive
for typical corn and soybeans. So we would like to see those set aside for longer periods of time.”
Midkiff says in terms of protecting bodies of water, ten years is barely enough time to undo the
damage that can happen in just one or two years. He also worries that if crop prices go up,
farmers will be quick to pull up native prairie grasses and replant crops.
(sound of nature)
Ted Gilles says low crop prices did get him into the program, and may be why he stays. He is
also a fan of seeing more acres brought into the CRP.
“I think that’s great. I really think that’s the way it should be. I think we have an abundance of
grain and the prices is low. So why not helping everybody by doing it this way, you know?”
Gilles also says he has come to love this portion of his farm, and crop prices would have to be
very high for him to give up on his flowers and pheasants.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.
The federal government is expanding a program to take farmland out of production and temporarily convert it to conservation areas. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Transcript
The Federal Government is expanding a program to take farmland out of production and
temporarily convert it to conservation areas. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl
reports:
The Conservation Reserve Program is designed to protect rivers and streams by paying farmers to
create buffers between farm fields and the bodies of water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
is adding two million acres to the project this year.
Fred Guttierez is with the USDA. He says the program works because it’s voluntary.
“We look at it as a way to partner up with the private land owners to take those marginal lands
out of production and to really benefit the environment by doing that.”
Environmental groups are generally supportive of the program, but say it doesn’t go far enough.
Farmers can convert conservation areas back to farming after ten years in the program.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.
The Bush administration is making it easier for coal-burning power plants to avoid upgrading to modern pollution prevention equipment. But in some cases the power companies are bowing to public pressure to reduce pollution anyway. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Ann Alquist reports:
Transcript
The Bush administration is making it easier for coal-burning power plants to avoid upgrading to
modern pollution prevention equipment. But in some cases the power companies are bowing to
public pressure to reduce pollution anyway. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Ann Alquist
reports:
Elizabeth Dickinson didn’t get any kind of warning about air quality in her neighborhood. She
really didn’t need one. She says couldn’t avoid noticing the pollution in the air.
“A couple years ago, there was almost a week where the air quality in my neighborhood was so
bad that you literally couldn’t sleep. There was a burning back in my throat.”
Dickinson lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, not too far from one of the oldest coal burning plants
operated by Minnesota’s leading supplier of electricity, Xcel Energy.
She and many other people have been actively working to pressure the company to address the air
quality problems they believe are caused by Xcel’s older plants.
And in a rare move among power companies, Xcel Energy is doing something. In May 2002, the
company put forth a voluntary proposal to convert its two oldest coal burning plants to natural
gas. The oldest plant, Riverside, lies in northeast Minneapolis.
(sound of power plant)
Since it opened in 1911, the Riverside plant has changed very little when it comes to emitting
pollutants. It was grandfathered in under the Clean Air Act of 1970 – which means the plant isn’t
subject to federal environmental mandates.
It didn’t have to install modern pollution control devices unless it upgraded the plant. And now,
under the Bush administration’s new rules, even upgrading it might not trigger the threshold that
would require it to reduce emissions.
“For a little bit over two years, one of the first things I was charged with was to look at all the
emissions in and around southeast Minneapolis and Riverside plant came back as a sore thumb
because of the glaring emissions.”
Justin Eibenholtz is the environmental coordinator for a Minneapolis neighborhood improvement
group. He says that’s why Excel’s decision to convert Riverside to natural gas is such a big deal.
Once it’s converted, the old plant will cut air pollutants by 99 percent. Mercury emissions will be
completely eliminated.
Neighborhood groups such as Eibenhotz’s and big environmental groups alike are praising
Excel’s decision. The Great Lakes Program Coordinator for the Sierra Club, Emily Green, says
the reduction in emissions will mean a better quality of life for residents who live in the Great
Lakes region. That’s because the mercury and other pollutants that were emitted from the plant
often ended up in the Great Lakes through a process called air deposition. That meant pollutants
got into the food chain and contaminated fish.
“The Great Lakes are like a giant bathtub with a very, very slow drain, so that what we put into
the Great Lakes stays there.”
Green says the pollutants don’t go away. They just end up contaminating the air and the water.
“We swim in them, we drink them, you know, the fish swim around in them, and so it’s very,
very important that we recognize, despite their size, how fragile the Great Lakes are.”
Besides polluting the lakes, the air pollution drifted for hundreds of miles, causing health
problems. The effects are already apparent. An independent report commissioned from the
Environmental Protection Agency says pollution from the oldest and dirtiest power plants kills
more than thirty thousand Americans each year – almost twice the number of people killed by
drunk driving and homicide combined.
While the natural gas conversion won’t reduce the level of mercury in the Great Lakes
immediately, it will mean it won’t add to the problem. It also means a more efficient use of a
fossil fuel.
Ron Ellsner is the project manager for Xcel’s proposal.
“The new combined cycles that we’re going to install are on the order of 30 percent more
efficient than what our current coal cycle is. They do that much better a job converting that
energy into fuel into electricity.”
It comes at a cost, though. Xcel estimates converting its Minneapolis and Saint Paul plants will
amount to one billion dollars. By Xcel’s estimate, it’ll be the most expensive power plant
conversion in the history of the United States, and the cost of the conversion will be passed on to
its customers.
That’s fine by Elizabeth Dickinson. She says she, and her neighbors, were paying for it in other
ways already, such as additional healthcare costs. Dickinson says the estimated extra 15 cents a
day for her power bill will be worth it.
“You know, these are the hidden costs of coal burning and they’re huge, and you know, they’re
usually left out of these equations and we’re saying they can’t be left out any longer, they just
can’t be, because it’s too high a cost for us as a society.”
Government regulators still have to approve the plan. Minnesota’s utilities commission is
holding a final round of public hearings before voting for or against Xcel’s proposal to convert to
natural gas.
If the conversion is approved, it will likely put pressure on other power companies in the Great
Lakes region to do the same.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Ann Alquist.
A power company in the Great Lakes region is dramatically reducing pollution at two of its power plants. The move could prompt other power companies to do the same. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Ann Alquist reports:
Transcript
A power company in the Great Lakes region is dramatically reducing pollution at two of
its power plants. The move could prompt other power companies to do the same. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Ann Alquist reports:
Minnesota’s largest supplier of electricity, Xcel Energy, has submitted a voluntary
proposal to convert its two oldest, and dirtiest, coal burning plants to natural gas. The
cost of the conversion – one billion dollars – will be passed on to Xcel’s customers.
It will mean a 99 percent reduction in emissions – and mercury emissions will be
eliminated. The plant itself will undergo some changes, with some of the taller structures
no longer marring the skyline.
Ron Ellsner is the project manager for Xcel’s proposal.
“Cleaning up some of the older equipment that will be abandoned, we hope it has a
positive impact on the landscape for our city and for our neighbors.”
If government regulators approve the proposal, it will likely put pressure on other power
companies in the Great Lakes region to do the same.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Ann Alquist.
A group that represents sewer and water agencies is calling for the creation of a federal trust fund to help rebuild antiquated pipelines. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:
Transcript
A group that represents sewer and water agencies is calling for the creation
of a federal trust fund to help rebuild antiquated pipelines. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:
Water and sewer bills are going up because cities are faced with the problem
of fixing and upgrading their old pipes. These projects can run into the
billions of dollars, and the cost is borne by local communities.
Ken Kirk is the Executive Director of the Association of Metropolitan
Sewerage Agencies. His group is calling for the creation of a federal trust
fund to help finance these huge projects:
“We’re talking about a trust fund that’s going to preserve and protect, and
enhance the water quality of all the great water bodies in this country, and
that is a national issue, it’s always been a national issue and we have to
put it back on the map again because to lose that resource would be an
absolute crime.”
The EPA estimates that current funding sources are falling short of the need
by hundreds of billions of dollars.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mark Brush.
Tens of millions of gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage were dumped into the Great Lakes basin during last month’s massive power outage, but environmentalists say that’s a drop in the bucket compared with the overall problem of contamination from sewage spills. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:
Transcript
Tens of millions of gallons of untreated or partially treated sewage were dumped into the Great
Lakes basin during last month’s massive power outage. But environmentalists say that’s a drop
in the bucket compared with the overall problem of contamination from sewage spills. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:
Environmental groups say a heavy rain can easily send more raw sewage into lakes and streams
than an event like last month’s blackout.
In Michigan alone, officials say 57 million gallons of sewage were dumped because of the
blackout. Environmentalists say that’s not much, compared to the 50 billion gallons the state
dumps yearly.
Bethany Renfer is with Clean Water Action.
“I think we need to look at all steps that we can take to help to reduce the overflows – both those
that are happening in extenuating circumstances, like a blackout – but also those that are regularly
occurring…that we can almost plan for.”
The blackout strained wastewater treatment facilities from Michigan to New York. All told, at
least 550 million gallons were dumped into lakes, harbors, and streams.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.