News

(March 16, 2020) The Lower Menominee River Area of Concern Draft Final Delisting Report is now out for public comment until April 24. The report outlines AOC remediation and restoration work, details on Beneficial Use Impairment removal, and monitoring—demonstrating that the AOC designation can be removed from the Lower Menominee River. A public meeting webinar will be held Thursday, April 9, 5:00 - 6:00 PM.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed a $4.5 million agreement to remediate contaminated sediment in the St. Louis River Area of Concern on Lake Superior. The St. Louis River AOC is one of 43 toxic hotspots identified by the United States and Canada in the Great Lakes basin, and is the second largest AOC in the United States. EPA and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will fund the work through a Great Lakes Legacy Act cost-sharing partnership.  

(March 20, 2020) The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Wisconsin and 4 eastern Wisconsin counties are launching a new network called the Between the Lakes Demonstration Farm Network, which will support farms that will demonstrate best conservation practices that reduce phosphorous loading into the Great Lakes.

(March 17, 2020) NOAA has announced $866,487 in funding for 11 projects under the Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program. The projects support environmental education programs in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Ohio.

(March 13, 2020) The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee has released the 2020 Asian Carp Action Plan. The updated plan includes aggressive new prevention and control efforts, including expanded Asian carp population reduction efforts, large-scale field trials of potential barriers and deterrent technologies, and actions to address black and grass carp threats. Substantial funding for ACRCC activities is provided under GLRI.

(Feb. 28, 2020) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District (USACE) substantially completed the Stanford Run ecosystem restoration project located within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Summit County, Ohio, in early January 2020. The Buffalo District restored nearly 1,200 feet of a small stream within CVNP named Stanford Run, continued restoration on the channel, restoring an additional 1,000 lineal feet.

(Feb. 20, 2020) - Farmers completely revitalize dairy operation through installing and nurturing conservation efforts on over 1,000 acres. This Fox Demonstration Farm leads the way in demonstrating regenerative agriculture practices that will also reduce phosphorus from entering Green Bay and Lake Michigan.

(Feb. 24, 2020) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced more than $1.8 million in GLRI grants to five organizations that will use market-based approaches, including water-quality trading, to enhance nonpoint source excess nutrient reduction efforts in the Great Lakes basin. This action supports EPA’s 50th anniversary celebration and its February theme of protecting America’s waters.

(Feb. 20, 2020) - The Great Lakes Commission is seeking proposals for projects that facilitate the long-term reduction of total phosphorus inputs to waters of the Great Lakes Basin. Funding for the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service under the GLRI.

(Feb. 19, 2020) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its partners continue to support Great Lakes restoration and protection projects with Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding. In 2019, more than 475 projects were supported which will fuel community revitalization efforts throughout the Great Lakes basin.