University of Michigan and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers have forecasted a significant bloom of toxic blue-green algae in Lake Erie late this summer. Expected to be larger than average but considerably smaller than the record-setting 2011 event, the 2014 Lake Erie harmful algae bloom could weigh in at about 22,000 metric tons […]
On July 17, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Groundwork New Orleans will receive $60,000 through the agency’s Urban Waters program. The funding will be used to conduct neighborhood workshops that introduce citizens to cost-effective, do-it-yourself practices for stormwater management in the New Orleans area. The project aims to improve water quality and […]
On June 25, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released its 24th annual beach report, finding 35 “superstar” beaches and 17 “repeat offenders.” According to the report, 10% of water quality samples collected last year from nearly 3500 coastal and Great Lakes beaches in the U.S. contained bacteria levels that failed to meet the U.S. […]
On July 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law protecting Lake Baikal in southeast Siberia. The lake is the world’s deepest at 644 km (400 mi) long and more than 1.6 km (1 mi) deep in some areas. It holds 20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water reserves. With an enormous amount […]
On July 10, the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee and green|spaces announced the winners of their Resource Rain Low Impact Development (LID) Design Challenge. With more than 200 people in attendance, teams of the area’s top landscape architects, engineers, planners, and designers gave quick, 7-minute presentations about their designs. The teams worked for four months leading […]
On June 4, the Intact Financial Corporation and University of Waterloo announced a national initiative involving the implementation of 20 climate change adaptation projects. The projects were selected from 75 submissions made by conservation authorities and nongovernmental organizations from across the country. They will be carried out in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and […]
On June 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it sent orders to 85 Pennsylvania municipalities requiring improvements to their stormwater programs. EPA issued the orders to augment Pennsylvania’s efforts to ensure effective stormwater management programs are in place to improve water quality in local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. The federal Clean […]
On June 11, the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment convened a hearing on “Potential Impacts of Proposed Changes to the Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Rule.” Administration witnesses included U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Robert Perciasepe and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary of Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy. Both Perciasepe and Darcy […]
On June 19 and 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hosted an expert’s public health forum to discuss the implications of “blended” effluent discharges from publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). Blending occurs when wet weather flows exceed the plant’s treatment capacity and excess flow must bypass the biological treatment process. This flow is recombined with […]
In late April, at the same time it released the draft Waters of the U.S. rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an interpretive rule that went into effect immediately. The rule clarifies the scope of agriculture, forestry, and ranching exemptions to dredge-and-fill permits issued under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. It […]
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