Cleveland to Host Great Lakes Week in 2012

CHICAGO (May 3, 2012) – An unprecedented effort to restore the Great Lakes will be highlighted in Cleveland this September when hundreds of advocates, scientists, public officials and conservation leaders gather for Great Lakes Week 2012. The theme of this year’s event, to be held Sept. 10-13 in downtown Cleveland, is “Taking Action, Delivering Results.” It will focus public attention on efforts to rid the Great Lakes of toxic hotspots, reduce polluted runoff, restore fish and wildlife habitat, and prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the lakes.

Great Lakes Week advances the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. The special week also gathers the annual meetings and conferences of various U.S. and Canadian organizations in one place, making it one of the most wide-ranging Great Lakes summits. Leaders will explore issues of importance to citizens on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Great Lakes Week 2012 will feature the following events:
• Sept. 10: International Joint Commission Meeting.
• Sept. 10-11: Great Lakes Commission Annual Meeting.
• Sept. 10: Great Lakes Week Town Hall.
• Sept. 11-13: Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s 8th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference.
• Sept. 12: A joint session with U.S. and Canadian federal officials and organizations participating in Great Lakes Week.
• Sept. 12-13: Great Lakes Areas of Concern Annual Conference.
 
Quotes from Great Lakes Week partner groups:
“We’re excited to be coming to Cleveland, a city which has been at the center of some of the nation’s most urgent environmental challenges - and greatest comeback stories,” said Jeff Skelding, Director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “Restoration projects are producing results. And even though a lot of work remains, we are eager to showcase our successes in Cleveland.”

“We all have a vision for what we want the Great Lakes to be for the region’s economic and environmental future,” said Cameron Davis, EPA’s Senior Great Lakes Advisor. “Great Lakes Week is the chance for leaders from both countries to come together to demonstrate what they’ve done and will continue to do to keep pushing for that vision to become a reality.”

“Great Lakes Week will help build upon the enormous energy that now exists to restore the Great Lakes and keep invasive species like Asian carp and others from colonizing the lakes," said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission.

“Communities across the basin witness daily how Great Lakes restoration benefits both the environment and economy,” said Dave Ullrich, Executive Director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. “Cities are the front lines of the restoration effort and are working to ensure our binational commitment to the Lakes continues.”

“In Cleveland, the IJC will be reporting on our priority research work, highlighted by our focus on Lake Erie,” said Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the International Joint Commission. “Supported by a new Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the U.S. and Canada can work together to make real progress on the challenges facing Lake Erie.”

For more information on Great Lakes Week activities visit www.glweek.org, or contact:

EPA, Pete Cassell, 312-886-6234.
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, Dave Ullrich, 312-201-4516.
Great Lakes Commission, Dave Knight, 734-971-9135.
Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, Jordan Lubetkin, 734-887-7109.
International Joint Commission Meeting, John Nevin, 519-903-6001.

Crude Words Exchanged Over Oil Sands

May 3, 2012

Crude oil isn’t exactly clean, but environmentalists say it beats bitumen, the tar-like oil extracted from subterranean Canadian sands.

Bitumen is more corrosive and abrasive than standard crude, hence it is more prone to causing leaks in pipelines, according to a report by the Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Pipeline Safety Trust.

Oil industry representatives disagreed with the groups' report that pipes carrying bitumen have 16 times more leaks than other other pipelines. In an article by CNN Money, they said that different reporting systems result in the difference in numbers.

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Oil Spill Reported in the Great Bear Rainforest

May 3, 2012

Gitga'at Nation Reports Large Spill Believed to Be From Sunken Munitions Ship; Calls on Federal Government for Immediate Response and Full Clean-Up
 
The Gitga'at Nation of Hartley Bay is reporting an oil spill, between two and five miles long and 200 feet wide inside the Grenville Channel, not far from the proposed tanker route for the Enbridge Gateway pipeline. The spill was spotted by a commercial pilot and reported to the Gitga'at Nation and the Canadian Coast Guard yesterday evening.
 
A Coast Guard landing craft from Prince Rupert is on its way to the spill, and expected to arrive by 12pm. The Gitga'at are sending their own Guardians to take samples and have chartered a plane to take aerial photos of the spill.

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Oil Spill Report: Slipping Through the Cracks in Michigan

May 3, 2012

LANSING, Mich. - The Great Lakes are at risk from oil spills because of lack of adequate oversight, according to a new report by law students at the University of Michigan and attorneys for the National Wildlife Federation.
 
If an oil pipeline ruptures in Michigan, says water resources attorney Sara Gosman, one of the authors of the report, the company is not required by law to notify state officials. She says there is reason to be concerned.
 
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