Author: Toledo Blade Environment
Former state toxicologist says nitrate drinking water standards are too lax | Great Lakes Now
By Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner
A former Wisconsin state toxicologist who was involved in creating the state’s nitrate standards for drinking water in the 1980s alleges the science that has informed those standards for decades is deeply flawed and the standards should be stricter.
Dave Belluck, who worked as a toxicologist for multiple states and the federal government, says that “the science is the science” and regulating agencies, including the U.S.
When the Heat Is On, Water Can Still Be Off in Great Lakes Cities | Great Lakes Now
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
When an early summer heat wave enveloped the Great Lakes region last month, Cleveland officials stepped in to offer relief.
They reminded residents of the availability of splash pads for outdoor water recreation. And they extended hours at air-conditioned recreation centers designated as public places to cool off.
What the overturning Chevron deference means for the Great Lakes | Great Lakes Now
The United States Supreme Court recently overturned a 40-year-old precedent that could have major implications for the Great Lakes. In deciding two cases this term related to herring fishing and regulatory fees — Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce — the nation’s highest court overturned its 1984 holding also known as the “Chevron precedent” or “Chevron deference.” In Chevron v.
Ojibwemodaa! Let’s speak Ojibwe! | Great Lakes Now
“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.
PFAS Roundup: EPA adds 12 more versions of PFAS to freshwater fish monitoring while federal farm bills focus on “forever chemicals” | Great Lakes Now
On Thursday, July 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated recommendations under the Clean Water Act, adding twelve versions of PFAS to the contaminant list along with amphetamine, three cyanotoxins, a flame retardant, and lead. The EPA noted that these are all pollutants that states, territories, and Tribes are recommended to monitor in local freshwater fish.