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Dec. 18, 2006
Coast Guard pulls Great Lakes gun plans
The US Coast Guard has announced
that it will cancel plans to close 2,500 square miles of thee Great
Lakes for live machine-gun firing exercises.
FMR
criticized the plan in comments submitted to the Coast Guard by the
Waterkeeper Alliance. The plan was also criticized by several
U.S. and Canadian mayors, business leaders and other environmental
groups.
Critics were worried about safety
issues, as well as the environmental impact of dumping lead
ammunition into the lakes. An estimated 7,000 pounds of lead
would have been dumped into the Great Lakes each year. There
was no environmental impact study to show what affect the lead would
have on aquatic and human life.
"The Coast Guard appreciates the thoughtful comments we received and
we will work with the public to ensure the Coast Guard can meet any
threat to public safety or security," said Rear Adm. John E. Crowley
Jr., commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland.
Coast Guard officials had said that the firing exercises were
important for its homeland security mission. Crews would have
shot at floating targets with automatic rifles.
Each of the 34 "safety zones" on lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron,
Erie and Ontario would have been closed to private vessels for four-
hour spans about four to eight times a year. Exercises would have
taken place in each zone two or three times a year.
Mayors from 80 U.S. and Canadian cities from around the Great Lakes
had urged the Coast Guard to halt plans for the exercises, saying it
would run counter to long-standing peaceful relations.
Raising safety concerns, some of the zones overlapped established
vessel routes, including those of Michigan-to-Wisconsin car ferries
and the Beaver Island ferries originating from Charlevoix on Lake
Michigan.
Crowley said he planned to reconsider public concerns and was
committed to finding "environmentally friendly alternatives to the
lead ammunition we currently use."
Read FMR's
original comments on this issue
Dec. 18,
2006
Trash becomes trash can
The Kinnickinnic River Cleanup in
October 2006 turned up literally tons of trash, most of which found
its way to landfills and recycling centers. But one piece of
trash found its way to FMR's office. Bill Rushmor of Rushmor
Records recovered a trash can at the cleanup and decided to
refurbish it. Rushmor, with the help of Bird Ladder Equipment,
cleaned up and painted the can and adorned it with a plaque (see
photo.) The improved trash can has found a new home in FMR's
office.
Dec. 15, 2006
Groundwater rules endangered by NR 820
FMR comments
Public hearings have begun regarding NR
820, the rules recently drafted by WDNR to implement the Groundwater
Protection Act (Act 310). The Act expanded DNR’s authority over high
capacity wells to include consideration of impacts to certain
sensitive water resources, including Exceptional and Outstanding
Resource Waters, explicitly requires annual reporting of groundwater
pumping and directs the department to designate two Groundwater
Management Areas where groundwater drawdowns have exceeded 150 feet.
While much of NR 820 does a good job of advancing Act 310’s work to
protect Wisconsin’s groundwater resources, several shortfalls in the
draft need to be addressed before the rule is approved:
- High Capacity Wells could be approved without real environmental
review.
- The definition of “spring” is too simplistic and may leave crucial
waters unprotected.
- Loose definitions of “high capacity property”, “one property”, and
“owner” would allow someone to put lower capacity wells on
properties owned by different entities, but all pumping for the same
project, with no regulation by the rules at all.
Hearings on NR 820 will be held at the following locations and
times:
Waukesha, Monday, December 18th – 1:00pm
Waukesha Administration Building, Rooms 225 and 259
515 Moorland Rd, Waukesha
262/548-7010
Madison, Tuesday, December 19th – 2:30pm
Dept. of Administration, St. Croix Room
101 E Wilson St, Madison
608/266-2309
Stevens Point, Wednesday, December 20th – 6:00pm
Portage County Courthouse Annex, Conference Rooms 1 and 2
1462 Strongs Avenue, Stevens Point
715/346-1351
Written comments should be sent to:
Lawrence J. Lynch
DG/2, 101 S. Webster St.
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707-7921
FMR comments
on proposed legislation
Dec. 13, 2006
Waterkeeper Alliance launches
announcement on major networks
Waterkeeper Alliance, the international
alliance of water advocacy groups, launched a public service video
on CBS and other networks. The video urges watchers to protect
their water resources. FMR is the official Milwaukee
Riverkeeper, licensed by the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Watch video
Dec. 13, 2006
Photo essay follows a year of landscape
changes at County Grounds
Eddee Daniel, FMR board member and
photographer, has chronicled a year at the County Grounds through
photographs and words. The project is a response to MMSD's
recent construction of flood detention basins in the grounds.
The construction project has brought massive change to a natural
area that is dear to many residents of the area. Daniel's
essay explores the boundaries between humans and nature, seen in a
place and time that many of us recognize.
Essay: The
Milwaukee County Grounds 2006: Landscape in Transition
Photographs
Dec.
11, 2006
FMR board member wins photo contest
Eddee Daniel, FMR board member, won
first place in the Paddling and Water Trails category of the
National Recreation Trails Photo Contest for 2006. The winning
photograph was taken at FMR's Canoes and Brews paddling event in
June 2006:
Dec. 3, 2006
We're Not the Worst!
By Gary Wilson on Great
Lakes Town Hall
We’re not the worst seems
to be the initial reaction to a report that grades the sewage
dumping practices of 20 Great Lakes cities.
Read post |
