Environment & Science

EPA grants $600,000 to help assess Wanye County brownfield sites

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:10:29 +0000

The federal government is giving a Wayne county agency $600,000 to assess more than 30 potentially contaminated sites in Southwest Detroit.

The grant will not cover the costs of cleaning up or redeveloping these sites but Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano says it's exciting to see more focus being placed on the city's neighborhoods.

Read this for a brief summary of all the problems at Palisades

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:05 +0000

Operators at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant announced yesterday that it will take until early summer to repair the plant and get it back online.

The plant was shut down after it was discovered that radioactive water had been entering Lake Michigan.

The leak came from a water storage tank that has continually caused problems at Palisades. Water from the tank dripped into the plant’s control room in May of 2011.

This time the water leaked onto the roof, down the roof drains, and out into the lake.

West Michigan birders compete to find the most species

Rebecca Williams — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

If you’ve always thought of birding as a quiet, relaxing hobby… you haven’t been to a Birdathon.

During the recent West Michigan Birdathon, I met up with Team Fallout (as in migratory fallout) at the Blandford Nature Center. Shortly after I arrived, we were scrambling to the top of an overlook.

Palisades water tank repairs take to early summer

The Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:45:58 +0000

COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Operators of the idled Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwestern Michigan say repairs to a tank that leaked slightly radioactive water into Lake Michigan will take until early summer to complete.

The plant is in Van Buren County's Covert Township, about 80 miles east-northeast of Chicago,

New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. idled the plant May 5 after operators found a tank leaking faster than regulations allow. Some slightly radioactive water entered Lake Michigan, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says there was no public health risk.

Building a 'Better Michigan' through media

Stateside Staff — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:03:56 +0000

To many of us, Sunday mornings mean a full cup of coffee and our Sunday paper. And there certainly has been no shortage of dire and ominous headlines served up with that Sunday morning coffee.

That's why the Detroit Free Press has launched a new effort. It's called "A Better Michigan" and it will seek answers to the question, "What will it take to build a better Michigan?

Those of us at Michigan Radio and on "Stateside" are proud to be partners with the Detroit Free Press in this effort .

The editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, Stephen Henderson, joined us to talk about "A Better Michigan."

Listen to the full interview above.

The 'State of the Bird' in Michigan

Stateside Staff — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:57:08 +0000

Did you know that May is the height of birding season?

Our State Bird is the robin, but there are literally hundreds of species who call Michigan home.

Teresa Duran knows about the wide assortment of birds we can find in our own back yards and gardens, and how important it is that we preserve land to keep these hundreds of species thriving.

She is the publisher of Nature Conservancy Magazine, and she joined us in the studio today to discuss the many different species of birds found in our state and what role they play in our environment.

To read the Nature Conservancy Magazine's story on birding, go to magazine.nature.org.

Listen to the full interview above.

DNR steps up salvaging of diseased Michigan trees

The Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:26:17 +0000

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is stepping up salvaging of trees that are dying from infestations of the emerald ash borer and beech bark disease.

Michiganders feel this morning's Canadian earthquakes

The Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:39:49 +0000

TORONTO (AP) - Earthquakes Canada is reporting a 5.1-magnitude earthquake just west of Ottawa that was felt as far away as Toronto.

The federal agency that monitors earthquakes revised its original report, saying it registered a 5.1-magnitude temblor with an epicenter located about 21 kilometers (13 miles) northeast of Shawville, Quebec, about an hour's drive outside Ottawa.

It was felt as far west as Toronto, Canada's largest city, but no damage was immediately reported.

10 percent of Michigan's septic fields stink: 130,000 of them failed

Stateside Staff — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:33:57 +0000

You're about to read something you might not want to spend much time thinking about, but that doesn't mean it's not important.

That subject is septic fields. Of the 1.3 million wastewater treatment systems in Michigan, nearly 10 percent have failed. That's about 130,000 systems.

With thousands of failing septic systems throughout the state, what's that doing to our water?

Michigan is the only state in the Union that doesn't have uniform standards governing how on-site sewage treatment systems should be designed, built, installed and maintained.

Jeff Alexander recently examined the state of Michigan's septic fields in an article featured in Bridge Magazine.

Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Alexander about what scientists at Michigan State are finding.

For those unsavory details and more, click the audio link above.

Kalamazoo rallies to pressure EPA to remove hazardous paper mill waste

Lindsey Smith — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:33:12 +0000

More than a hundred people, a dozen strollers and a few dogs lined up and marched about halfway around the Allied landfill site in Kalamazoo Wednesday night chanting – “What do we want? Cleanup! When do we want it? Now!”

It isn’t a typical landfill. It’s where a paper mill dumped decades-worth of waste that’s laced with cancer-causing chemicals.

Everyone here wants the pile gone. They don’t care if it’s the most expensive option and the company that owned the site went bankrupt.

Residents, regulators, activists and plant workers mingle at Palisades’ open house

Lindsey Smith — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:17:01 +0000

Even though Palisades is temporarily shut down, the nuclear power plant last night held a public open house it had scheduled more than a month ago.

In a small conference center in South Haven Tuesday night, anti-nuclear activists mingled with federal nuclear regulators, residents, and plant workers. Palisades Site Vice President Tony Vitale says that's a good thing. He says the open house is designed for people in the community to come talk to some of the plant workers firsthand.

“We’re not hiding anything. We want to run, and will run, and I will demand we run a transparent operation,” Vitale said.

The latest on the leak at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

Stateside Staff — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:54:41 +0000

In West Michigan, crews are continuing to try and figure out what caused the release of slightly radioactive water from the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwest Michigan.

The plant was shut down a little over a week ago because of the leak, and crews say they have discovered a new crack in a water tank that's been leaking on and off for at least two years.

Michigan Radio's West Michigan reporter Lindsey Smith joined us today to talk about

Listen to the full interview above.

New poll shows Michiganders holding conflicting views of 'fracking'

Steve Carmody — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:21:00 +0000

A new poll shows a slim majority of Michiganders support natural gas fracking, though they want the industry to face more regulations and pay more taxes.

Michigan’s natural gas industry has grown as companies have used a technique called Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, to break up shale deposits releasing natural gas.

Critics complain fracking is contaminating drinking water and causing other environmental problems.

Palisades closer to solving leaky tank issues, Upton says he’ll return before plant reopens

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:41:30 +0000

Crews are still trying to figure out exactly what caused an unplanned release of slightly radioactive water from the Palisades Nuclear Plant last week. They have discovered a new crack in a water tank that’s been leaking on and off for at least two years.

The plant was shut down a little over a week ago because of the leak.

“The risk to the plant safety was very small. There really was no increased risk,” Palisades Chief Operating Officer Tim Mitchell told reporters Monday afternoon.

Kalamazoo residents struggle with EPA over "Mount PCB"

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:11:14 +0000

People in Kalamazoo are rallying to get rid of a major dump site that contains cancer causing waste.

Imagine decades’ worth of wood pulp and grey clay waste from the paper mill industry. There are 1.5 million cubic yards of it and it’s laced with polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.

Now, plop it in the middle of a neighborhood.

Sarah Hill lives a little more than a mile away from what neighbors have dubbed "Mount PCB."