Links tagged with water

Saint Cloud Times: "A chemical made by 3M Co. found in drinking water is 'more probably than not' linked to cancer of the testicles and the kidneys, according to a panel of scientists."

Duluth News Tribune: "The big, ugly, view-blocking concrete bunker along the Lakewalk in downtown Duluth did its job Monday by stopping 2.5 million gallons of a mix of raw sewage and rainwater from flowing into Lake Superior."

Redwood Falls Gazette: "For years experts have addressed the water quality issues of the Minnesota River by stating it is not where it needs to be. While one would consider much of that expertise anecdotal, the reality of the river’s water quality is closer to becoming officially determined."

USA Today: "Emerging technologies, new federal programs and global volunteer efforts are aiding in cleaner water, but there still is work to be done."

Forum of Fargo Moorhead: "As oil activity increases in western North Dakota, concerns about the environment and water protection are growing as well. State regulators take concerns about water quality in the Oil Patch 'very seriously' and have safeguards in place to protect potable water."

MPR News: "A new study finds Minnesota groundwater is contaminated with low levels of chemicals, but the chemicals are not as widespread in groundwater as they are in lakes and streams."

Forum Communications: "Three essential elements have shaped development on the Northern Plains: location, weather and water. Water is the one that humans can do something about, and management of the region’s water resources has been a consistent theme in the region’s history."

Star Tribune: "Minnesota will be the nation's first test site for a novel federal program designed to stem the flow of agricultural pollution that is strangling some of the country's great waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River."

Ensuring water projects funded through the state's Legacy Amendment are making a difference — and proving it to the public — is a major challenge, conservationists and those who oversee Legacy money acknowledged.

"The city of Jordan has a philosophical objection to mitigating avoidable contamination," City Engineer Tim Loose said. On Nov. 7, the Jordan City Council passed a resolution to submit to the county. "It says we're not going to be part of the solution to your pollution problem," Councilmember Jeremy Goebel said.

The Metropolitan Council is joining the state of Minnesota's lawsuit against 3M.The Met Council wants 3M to pay for the cost of removing one of its chemicals from the treated wastewater discharged into the Mississippi River.

This is the first time the state has required to reduce emissions of sulfates to protect native wild rice waters. However, the MPCA board has given the company up to eight years to meet those standards.

United States Steel Corp. will clear one of its last regulatory hurdles for the planned $300 million expansion of its taconite mine and processing plant in Keewatin if a state board approves two key water quality permits Tuesday.

Adventurer says 2012 South Pole expedition will teach youth about the global need for fresh water.

Elected officials have approved the first reading of an ordinance forbidding the use of coal tar sealant. Testing has found high concentrations of PAHs in the sediment beneath two city ponds and a low concentration of PAHs beneath a third pond.

A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says farmers are cutting back significantly on the amount of soil and nutrients eroding from fields to the Great Lakes and neighboring waterways.

The Metropolitan Council has formally asked its lawyers to explore legal options against 3M related to millions of dollars in costs of meeting new state requirements for discharging perfluorinated chemicals from wastewater treatment plants into the environment.

Analysis of on-site groundwater sampling results completed by 3M last month showed that levels of two of the PFCs of concern, known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfate), had increased in monitoring wells at the site. 3M notified the MPCA of the findings on Sept. 14.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), or perfluorooctane sulfonate, is a man-made fluorosurfactant and global pollutant. PFOS was the key ingredient in Scotchgard, a fabric protector made by 3M, and numerous stain repellents. High levels of PFOS have been detected in humans and wildlife raising health concerns.

The city of St. Cloud has received two awards for its plan to restore and better promote the Mississippi River.

State officials say recent testing of private wells in Cottage Grove and Woodbury did not detect harmful levels of 3M-manufactured chemicals.

In two wells in Woodbury, an increasing level of PFCs -- a chemical made by 3M -- has been detected at a former dump site. No increases have been found in nearby domestic wells, however.

The state has sold mineral leases on state and private land since the mid-1960s with very little complaint from surface landowners. Until now.

A one-two punch of excessive nutrients and ravenous mussels is causing a sharp drop-off in Great Lakes fish populations and the worst outbreak of algae blooms in decades, says a report released Tuesday.

MPR News' Ground Level asked seven Minnesotans why they think local actions matter when it comes to water pollution.

An unusually dry early autumn caused the level of Lake Superior to drop two inches in September, a month when the big lake usually remains unchanged, the International Lake Superior Board of Control announced.

University of Minnesota climatologist Mark Seely said it’s a little too early to use the “D” word, but we’ve gone six weeks without a decent rain.

MPR News' Ground Level asked seven Minnesotans why they think local actions matter when it comes to water pollution.

Officials in New York want all that ballast water treated to kill any "living pollution" before it reaches their harbors. But the treatment technology is expensive and untested.

Asian carp is a priority but water improvement projects also were approved Tuesday to receive Minnesota Legacy Amendment money.