Special Report: Cleaning Coal
The Great Lakes states are home to 155 coal-fired power plants that discharge wastewater into local lakes and streams. That wastewater can carry heavy metals and other dangerous contaminants, and has gone largely unregulated for the past 27 years. Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to step in with new rules to fend off environmental concerns.
Join the Great Lakes Echo for a four-day series unpacking the problems with power plant wastewater in the Great Lakes.
Day 1. Great Lakes states spotty on coal limits; some water contaminants ignored.
Day 2. Great Lake states mercury limits vary; may pose threat to already polluted waters.
Day 3. Few Great Lakes power plants even look for this toxic contaminant in their waste.
Day 4. Cleaning up air could harm quality of water.
Note: updated for accuracy 12/17/09 05:17
There is another side to this story not being told. That is the quantity of water used by the power plants(in Lake Erie the greatest user of water – 80% by USGS reports is used by power plants), the fish impinged and entrained in teh intakes and thermal heated about 10 degrees Fahrenheitwater they warm and release in what is known as a mixing zone..
I would hope that Great Lakes Echo will report on this aspect of power plants also. There are three coal fired power plants located on the Great Lakes shallowest waters in Maumee Bay/far western Lake Erie taht use on average 3 billion gallons of water a day that entrain billions and impinge millions of fish. The impact of the fish kills and thermal plumes – contribnution to algal growth and fish population impacts needs to be looked at.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/12/17/special-report-cleaning-coal/ [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] Last year, Great Lakes Echo reporters used toxic release data to examine environmental and health impacts of coal-fired power plants in the Great Lakes Echo. Check out the series here. [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Leave your response!
Special Reports
Recent Comments
“Tom, we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Quagga mussels (zebras are old...”
The “Best” of the Great Lakes
“Another result of government regulations and the law of unintended...”
Chemical levels in Saginaw Bay fish depend on where they hang out
“Scoop, Sorry, no where else has the mussels wiped out any other fish “practically...”
The “Best” of the Great Lakes
“Fantastic! People look at higher mpg and alternative...”
Low speed electric cars popping up in small communities; safety concerns remain
“what farms where affected in the cadillac areaby this disease?”
Poisoning Michigan: Author revisits PBB crisis 30 years later
News archive
Submit a story
Great Lakes Tweets
Interact
Other Resources
Most Commented
Who We Are
Great Lakes Echo is a project of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.
Additional content provided by MSU's Capital News Service.
Technical assistance by MSU's Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies and Media with support from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.