Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

"McDONALD, Ohio - Officials said Saturday they believe the latest earthquake activity in northeast Ohio is related to the injection of wastewater into the ground near a fault line, creating enough pressure to cause seismic activity.

The brine wastewater comes from drilling operations that use the so-called fracking process to extract gas from underground shale. But Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer said during a news teleconference that fracking is not causing the quakes."

"Federal and state authorities today unveiled a legal settlement intended to finally complete the Deep Tunnel, the Chicago region’s massive flood- and pollution-control project."

"WEST ALLIS, Wis.--Plans to develop an open-pit iron mine in northwestern Wisconsin are the latest flash point in a growing national debate that weighs the prospect of new jobs against concern about environmental damage."

"Former workers at a shuttered plant in Highland Park [Mich.] are charging that the plant likely contaminated an adjacent neighborhood and possibly some urban farms in the area with a highly toxic carcinogen."

"After deciding it isn't worth cleaning up one of the nation's dirtiest power plants, the owners of an aging coal-burner along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan are shutting it down sooner than expected."

"The cleanup of toxic chemicals dumped during the production of carbonless copy paper in the 1950s and 1960s has been happening in the lower Fox River since 2009, but it's still unclear who is going to pick up the tab."

"The economic decline and elevated infant mortality rate in the 53210 ZIP code area exemplify the challenges facing [Milwaukee] city leaders."

"The Union of Concerned Scientists is questioning whether the building housing the Davis-Besse nuclear reactor was properly designed and remains structurally sound. The challenge comes about three weeks after contractors cutting a hole in the building to replace the reactor's lid noticed a long hairline crack on one side of the opening."