Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

"CHASE, Wisc. -- Federal environmental regulators have joined an investigation into drinking water supplies tainted by elevated levels of a chemical used to make plastic products.

The problem in this Oconto County community first was detected last year at Sunnyside Elementary School and prompted school authorities to begin supplying bottled water to students, teachers and staff.

But tests this summer showed that the same contaminant was turning up in private homeowner wells, leading investigators to question whether the situation was more widespread.

"Oak Creek - A large section of bluff collapsed Monday next to the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant, sending dirt, coal ash and mud cascading into the shoreline next to Lake Michigan and dumping a pickup truck, dredging equipment, soil and other debris into the lake."

"After a celebrated comeback from abysmal water conditions and high pollution levels in the 1970s, Lake Erie is regressing to the highest levels of phosphorous contamination in 40 years, a Great Lakes expert said on Thursday."

"MILWAUKEE — Just a month before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to release new rules to protect the Great Lakes from overseas ships carrying in invasive species, legislation is moving through Congress that conservation groups say might roll back those protections."

"DETROIT -- At a time when many government programs are fighting for survival, there's one place the money is still flowing for now: the Great Lakes."

"TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- 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."

"The North Woods is being targeted for lucrative, but dangerous, mineral mining."