water pollution

Farmers and other landowners worry a state Senate bill could allow a company to store its carbon emissions under their land without consent or fair compensation.

The hellbender is the largest salamander in the U.S., known for the wrinkly skin on its sides. Because it gets oxygen to breathe directly from the water, it’s very sensitive to pollution like runoff from farm fields.

The Michigan health department lifted its do-not-contact recommendation Friday evening after testing by environmental investigators found less than 20 pounds of carcinogenic hexavalent chromium likely made its way into Norton Creek from an accidental discharge by Tribar Technologies in Wixom. The state's initial estimate was more than 4,000 pounds.

State environmental regulators sent several violation notices to Tribar Manufacturing related to its unauthorized release of about 10,000 gallons of a hexavalent chromium solution into a sewer in Wixom. The carcinogenic chemical has been detected in a nearby pond and lake.

Two of the tests conducted in Hubbell Pond detected hexavalent chromium, a carcinogenic chemical. The testing was done after Tribar Manufacturing accidentally dumped 10,000 gallons of hexavalent chromium solution into the sewer system that's treated by the Wixom Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Last weekend, Tribar Technologies' Wixom plant discharged thousands of gallons of a liquid containing 5% hexavalent chromium into the city’s sanitary sewer.

That pollution can fuel toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie — threatening the drinking water for at least 11 million people.

"Several thousand gallons" of liquid containing hexavalent chromium have spilled into the Huron River. State regulators are urging people not to play in or drink from the river until further notice.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recommends avoiding foam on all water bodies.

A new report said steel walls near the Michigan City coal plant aren’t keeping coal ash waste from getting into Lake Michigan and Trail Creek — and it will likely get worse over time.