Mission

The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system on the Earth with 84 percent of North America's surface freshwater and 21 percent of the world's supply. Only the polar ice caps contain more fresh water. More than 30 million people live in the Great Lakes basin and the daily activities of these people, from the water consumed to the waste returned, directly affect the Great Lakes environments.

 

Federal regulators find violations at BP facility in Indiana

December 3, 2007 - After an inspection by the U.S. EPA, the BP facility in Whiting, IN is in the news again. Regulators found the plant to be in violation of several Clean Air Act provisions that increased the pollution emissions for the plant. ELPC's Executive Director weighed in on the situation, "BP can and should be an environmental business leader, but if they're going to talk the talk, they're going to have to walk the walk when it comes to reducing air and water pollution."

 

Lake Michigan Is Not Our Dumping Ground

October 12, 2007 - ELPC along with several other environment groups, are challenging the renewal permits for a steel mill to increase the amount of pollution released into regional waterways. Gary Works, operated by U.S. Steel Corp., is one of the region's largest sources of water pollution. Please sign our petition calling on Indiana regulators to protect Lake Michigan.

 

In spite of their large size, the Great Lakes are sensitive to the effects of a wide range of pollutants. Major stresses on the lakes include toxic and nutrient pollution, invasive species and habitat degradation. Sources of pollution include the runoff of soils and farm chemicals from agricultural lands, waste from cities, discharges from industrial areas and leachate from disposal sites. The large surface area of the lakes also makes them vulnerable to direct atmospheric pollutants that fall as rain, snow, or dust on the lake surface, or exchange as gases with the lake water. Outflows from the Great Lakes are relatively small in comparison with the total volume of water, so pollutants that enter the lakes are retained in the system and become more concentrated with time.

Injurious Species

ELPC continues to work with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) and Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) on reducing the spread of Asian Carp and other injurious species that threaten the Great Lakes.