"U.S. Steel violated the Clean Air Act numerous times — in one case, more than 15,000 times — at its Gary Works facility and two other plants in Michigan and Illinois, according to a lawsuit filed by the federal government Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Hammond."

Lake Ontario's lake trout have been a key indicator of pollution that affects humans and other species.

"MADISON, Wis. -- Federal transportation officials have ordered a Houston-based energy transportation company not to re-open a pipeline after it ruptured and leaked oil into a Wisconsin field."

Ann Arbor's stretch of the Huron River seems an oasis where people can go kayaking and tubing to cool off in the summer. But not far from the river, the ruins of a coal-gas plant dating back to the late 1800s may still be oozing pollutants into the groundwater.

"A settlement reached between environmentalists, the state's pollution regulators and the state's largest steel mill raises questions about the agency's actions -- and invites scrutiny of its leader."

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday approved a first-of-its-kind program to cut phosphorus levels in Wisconsin's lakes, rivers and streams."

"LAKEPORT, Mich. -- Diesel fuel from a barge that sank in stormy Lake Huron has reached the Michigan shoreline, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday evening."

"Federal investigators seeking the cause of a North Side train derailment are taking a close look at the tracks, after early scrutiny of the crew's actions and the train itself revealed no glaring problems."

"Until now, scientists could only guess at the amount of plastic waste in the Great Lakes. This week, a team of researchers sets sail to conduct the first-ever survey of plastic pollution in the world’s largest fresh water system."

"COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A freight train derailment and explosion in Columbus, Ohio, has authorities evacuating a mile-wide area of the city as they try to contain the blaze and determine what's burning."

"WASHINGTON -- When it comes to energy issues, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Josh Mandel agree on two things -- and maybe only two things: First, energy issues and economic issues are inextricably linked. And second, they will probably play an outsized role in Ohio's U.S. Senate race."

"The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said Monday that it would seek to impose a $3.7 million fine -- a record civil penalty -- on the pipeline operator Enbridge over an oil spill in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan two years ago."

"Bets Thorkelson's opposition to 3M Co.'s hazardous waste incinerator began in the mid-1990s, when she learned that four moms of boys on her sons' hockey team had breast cancer."

"Open train cars filled with sand have raised alarm in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood, where some residents wonder if the silica that comprises 80 percent of the unprocessed sand is safe."

"DULUTH, Minn. - The city of Duluth is in crisis mode after a deluge of rain overnight left parts of the community under floodwaters, and a number of animals at the Lake Superior Zoo dead."