"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."

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

"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 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."

"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."

"Nationwide, water is screened for lead by checking the first sample of water from homeowners' faucets. But results of recent federal testing in Chicago show that although all homes passed that first test, nearly 45 percent had lead levels spike when more water samples were taken directly afterward."

"DETROIT -- A fire at the Marathon Petroleum Corp. refinery here late last month caused little structural damage, but its timing could not have been worse for the plant's owner. The blaze, which was quickly extinguished by the refinery's emergency personnel, occurred on the morning that U.S. EPA and advocacy groups were touring the plant's industrial neighborhood as part of a national environmental justice conference at a downtown conference center."