Clean Water Main Water Sentinels Main Arizona Illinois Kentucky -- Northern Kentucky -- Western Michigan Missouri Ohio Tennessee Contacts Environmental news, green living tips, and ways to take action: Subscribe to the Sierra Club Insider! About the organizer Rita Jack Water Sentinel, Mackinac Chapter 109 E. Grand River Avenue Lansing, Michigan 48906 Phone: (517) 484-2372 Fax: (517) 484-3108 rita.jack@sierraclub.org

Michigan Michigan Sentinels monitor two pollution nightmares The Pine River in central Michigan, contaminated with DDT, PBBs, and petroleum hydrocarbons from chemical plants and refineries, is a Superfund pollution nightmare. Another threat to Michigan waterways comes from the waste from massive hog and dairy factories, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. Nine such animal factories have racked up water-pollution violations as of April 2002, which doesn't bode well for our community and environmental health. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is failing to do its job of protecting the water resources of the state. Even though the MDEQ knew about the violations, there have been no penalties, no fines and no follow up. That's why the Mackinac Chapter of the Sierra Club initiated Water Sentinel projects to monitor these serious problems. Read more... In a nutshell Accomplishments Clean Water Act's 30th anniversary The more help we have, the more we can do! Residents who want to help monitor animal-factory pollution or to help monitor the Pine River are welcome to contact Rita Jack in the Mackinac Chapter office at (517) 484-2372 or rita.jack@sierraclub.org. Pine River Sentinels will be trained to collect and identify benthic macroinvertebrates (aquatic insects), used as river health indicators, and to collect river habitat information. CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations, or animal factories) Sentinels will be trained to collect water samples and either test them for E. coli themselves, or deliver the samples to a certified lab for analysis. Sentinels are also needed who can help find CAFOs in Michigan, so that we can map their locations relative to rivers and streams. Please call the Mackinac Chapter office if you would like more information about any of these projects. The more help we have, the more we can accomplish. Contact Rita Jack to see what you can do to help. Sierra Club Mackinac Chapter Water Sentinels Project 109 E. Grand River Avenue Lansing, Michigan 48906 Phone: (517) 484-2372 Fax: (517) 484-3108 Mackinac Chapter website: michigan.sierraclub.org Photo: The Pine River (Gratiot County, MI) has had a total fish consumption ban since 1974 due to contamination from DDT and PBBs, and is the only river in the nation with that designation from those two pollutants. Photo by Rita Jack. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use