Trash which washed ashore originated in Milwaukee

Report:

Nov. 22 -- The U.S. EPA says the waste that washed ashore from Lake Michigan in Michigan and Illinois in 2008 and 2010 likely originated from sewage overflows at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, documents showed.

The documents were released by the environmental group Alliance for the Great Lakes. The group had obtained them through the Freedom of Information Act.

Medical waste, bottle caps, plastic and wood debris was found along 50 miles of shoreline.

The EPA closed its investigation, finding that there were no federal permit violations because the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is allowed to release sewage under certain circumstances.

"Solving sewage overflows in the Great Lakes is complex work that requires innovation, funding and regulation," said Lyman Welch, an Alliance for the Great Lakes water quality manager, in a statement. "These findings are troubling, particularly because the problems aren´t unique to any one city or lake."

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@crain.com or 313-446-6780.

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