BBC News — A pipeline carrying oil from the US state of Indiana to Ontario, Canada has spilled more than 800,000 gallons (3m litres) of oil into a creek which flows into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan.
A spokesman for the firm running the pipeline, Enbridge Energy Partners, said a malfunction had caused the leak.
The spill has killed fish and endangered wildlife in the region.
Officials said the pumps which feed the pipeline had been shut down as soon as the leak was discovered.
The 30-inch (76cm) pipeline carries 8m gallons of oil per day between the towns of Griffith, in Indiana, and Sarnia, in Ontario.
The pipeline, called the Lakehead System, is one of the largest in the world.
A pungent odour now hangs over the Kalamazoo River valley, local media report.
The oil originally spilled into the Talmadge Creek in Calhoun County, Michigan, north-west of the Kalamazoo River.

Saturday, July 31st, 10 am–5 pm
Come and join neighbours and friends and a host of environmental organizations on Saturday, July 31st at Innisfil Beach Park to learn more about how we can all help our lake recover and remain the pride and pleasure of our county for generations to come.
There will be activities for the entire family including films, contests, and interactive displays about the history of Lake Simcoe, the environmental concerns of the lake today and a vision for its future. The Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition is conducting the survey linked at the top of this newsletter.
Innisfil Beach Park is located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe at the eastern end of Innisfil Beach Road. The park boasts several clean beaches, boat launch, government dock, a walking/cycling path, and good parking, snack bar and picnic areas. The Town of Innisfil has waived the entrance fee to the park for non-residents for this special day. Drink It – Fish It – Love It

At about 11:00 am EST this morning, the United Nations General Assembly voted to recognize the right to water and sanitation.
The resolution passed overwhelmingly. The unofficial vote count was 124 yes, 42 abstentions, 0 no.
Canada abstained.
Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, Blue Planet Project organizer Anil Naidoo, and national water campaigner Meera Karunananthan were at the General Assembly session for the historic vote.
More on this to come shortly. For more information, further analysis, and the text of the resolution – plus photos from today – please go to www.canadians.org.

Ontario’s program for managing hazardous waste is an important step in the right direction and should not be scrapped, says Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller in his Special Report, released today
The report notes, however, that the program is not perfect, and offers two key recommendations for its improvement.
News release
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario fears that recent controversy and confusion over the implementation of the second phase of the hazardous waste management program, particularly the unfortunate decision by some retailers to invent the concept of “eco fees”, could jeopardize the future of this necessary program. The report aims to provide clarity about the program and refocus the discussion back on the core issue: how to manage – and finance the management of – hazardous wastes.
“While not perfect, the hazardous waste program is definitely a step in the right direction. It will keep more hazardous materials out of our environment and will take the cost of managing these wastes off the taxpayer and put it where it belongs: on the manufacturers of the hazardous waste products,” said Miller.
•Without a waste diversion program, most hazardous household wastes are thrown out with regular garbage and end up in a landfill or incinerator, where chemicals in the wastes can contaminate Ontario’s water, soil and air.
•In recent years, several municipalities have set up their own household hazardous waste collection programs. These programs are paid for entirely by municipal taxpayers.
Under the program, which has been in place since July 2008, stewards (i.e., manufacturers and importers) pay “steward fees” to Stewardship Ontario to finance the collection, recycling and safe disposal of the hazardous wastes from their products. The money raised by “steward fees” will, among other things, reimburse municipalities for any costs of managing these wastes.
•Stewards can absorb the “steward fees” as a cost of doing business or pass the fee along by increasing the wholesale price of their products.
•Anticipating an increase in wholesale prices, some retailers recently increased the prices of affected products and made this increase visible on receipts as an “eco fee”. “Eco fees” were never a component of Ontario’s hazardous waste program.
Despite the Commissioner’s support for the program, his report identifies some necessary areas for improvement.
“A key problem with the program is there’s no incentive for manufacturers to make their products greener since they are all charged the same ‘steward fee’ regardless of how green their products are,” Miller continued. “Instead, the manufacturer of a product, say a paint, that is less toxic (and therefore easier and cheaper to manage when discarded) should pay a lower ‘steward fee’ than the manufacturer of a more toxic and more difficult to manage product.”
“Another problem with Ontario’s program,” the Commissioner added, “is that manufacturers only pay for the management of wastes collected through the program and not for wastes going to landfill. Because Stewardship Ontario aims to collect only 42% of the available hazardous waste in the program’s first year, taxpayers will still be footing the bill for managing more than half of Ontario’s hazardous waste.”
To ensure that the full potential of stewardship is achieved, the Environmental Commissioner has two recommendations to improve the program:
Recommendations
1.The Ministry of the Environment should require stewards to pay fees that differ based on the environmental costs of managing their products once they become waste. Only differential fees will encourage competition between companies, which should result in less toxic and more recyclable products, and keep the program costs in check.
2.The Ministry of the Environment should require that the hazardous waste program cover all costs of waste management, including the costs of disposing those products not collected through the program and lost to landfill.
Special Report

‘Historic’ chance to ease human suffering, says Canadian activist
By Linda Diebel Toronto Star
A United Nations vote to recognize water as a basic human right is a “historic” chance for the global community to ease human suffering, according to a Canadian activist in the thick of a last-ditch lobbying effort.
“We’re running out of water and the crisis is getting worse,” Maude Barlow said Monday from New York, on the eve of a vote expected as early as Wednesday at the UN General Assembly
Full story

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe July 26 2010
They came from all over Simcoe County – around 60 people who attended a meeting held in Coldwater on Saturday morning – and their foremost concern was the amount of business councils conduct behind closed doors.
Full story

By Kate Harries SDS41
Several hundred people gathered in the Perkinsfield Pavilion Saturday to look back on a tumultuous year of fighting Dump Site 41 and to celebrate victory – a series of victories.
The first victory came last August when Simcoe County Council voted for a one-year moratorium on development of the dump – which was within weeks of opening. The second, a month later, when councillors voted to halt construction permanently.
Another came when charges against 19 protestors were dropped or stayed last December.
But still, the province’s Certificate of Approval remained in place and council could change its mind at any moment. Greg Athron of the ministry of the environment continued to maintain that site 41 was an excellent location for a dump (while continuing to refuse to provide answers on anamolous test results and other issues raised by the Site 41 Community Monitoring Committee.)
Finally, n June, County Council bowed to the wishes of the people and voted to ask the province to revoke the C of A. Revocation came within hours. Council also voted to return the zoning of the land to agricultural and that process is presently underway in Tiny Township.
“It was a wonderful victory,” lawyer Peter Rosenthal told the crowd. “You built a community here – First Nations and settlers and farmers and cottagers…”
It was a community free of racism as we worked closely with our friends from Beausoleil First Nation and other aboriginal communities, and free of sexism, with women taking leadership roles in keeping with the Anishinaabe belief that protecting water is a female responsibility.
Beth Brass Elson of BFN spoke briefly (as is her way) letting Dave Anderson from Northern Ontario – who helped hold the line on Tiny Concession 2 last summer – speak in her stead. “We stood together for our water, for our children, for our grandchildren, for our grandchildren’s grandchildren,” he said.
Vicki Monague shed tears as she recalled the two young men from Christian Island who drowned last month – one of them Beth’s son Matt, and the other, Gavin Jamieson, one of a group of firekeepers who played a pivotal role. She paid tribute to Beth’s “warrior spirit.”
Stephen Ogden recalled the long history of the fight to Stop Dump Site 41. “This has been a long time coming,” he said.
Julie Barker, one of the originals from the Why Wye Citizens Group (formed in 1987), made a presentation to Steve and Gord Leonard, two stalwarts on the Site 41 |Community Monitoring Committee.
Mark Calzavara of the Council of Canadians spoke for Maude Barlow who could not be present because she is fighting for the United Nations to recognize water as a human right. “Canada is the ringleader to stop that from happening,” Calzavara said with a pointed nod in the direction of Conservative MP Bruce Stanton.
Progressive Conservative MPP Garfield Dunlop and his wife Jane attended, Dale Goldhawk of Zoomer Radio was MC, the Gwagago Kwag singers and Bob Dutton provided musical entertainment, and everyone enjoyed the corn, the cake and visiting with friends and companions from an epic struggle.

News release from AWARE Simcoe -; COLDWATER ON, JULY 24, 2010 –Incumbent Simcoe County councillors have been spending like there’s no tomorrow – leaving a legacy of crushing debt in a period of projected declining revenues.
In addition, a projected downgrading of the County’s current AA credit rating status to single A will lead to increased borrowing costs.
More detals

Government looks at placing burden of blue box program solely on industry
By Tanya Talaga Toronto Star July 24 2010
Plans to fully privatize the province’s blue box recycling program, saving municipalities up to $120 million a year, are in limbo due to the Stewardship Ontario fiasco, the Star has learned.
The move to a 100 per cent industry-funded blue box program could save both municipalities and property taxpayers “tens of millions of dollars”, according to Peter Hume, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Full story

By Gail Swainson Toronto Star
A coalition of farmers, residents and green activists are suing the provincial government for shoving through a gas-fired power plant next to the Holland Marsh.
“The Liberal government’s actions in circumventing the law to railroad this plant through are unprecedented, unfounded in law and could have a devastating affect on municipal and environmental processes for communities across Ontario,” said Mike Schriener, leader of the Green Party of Ontario, which spearheaded the suit.
The coalition says the province is contradicting its own Greenbelt Act.
Full story