Around the globe, metallic sulfide and uranium mines have laid waste to watersheds. Today, potential mining sites literally surround Lake Superior. These projects threaten some of the most pristine areas of the Great Lakes region, and risk irreversible harm to one of the most magnificent lakes in the world.

For fifty years, stormwater engineers have considered rain a nuisance. It is something best evacuated quickly from roads and sidewalks and diverted into concrete gutters and underground pipes.

Across the region, heavily polluted and impaired waterways are going unnoticed, despite pleas from citizens to designate their site an Area of Concern. Unfortunately, these appeals are falling on deaf ears. But why would any community want to be deemed a toxic hotspot?