The Great Lakes continue to receive daily doses of runoff polluted with sediment, vehicle oils, pet feces, fertilizers and other pollution that's harming fish and rendering the water unsafe for people.

That was the claim Thursday by several environmental groups that criticized efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators for not moving fast enough to curb runoff, often called stormwater.

"It's one of those major problems that doesn't seem to get the attention of state or federal policymakers," Ilan Levin, counsel for the Environmental Integrity Project, said in a telephone conference with reporters Thursday. "The stuff has a devastating effect on ecosystems, wildlife habitat... and human health."

Runoff from streets, parking lots and construction sites is causing up to 15 percent of the Great Lakes' most serious water quality problems, the report said.

Dirt, sand and sediment clog spawning beds, choke aquatic ecosystems and cloud clean water. Bacteria cause beach closings that prevent people from swimming or make people sick. And heavy metals and other toxic pollution foul waters and render fish uneatable, the report notes.

Entitled "Weathering the Storm," it cites an International Joint Commission report earlier this year that estimates 100,000 tons per year of polluted sediment runs into the Great lakes.

Federal law requires cities and construction sites to control stormwater runoff, but regulation has generally been lax. The report said up to half of construction and industrial sites don't have required permits for stormwater runoff, and state and poorly funded federal regulators aren't able to inspect many of them.

In the Twin Ports, several groups have formed the Regional Stormwater Prevention Team trying to spread the word that whatever runs off construction sites, yards and parking lots often ends up in rivers and Lake Superior.

Little things -- such as keeping litter out of parking lots, stopping oil leaks from our vehicles and ensuring that any yard work keeps the gunk out of the street -- all can help keep pollution out of streams and lakes. Other efforts will encourage people to reduce runoff, such as rain gardens, which capture water and use it for plants, rather than allowing it to gush down the hill and into the lake.

In the Duluth area, there are 42 streams, including 12 designated trout streams, that carry water into Lake Superior -- including polluted runoff from rain and snow melt.

"People are beginning to get it now. People realize that anything we let run down the hill ends up in the lake," said Marnie Lonsdale, stormwater runoff coordinator for Duluth.

Lonsdale said state and local regulators are doing a good job of ensuring all new projects have permits. But she said it's difficult to check on the quality of the stormwater prevention efforts at specific sites.

"There are so many projects and so many other ways for things to get into the water, and we don't have that kind of staff," she said. "We're really dependent on people coming forward and telling us what they see going into the water. What we really need is for the public to make this a priority."

Environmentalists said more than just public education is needed.

"It's important for the states and the EPA to actually enforce the stormwater prevention plans and make that information available," said Cindy Skrukud of the Illinois Sierra Club. "Everyone can see the brown water running off construction sites. We need to know what's being done to stop it."The Great Lakes continue to receive daily doses of runoff polluted with sediment, vehicle oils, pet feces, fertilizers and other pollution that's harming fish and rendering the water unsafe for people.

That was the claim Thursday by several environmental groups that criticized efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators for not moving fast enough to curb runoff, often called stormwater.

"It's one of those major problems that doesn't seem to get the attention of state or federal policymakers," Ilan Levin, counsel for the Environmental Integrity Project, said in a telephone conference with reporters Thursday. "The stuff has a devastating effect on ecosystems, wildlife habitat... and human health."

Runoff from streets, parking lots and construction sites is causing up to 15 percent of the Great Lakes' most serious water quality problems, the report said.

Dirt, sand and sediment clog spawning beds, choke aquatic ecosystems and cloud clean water. Bacteria cause beach closings that prevent people from swimming or make people sick. And heavy metals and other toxic pollution foul waters and render fish uneatable, the report notes.

Entitled "Weathering the Storm," it cites an International Joint Commission report earlier this year that estimates 100,000 tons per year of polluted sediment runs into the Great lakes.

Federal law requires cities and construction sites to control stormwater runoff, but regulation has generally been lax. The report said up to half of construction and industrial sites don't have required permits for stormwater runoff, and state and poorly funded federal regulators aren't able to inspect many of them.

In the Twin Ports, several groups have formed the Regional Stormwater Prevention Team trying to spread the word that whatever runs off construction sites, yards and parking lots often ends up in rivers and Lake Superior.

Little things -- such as keeping litter out of parking lots, stopping oil leaks from our vehicles and ensuring that any yard work keeps the gunk out of the street -- all can help keep pollution out of streams and lakes. Other efforts will encourage people to reduce runoff, such as rain gardens, which capture water and use it for plants, rather than allowing it to gush down the hill and into the lake.

In the Duluth area, there are 42 streams, including 12 designated trout streams, that carry water into Lake Superior -- including polluted runoff from rain and snow melt.

"People are beginning to get it now. People realize that anything we let run down the hill ends up in the lake," said Marnie Lonsdale, stormwater runoff coordinator for Duluth.

Lonsdale said state and local regulators are doing a good job of ensuring all new projects have permits. But she said it's difficult to check on the quality of the stormwater prevention efforts at specific sites.

"There are so many projects and so many other ways for things to get into the water, and we don't have that kind of staff," she said. "We're really dependent on people coming forward and telling us what they see going into the water. What we really need is for the public to make this a priority."

Environmentalists said more than just public education is needed.

"It's important for the states and the EPA to actually enforce the stormwater prevention plans and make that information available," said Cindy Skrukud of the Illinois Sierra Club. "Everyone can see the brown water running off construction sites. We need to know what's being done to stop it."