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Areas of Concern
Frequent Acronyms
- AOC Area of Concern
- BUI Beneficial Use Impairment
- CMP/EIS Chemical Management Plan or Environmental Impact Statement
- GLNPO Great Lakes National Program Office
- PAC Public Advisory Council
- RAP Remedial Action Plan
Links 
- Environment Canada: Great Lakes Areas of Concern information about binational and Canadian AOCs
- Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN) AOC info
- Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN) RAP info
- Great Lakes Commission AOC/RAP Resouces
The U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 2 of the 1987 Protocol) defines AOCs as "geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area's ability to support aquatic life." More simply put, an AOC is a location that has experienced environmental degradation.
| AOC Name | State | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Ashtabula River | OH | Rick Nagle 312-353-8222 |
| Black River | OH | Frank Anscombe (anscombe.frank@epa.gov) 312-353-0201 |
| Buffalo River | NY | Fred Luckey (luckey.frederick@epa.gov) 212-637-3853 |
| Clinton River | MI | Laura Evans (evans.laura@epa.gov) 312-886-0851 |
| Cuyahoga River | OH | Danielle Green (green.danielle@epa.gov) 312-886-7594 |
| Deer Lake | MI | Mark Loomis (loomis.mark@epa.gov) 312-886-0406 |
| Detroit River | MI | Rosanne Ellison (ellison.rosanne@epa.gov) 734-692-7689 |
| Eighteen Mile Creek | NY | Barbara B. Belasco (belasco.barbara@epa.gov) 212-637-3848 |
| Grand Calumet River | IN | John Perrecone (perrecone.john@epa.gov) 312-353-1149 |
| Kalamazoo River | MI | John Haugland (haugland.john@epa.gov) 312-886-9853 |
| Lower Green Bay / Fox River | WI | John Perrecone (perrecone.john@epa.gov) 312-353-1149 |
| Manistique River | MI | Amy P. Mucha (mucha.amy@epa.gov) 312-886-6785 |
| Maumee River | OH | Frank Anscombe (anscombe.frank@epa.gov) 312-353-0201 |
| Menominee River | WI | John Perrecone (perrecone.john@epa.gov) 312-353-1149 |
| Milwaukee Estuary | WI | Ajit Vaidya (vaidya.ajit@epa.gov) 312-353-5713 |
| Muskegon Lake | MI | Marc Tuchman (tuchman.marc@epa.gov) 312-353-1369 |
| Niagara River | NY | Michael Shaw (shaw.michael@epa.gov) 212-637-3785 |
| Oswego River/Harbor | NY | Barbara B. Belasco (belasco.barbara@epa.gov) 212-637-3848 |
| Presque Isle Bay | PA | Denise P. Hakowski (hakowski.denise@epa.gov) 215-814-5726 |
| River Raisin | MI | Scott Cieniawski (cieniawski.scott@epamail.epa.gov) 312-353-9184 |
| Rochester Embayment | NY | Barbara B. Belasco (belasco.barbara@epa.gov) 212-637-3848 |
| Rouge River | MI | John Haugland (haugland.john@epa.gov) 312-886-9853 |
| Saginaw River & Bay | MI | Jamie Schardt (schardt.james@epa.gov) 312-353-5085 |
| Sheboygan River | WI | John Perrecone (perrecone.john@epa.gov) 312-353-1149 |
| St. Clair River | MI | Rosanne Ellison (ellison.rosanne@epa.gov) 734-692-7689 |
| St. Lawrence River at Massena | NY | Barbara B. Belasco (belasco.barbara@epa.gov) 212-637-3848 |
| St. Louis River & Bay | MN & WI | John Haugland (haugland.john@epa.gov) 312-886-9853 |
| St. Marys River | MI | Jamie Schardt (schardt.james@epa.gov) 312-353-5085 |
| Torch Lake | MI | Brenda R. Jones (jones.brenda@epa.gov) 312-886-7188 |
| Waukegan Harbor | IL | Bill Bolen (bolen.bill@epa.gov) 312-353-6316 |
| White Lake | MI | John Perrecone (perrecone.john@epa.gov) 312-353-1149 |
How are they being addressed?
Remedial Action Plans (RAPs)
The two federal governments cooperate with state and provincial governments to develop and implement Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) for each Area of Concern.
Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs)
RAPs address impairments to any one of 14 beneficial uses (e.g., restrictions on fish
and wildlife consumption, dredging activities, or drinking water consumption) associated
with these areas. See the complete list of Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) 
Sediments are a serious problem in many AOCs.
RAP Liaisons
EPA has assigned RAP Liaisons for each AOC (see table above).
Delisting Criteria
- Restoring United States Areas of Concern: Delisting Principles and Guidelines (PDF) (29 pp, 65 K About PDF) December 2001
- RAP teams develop delisting criteria for each AOC.
- Delisting criteria help focus remediation and restoration activities.
- AOCs are delisted as beneficial uses are restored.
How many AOCs are there?
43 AOCs have been identified:
- 26 located entirely within the United States
- 12 located wholly within Canada
- 5 that are shared by both nations
How many AOCs have been delisted?
Two US AOCs have been delisted:
- Presque Isle Bay (February 2013)
- Oswego River (July 2006)
29 AOCs remain which are wholly in the U.S. or shared with Canada.
Three Canadian AOCs have been delisted: