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In this Issue:
Great Lakes
Regional Collaboration
Pollution Prevention
Invasive Species
Habitat Restoration
Significant Activities Report:
February 2009
Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
 A wetland in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Photo courtesy of National Park Service |
The third and fourth in a series of workshops, one in each Great Lakes State and one to engage Tribal interests, as part of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration’s (GLRC) Habitat/Species Subcommittee were held in January in Illinois and Indiana. The GLRC Habitat/Species Subcommittee is sponsoring these workshops. The subcommittee is charged with overseeing implementation of the habitat and species-related recommendations contained in the 2005 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. The January 21st workshop in Illinois, held in EPA’s Regional Office in downtown Chicago, brought together 25 key decision makers of the State of Illinois, its cities, its non-governmental organizations, and relevant federal agencies in a facilitated dialogue about advancing habitat protection and conservation through demonstrations of collaborative tools, discussion of State priorities and needs, and interactive dialogue about innovative approaches for moving selected projects from planning to implementation. Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan Manager Judy Beck helped lead the workshop. Presentations were delivered by the Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Lake Michigan Ecosystem Partnership, Illinois EPA, Chicago Wilderness, National Wildlife Federation, Healing Our Waters Coalition, and Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. EPA. The Indiana workshop was held at the State of Indiana offices in Indianapolis on January 29th. Over 40 persons attended from local, state and federal governments, local watershed stewards, conservation organizations and the private sector. GLNPO’s John Perrecone offered EPA’s perspective on Great Lakes habitat restoration issues and also discussed the Great Lakes Watershed Restoration Grant Program as a funding option for projects. The information was received quite well by the group and they seemed to think this approach and data base could be of some help while doing habitat restoration work. While the approach did make sense, there was still some concern on how the data base would help local practitioners on a daily basis. The group appreciated the opportunity to interact with agency staff and other professionals to discuss this topic because those meetings did not happen very often. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers encouraged the attendees to place projects into the database to make it more complete and robust.
Further information about the Habitat Workshops and GLRC Habitat Initiative is available online at: http://www.glrc.us/initiatives/wetlands.
Contacts:
Judy Beck (beck.judy@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-3849
or John Perrecone
(perrecone.john@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-1149
 A nesting gull, one of the bird species affected by Type E Botulism. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Botulism Coordination and
A Charter for the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Botulism Type E
Coordination and Response Initiative was recently approved by the Great
Lakes Regional Collaboration. The Great Lakes Botulism Coordination Network
is a voluntary partnership of representatives of government agencies,
academic institutions, and involved stakeholders whose mission is to:
- Exchange information pertaining to botulism matters in the Great Lakes basin by working through the existing partnerships, establishment of new networking relationships, and building upon existing programs;
- Communicate botulism information and advice (technical, policy or other) related to the ecosystem of the Great Lakes basin to stakeholders (including the public) through member organizations, as required;
- Influence and support the coordination of botulism activities, including: laboratory research and field investigations, environmental management decisions, and response actions in the Great Lakes basin.
It is envisioned that it will support the Network Members that are involved with related efforts to identify, document, and address botulism issues and concerns in the Great Lakes basin; provide a forum within which to discuss issues related to botulism in order to establish priorities of concern and provide guidance on management actions; to help in the development of a best practices manual for responding to botulism mortality events; to provide input for the development of a robust botulism mortality event reporting mechanism which includes data management; and to provide high quality information, expertise, and research of ongoing and emerging botulism issues in the Great Lakes basin, through the Network Members to the general public and interested stakeholders.
Contacts:
James Schardt (schardt.james@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-5085
or Bill Bolen (bolen.bill@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-6316
Lakewide Management Plans
 A turn-of-the-century copper smelter on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Photo courtesy of National Park Service. |
Mining Webinar
On January 13, 2009, the Lake Superior Lakewide
Management Plan (LaMP) Work
Group (SWG) hosted the webinar Mining in Lake Superior Basin. More than 70
people participated in the interactive online meeting, many submitting
questions to the speakers via a live chat feature. The live webcast of the
event also received more than 300 hits, representing between 50 and 100
additional participants. Using GLNPO’s new communication media, the SWG was
able to reach a body of stakeholders greater in both scope and number than
would have been possible than through actual meetings. Several experts
presented an overview of current mining activities in the Lake Superior
basin, including representatives from industry and academic research. A
background paper on the topic created collaboratively by SWG members and
invited speakers was circulated prior to the meeting. The SWG plans to hold
future webinars to serve as educational venues that are both cost- and
carbon-free for participants.
The next two webinars of the mining series are scheduled to focus on the environmental impacts of mining and the effect on the Lake Superior Binational Program chemical and ecosystem goals.
Contact:
Elizabeth LaPlante (laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-2694
Contaminated Sediments
Maumee River AOC: Ottawa River Project
EPA and the Ottawa River Group signed a
Great Lakes Legacy Act Sediment
Remediation Project Agreement on January 26, 2009 to implement a $43 million
sediment remediation project for the Ottawa River. Sediments in the Ottawa
River are highly contaminated with PCBs, PAHs, and heavy metals. The project
will dredge approximately 275,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments from
the Ottawa River and Sibley Creek. Approximately 25,000 cubic yards of
sediment contain PCB concentrations above 50 ppm and will require special
handling and disposal at a TSCA licensed disposal facility. The remaining
250,000 cubic yards of sediment are moderately contaminated and will be
disposed of at the City of Toledo’s Hoffman Road Landfill facility.
Construction will begin in spring 2009, with dredging scheduled to commence
in summer 2009.
Contact: Scott Cieniawski (cieniawski.scott@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-9184
 Dredge fills barge with contaminated sediment during Tannery Bay Great Lakes Legacy Act Remediation Project |
Tannery Bay Project Wins Award
The Great Lakes Legacy Act sediment cleanup project in
Tannery Bay in Sault
Ste. Marie, Michigan was awarded the 2009 National Environmental Excellence
Award by the National Association of Environmental Professionals. The
community saw the removal of 44,000 cubic yards of impacted sediment,
containing approximately one million pounds of chromium and 70 pounds of
mercury from St. Marys River, a local waterway. EPA GLNPO shared the award
with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Phelps-Dodge Mining Company, environmental
consultants Conestoga-Rovers and Associates, and the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality, which helped fund the project. For more information
about the Tannery Bay project, see:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/sediment/legacy/tannery/index.html.
Contact: Marc
Tuchman (tuchman.marc@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-1369
Pollution Prevention
Medical Take-Backs Article
GLNPO Environmental Engineer Todd Nettesheim and GLNPO-Sea Grant liaisons
Elizabeth Hinchey Malloy and Susan Boehme co-authored a manuscript in an
international journal that documents the current unwanted medicine take-back
practices in the United States. Additional co-authors include EPA scientists
from the Office of Research and Development, Office of Water, Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Office of the Administrator, and Region
3.
Article citation: Glassmeyer ST, Hinchey EK, Boehme SE, Daughton CG, Ruhoy IS, Conerly O, Daniels RL, Lauer L, McCarthy M, Nettesheim TG, Sykes K, and Thompson VG. "Disposal Practices for Unwanted Residential Medications in the United States," Environment International, 2008 ; doi:10.1016/j.envint.2008.10.007.
Contact:
Todd Nettesheim
(nettesheim.todd@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-9153
Invasive Species
 Map showing location of the electric barrier. Illustration courtesy of Phil Moy, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute |
Electric Barrier Panel Meeting
The Aquatic Nuisance Barrier Panel Meeting was held in EPA’s Chicago
Conference Center on January 8, 2009. Highlights included an introduction
from Col. Vincent Quarles (new Commander for the Chicago District of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), a status report on the electric barrier, and
information on monitoring programs and acoustic telemetry.
The barrier is in place in Illinois Sanitary and Ship Canal southwest of Chicago to block the passage of Asian carp upstream into Lake Michigan. The original Demonstration Barrier was shut down temporarily for rehabilitation on September 25, 2008 following an intensive electro-fishing survey between the demonstration barrier and an active Barrier IIA. The Demonstration Barrier was brought back online on October 24, 2008. Permanent Barrier IIA was originally scheduled to go live permanently at an output of 1 volt per square inch by the end of January 2009, but had to be delayed because of repairs needed due to corrosion in the system’s cooling pipes. Once Barrier IIA is activated, red flag barges (carrying hazardous or flammable material) will be required to be escorted by bow boats through the barrier. Safety testing at Barrier IIA is being completed by additional voltage testing. Barrier IIB is in the final design stage, pending the results of the Barrier IIA voltage testing. The Corps of Engineers anticipates beginning site preparation in the summer of 2009, beginning construction of the buildings in fall of 2009, and activation in late 2010 or 2011, pending safety testing.
Asian carp monitoring efforts continue in the Dresden Island, Marseilles, Lockport, and Brandon Road pools in the waterway. As of June 2008, Asian carp were identified in the Dresden Island and Marseilles pools, but none were found in either the Lockport or Brandon Rd. pools. Populations remain 15 miles from the dispersal barrier and 38 miles from Lake Michigan. Monitoring also continues in the LaGrange pool, where silver carp exhibit an intrinsic growth rate of 83%. This indicates the population of silver carp in the LaGrange pool is extremely successful and almost doubling in size each year.
Contact:
Elizabeth Murphy
(murphy.elizabeth@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-4227
Habitat Restoration
Black River, Ohio Ecological Restoration Master Plan
On January 12, 2009, EPA Cleveland Office staff attended a Black River RAP
Coordinating Committee meeting. Contractor for GLNPO, URS, provided a brief
overview of the progress to date on the development of the Ecological
Restoration Master Plan for the Lower Black River. The goal of the plan will
be to address ecological protection and restoration along the lower Black
River while being mindful of, and where possible, incorporating the City of
Lorain, Ohio’s need for economic redevelopment of parcels adjacent to the
river in the same area. Baseline data was gathered in the fall of 2008 and
some preliminary conclusions were drawn about the state of the river and the
proposed development along its shores. Several early action opportunities
were identified, including: the installation of more constructed fish
shelves, restoration work within the slag remediation areas, installation of
CHUBS (Cuyahoga Habitat Underwater Baskets), and invasive plant control for
purple loosestrife and phragmites. Small group meetings with officials from
the City of Lorain (Mayor, Planning Department, Council-persons) will be
conducted to garner official partnership support from the City. These small
meetings will be followed by larger community stakeholder meetings to help
develop the complete menu of projects within the plan.
Contact:
Anne Marie Vincent (vincent.annemarie@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - Region 5 (440) 250-1720
 Urban habitat: A Chicago Park District lagoon. |
Great Lakes Urban Habitat Restoration Symposium
GLNPO staff attended the Great Lakes Urban Habitat Restoration Symposium
January 22-23, 2009 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago. GLNPO was a
co-sponsor of the symposium. More than 170 representatives from U.S. and
Canadian agencies and organizations listened to a range of plenary speakers
and participated in breakout sessions on urban restoration issues and
techniques. Conference organizers included the Great Lakes Fishery
Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago Park District, and
Alliance for the Great Lakes. Results of the breakout session discussions
will be available in the near future.
Contact:
Karen Rodriguez
(rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-2690
Stewardship Network Conference
GLNPO co-sponsored and staff attended the Stewardship Network Conference
2009: The Science, Practice and Art of Restoring Native Ecosystems, January
23-24, 2009, at the Kellogg Conference Center in East Lansing,
Michigan. Attended by more than 400 ecological restoration
practitioners, the conference program included presentations by experts in
fire, wildlife, and water ecology, ecosystem planning, stewardship
opportunities, and invasive species management.
Initially begun as a southeast Michigan organization, the Stewardship Network now reaches hundreds of restoration practitioners from Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Those interested can participate in one of seven local restoration “clusters” that each offers a series of workshops throughout the year. Participants attending the workshops are eligible to receive an “Ecosystem Explorer Certificate of Achievement from the Stewardship Network. In addition, the Stewardship Network hosts lunch hour (11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST) free interactive online discussion and presentations on various topics relating to the care of natural lands and waters on the second Wednesday of each month. More information is available online at: http://www.stewardshipnetwork.org/.
Contact:
Karen Rodriguez
(rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA - GLNPO (312) 353-2690