UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
GREAT LAKES REGION
33 EAST CONGRESS PARKWAY, ROOM 410
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6O6O5
December 8, 1969
MEMORANDUM
TO: SEE BELOW
FROM: H. ¥. Poston, Regional Director
SUBJECT: Monthly Regional Director's Report to the Commissione:
Transmitted herewith is a summary of the Great Lakes
Regional activities for the month of November.
ADDRESSEES: Commissioner (2)
Associate Commissioner (2)
Assistant Commissioners (5) Administration (9)
Regional Directors (2)
Northwest Region (3)
South Central Region (5)
Ohio Basin Region (4)
GLR Program/Laboratory Directors (l)
Washington: Charles Rogers (l)
(FWPCA) W. A. Cawley (l)
R. P. Nalesnik (2)
Mrs. Hibbs (l)
Dr. W. A. Brungs, Jr., Newt own, Ohio (l)
A. D. Sidio, Cincinnati, Ohio (l)
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
PERIOD COVERED: November 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
Individual Program Comments
Technical Services
The Lake Ontario Basin Officeb towed thermistor array was successfully
tested in Lake Ontario. A manual on the construction ana use of the
thermistor array is presently being written. Copies will be made
available to other basin offices when completed. The thermistor
array was designed and constructed by Don Casey. Several spot
current-metering measurements were made in the Rochester embayment.
The results of analyses for total nitrogen phosphate, iron and vola-
tile solids tests on 22 bottom sediment samples from the Lake Ontario
June cruise, 1969, are nearly completed. A correlation of results
from the bottom sediment analyses with lake water stations at the
same sampling site will then be undertaken.
Plans were finalized for the anticipated field activities of the
study of the Mississippi River, St. Louis sector, to be conducted
during the first half of December.
The microbiology and chemistry laboratories of the Lake Michigan
Basin Office completed analysis of routine water samples from the
Calumet Surveillance Area. The organic laboratory completed analy-
sis of samples from an oil spill collected by the U. S. Coast Guard
from the Rouge River October 9- Identification was also completed
on oil pollution from Lake Michigan in Buffington Harbor.
The Rochester and Syracuse regional offices of the New York State
Department of Health are correcting and updating tables for the
Oswego River basin report which is being revised for review and
approval for joint publication with NYSDH. Data on municipal and
industrial waste discharges and waste treatment needs will be firm
as of December 1, 1969.
A coordinated survey with the University of Rochester is being made
to determine the pollutional effect of various nutrients contributing
to algal growths in Irondequoit Bay. The laboratory has completed
the analyses of the first set of samples which will be submitted on a
quarterly basis. In a joint effort with the New York State Department
of Health, the laboratory (Lake Ontario Basin Office) is currently
analyzing industrial waste effluents for total and soluable phosphates.
The chemistry and microbiology sections (Lake Michigan Basin Office)
analyzed samples from the Calumet Surveillance Area. Laboratory
contributions to the Mississippi River study report conducted in the
vicinity of Dubuque, Iowa in September were completed.
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2
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
Federal Activities
A meeting was held at the Naval Reserve Training Armory, Chicago
on November 7, at which were representatives of the Ninth Naval
District, U. S. Coast Guard, State of Illinois, Metropolitan
Sanitary District of Chicago, City of Chicago-Water and Sewer
Department, Naval Reserve Training Command, and FWPCA. The pur-
pose of the meeting was to discuss proposals pertaining to a
proposed sanitary sewer and lift station to discharge wastes
from the Naval Armory, the USS PARLE, and pleasure craft in
Monroe Street Harbor to the Chicago municipal sewer system.
Proposals made at the meeting and concurred in by those in
attendance were: (l) The State of Illinois to construct the
sewer and that it be extended to the limit of state property
400 feet east of the Naval Armory. (2) The sewer to be extended
to the USS PARLE and that a contract be made between the State
and the Navy for a period of 5 years to enable the Navy to pay
the remainder of the necessary costs which are chargeable to
them. (3) An FWPCA research and demonstration grant be applied
and to provide a site for test facilities for new devices for
adequate treating or disposal of vessel wastes.
At the request of the Regional Director, statements were prepared
regarding changes in the status of waste treatment for disposal
facilities at Federal installations in the Lake Michigan basin.
This information was prepared for possible use in connection with
the upcoming Governors' conference on Lake Michigan pollution.
A review was made of an application for Federal permit to dredge
a 300 ft., small-boat channel in Lake Huron (Saginaw Bay) at
Caseville, Michigan; dredged material to be placed in the water-
way. It was requested that this permit not be granted unless the
applicant agrees to dispose of the dredged material on upland
property to prevent leaching of potential pollutional materials
into Lake Huron or within a completely enclosed diked area.
The St. Paul, Minnesota Corps of Engineers'district engineer
informed FWPCA that he would refer to the division engineer the
question of our objection to the disposal of materials to be
dredged from a private slip in the Duluth-Superior Harbor into
another area of the Harbor. The district engineer was informed
that samples collected in September 1968 from the vicinity of
the proposed dredging revealed evidence of moderate pollution in
the bottom sediments, including some sludge worms and that we
believe the bottom sediments within a short distance of the
sampling station would exhibit essentially the same characteris-
tics. We further informed the district engineer that we believe
this is sufficient evidence of conditions existing in the project
area and that our recommendation was consistent with Recommenda-
tion No. 1? of the FWPCA Lake Superior report.
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3
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
Research and Development
A staff member of the UMR-Lake Superior Basin Office met with the
executive director/chief engineer of the Minneapolis-St. Paul
Sanitary District and the project director for the District's
storm and combined sewer demonstration project, to discuss the
preparation of the final project report. The project has amassed
a large quantity of data, and discussions centered on the handling
and interpretation of the data, as well as methods of presenting
this data in a meaningful manner in the final report.
The period of performance for Contract No. 14-12-20, "An Investi-
gation of Storm and Combined Sewer Pollution At Bucyrus, Ohio"
was successfully concluded. Sequentially, Lake Erie Basin Office's
representative assigned this project and met with the contractor to
discuss preparation of the final report.
L. Breimhurst, UMR-Lake Superior Basin Office, met with Dr. Wehking,
project director of the River Falls, Wisconsin demonstration project
of the channel aeration process for the aerobic digestion of sewage
sludges. Difficulty in maintaining dissolved oxygen in the channel
has developed and it appears that modifications will be necessary.
Modifications being considered include providing more openings in
the channel enclosure to permit greater air transfer and adding a
brush aerator at the far end of the channel.
Enforcement
Reserve Mining Company, the largest discharger to Lake Superior,
sent a 14-page statement to the Lake Superior conferees stating
the company feels there is no support to the charges FWPCA made
at the Executive Session that taconite tailings have caused inter-
state pollution; that tailings have an adverse effect on fish life;
and that tailings are entering into solution. The company feels
there is no definite evidence of any pollution in Lake Superior
caused by their discharge, hence, the conferees' conclusion that
"presumptive evidence" was in the record to indicate there might
be pollution is invalid.
t;
A review was made of the status of pollution control at Moench
Tannery and Peter Cooper Glue Works at Gowanda, New York. It was
learned that the original schedules established at the March 22,
1967 Lake Erie Enforcement Conference are not being met and that
New York has set revised schedules.
Dale Bryson, Director of the UMR-Lake Superior Basin Office, met
with John Badalich, Director of the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency (MPCA), to discuss and implement actions concerning the
Twin Cities-Upper Mississippi River Enforcement Conference.
Future meetings were scheduled to discuss and resolve storm water
overflow problems and their relationship to ongoing research and
development projects, wastes from watercraft and status of waste
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4
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
disposal at South St. Paul. Immediately following the meeting with
Mr. Badalich, officials from South St. Paul joined the meeting to
discuss the status of their abatement program. They are thinking
in terms of a year's evaluation for recently completed works before
any further engineering studies are made to determine what addi-
tional facilities are needed to comply with conference recommenda-
tions. This would mean they would not comply before 2+ years after
the final conference date. This proposal is unacceptable to FWPCA
and they were so informed. FWPCA recommended that South St. Paul
submit to the MPCA by February 15, 1970 their plans and schedule
for total compliance with the conference recommendations, keeping
in mind the conference timetable. MPCA. and South St. Paul agreed
to the proposal. MPCA will monitor progress towards this goal.
Several members of the staff of the Lake Erie Basin Office, plus
two people from the Ohio Department of Health, inspected waste
treatment facilities of the U. S. Steel plant at Lorain, Ohio.
Several minor problems were noted but the only major problem
seemed to be from the coke plant discharge. U. S. Steel offered
solutions to each one of the problems identified.
On November 21 and 22, a total of 9,700 gallons of oil was removed
from the Nordmeer. Weather conditions prevented return to the
Nordmeer for the remainder of the week. The salvage vessel MASSEY
D made attempts to reach the Nordmeer on November 27 and 28 but was
turned back because of heavy seas and high winds. Steam boilers
have been acquired for heating the oil to improve flow characteris-
tics.
A meeting was held with the Iowa Department of Health and repre-
sentatives of the Governor's office to obtain improvements in their
FY '70 water pollution control program. It was agreed that they
will submit a supplement to their plan to provide for necessary
additions and at that time, the evaluation report will be finalized
and submitted to Headquarters.
Water Quality Standards
A review was made of "Quality Criteria for Reclaimed Water" in
response to a request from Headquarters. The technical staffs
of the Regional Office, the Basin Offices and the National Water
Quality Laboratory submitted their reviews which were compiled
into a regional review and submitted to Washington.
Final work was completed on a summary of Wisconsin's interstate
water quality standards and it was approved for publication.
Preparations are under way to ready the booklet for printing.
Cooperative Programs
The State of Minnesota's program plan for their pollution control
agency was approved by Commissioner Dominick on November 5, 1969.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
Construction Grants
On the heels of a policy declaration issued by the Commissioner on
the desirability of regionalization of sewage treatment facilities,
two significant developments happened in the Great Lakes Region.
The Warren, Michigan project, which was tendered a Federal grant
offer a month ago contingent upon connecting to the Detroit Metro-
politan Sewerage System as outlined in the FWPCA Lake Erie report,
advised FWPCA that it could not accept the offer with that condi-
tion in the offer. Accordingly, we have advised Warren that the
entire grant offer has been withdrawn because of Warren's failure
to insure that it will connect to the Detroit Sewerage System.
The Michigan State grant offer for this project will also be
withdrawn according to the State agency. In an allied development,
the construction grants chief appeared before a joint meeting of the
Winona and Goodview, Minnesota Village Councils to urge that Goodview
join with Winona in a regional treatment facility. Final action by
Goodview will be taken in about six weeks. The possibility of
funding any Goodview project that does not connect to Winona will be
remote, if not impossible.
The $650 million deep tunnel plan announced by the City of Chicago
recently to control overflows from combined sewers, has been reviewed
for preliminary construction grants eligibility. It appears that
such a project could be eligible for construction grant participation,
but the proposal has been forwarded to Headquarters for further review
before a final eligibility decision. Construction of this massive
project would eliminate flooding and pollution overflows for rain
storms up to one inch.
Messrs. Bryson, (UMR-Lake Superior Basin Office) McDonald, (Regional
Office) and Ginner, (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) met with
the City Councils of Winona, Minnesota and Goodview, Minnesota in
joint session to discuss and encourage Goodview to join Winona in a
regional sewage treatment plant. It was made quite clear the Federal
and State pollution control agencies would accept nothing less than a
joint facility.
Just before adjournment on November 14, the Wisconsin Assembly approved
a bill that would authorize the State to issue $144 million to help
Wisconsin communities build sewage treatment plants. Between now and
the scheduled reconvening in January, a Joint Senate-Assembly Committee
will attempt to resolve the differences between this measure and the
previously approved Senate action which had authorized the issuance of
an additional $56 million to buy public recreational land.
An inventory of all projects in the Lake Michigan Basin that have
either already received construction grant assistance or, on the basis
of identifiable needs, may apply for future grants was computed in
anticipatory preparation for the December 17 "Save Lake Michigan
Seminar" that will be co-hosted by the Secretary and the 4-State
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
Governors. Grants totaling in excess of $34 million in support of
$121 million of construction have been made to 218 municipalities
in the basin. There are 410 identifiable potential projects that
will cost at least $300 million with grant requests in excess of
$132 million. These estimated costs and grant requests are based
on needs through 1974 and will undoubtedly prove to be conservative.
After weeks of involvement by various levels of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Administration and the Department of the Interior,
the first leg of a Federal grant for the $80 million Detroit treat-
ment and sewer expansion project was approved by the Great Lakes
Region. The grant was approved with the proviso that such approval
in no way constitutes an approval of any modified water quality
criteria or implementation dates relating to water quality standards
or enforcement proceedings in the Detroit area. The next leg of the
Detroit program—which will amount to an estimated $79 million in
additional construction—will be started during the next calendar
year. This particular project represents the largest project in
which the Great Lakes Region has ever participated.
The Chicago Sanitary District will soon file a formal request for
participation in the cost of land required to dispose of the
Districts' sludge. In answer to a verbal request for participa-
tion in such land acquisition costs, the District was informed
that site acquisition costs are not eligible for Federal parti-
cipation under the construction grants program. However, the
District wishes to make a formal written request for an eligibility
determination because it believes that the purpose of the land on
which the sludge is disposed is an extension of the treatment
process and, therefore, should be eligible for Federal aid.
Pollution Surveillance
On November 24, a large amount of oil was reported by a Trenton,
Michigan resident on the Trenton Channel between the free (Wayne
County) bridge and toll bridge leading to Grosse lie, Michigan.
The source was not identified. On November 25; an oil spill was
reported by the Coast Guard on the St. Glair River in the vicinity
of Marysville. The source was not identified. State and Federal
agencies were notified of both spills.
The preventive angle of oil contingency planning is beginning to
yield some results. As a result of the flooding of Wood River,
Illinois area oil refinery waste treatment facilities during July '69
the FWPCA met with Army Corps of Engineers, U. S. Coast Guard and
Illinois Sanitary Water Board officials to discuss the events of the
July flood and the need for preventing a recurrence of oil discharges
as a result of future high water stages of the Mississippi River.
The Water Board recently informed FWPCA that they have asked Shell
Oil Company, American Oil Company, Clark Oil and Refining Company
and National Marine Service to provide 100-year flood level protec-
tion by April 1, 1970.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
National Water Quality Laboratory
Nearly all preparations are completed for introducing the toxicant
into the natural stream at Cincinnati. The fish collecting screens
are in place, and functioning better than expected. Many additional
tests of toxcity and persistence of copper in the stream water have
been completed in preparation for the actual introduction. The
cause of the greatly different toxicity of copper in the stream
water at various times has not yet been identified, but we believe
that careful planning and control will permit us to introduce copper
at this time.
The completion of several tests of the effect of temperature on the
reproductive capacity of two different species of freshwater scuds
show that at constant temperatures of 24 and 2?°C there is little
or no reproduction of these animals. One species was considerably
more temperature sensitive than the other.
Construction of equipment is now completed to begin chronic expo-
sures of minnows to sodium fluoride and a pesticide. Repeated
requests have been received for information about safe levels of
fluorides, and that test has been initiated to provide information
on safe levels. The pesticide work is being initiated in anticipa-
tion of the needs for establishing pesticide standards, which may
be required by the legislation currently in the Congress.
The first tests in which the activity of a fish is measured as
related to exposure to toxicants have indicated promising possi-
bilities for using this tool to detect stress caused by pollutants,
and perhaps monitor industrial waste streams, as well as predict
harmful concentrations without going through the exposures.
Apparatus is now being readied to test in detail the utility of
this approach and demonstrate its usefulness.
Analyses have been completed for a number of parameters in the
blood of catfish exposed to a pollutant for nearly two years.
Careful scrutiny of the data may provide clues as to whether or
not these parameters can be used to predict the effects of an
exposure without actually completing the long-term chronic test.
Some progress has been made during the month in regard to measuring
that part of the metal in water which is biologically active and
exerts a toxic effect. It is becoming clear that for many of the
heavy metals it is highly probable that only a small portion of
the total amount present is actually biologically active, and if
our testing is to be realistic and our standards are to be valid,
we must know which component is exerting an adverse effect and
what level of that component is acceptable to the organisms to
be protected. This question has become very critical in regard
to the effects of taconite tailings on Lake Superior and some of
the techniques developed may be very useful in assessing the
significance of minerals containing heavy metals in Lake Superior
water.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - November 1969
The Laboratory participated in a meeting with the Wisconsin Depart-
ment of Natural Resources regarding the problem of TNT plant wastes
discharged into Lake Superior near Ashland, Wisconsin. Laboratory
results on chemical and toxicological tests performed on the effluent
were presented to the State and the implications of various methods
of disposition were discussed.
At the Bayport field station, the temperatures in the experimental
tanks are now being raised and five species of fish are in the
tanks and doing well at the present. Some of the disease problems
seem to have been resolved, principally by obtaining higher quality
fish to begin with, and by spreading the fish out into more tanks
after they were delivered to the station. There is some hope that
we will be successful with at least four species of fish; largemouth
bass, channel catfish, northern pike, and bluegills.
International Program
Plans are being initiated to resume the central basin dissolved
oxygen depletion study during the summer of 1970. Preliminary
contacts are being made with the Canadian Inland Waters Branch
for a joint study.
Public Information
In response to a request from Washington, a staff member of the Lake
Erie Basin Office traveled to Mantua, Ohio to evaluate and report on
the extent of a recent community project to clean up a portion of
the Cuyahoga River.
Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing September 30, October 31, November 30,
A. Total Positions 21? 218 217
B. Total Personnel on Board 216 214 215
C. Total Personnel Gains 1 1 3
1. New Hires 111
2. Transfers 0 0 2
D. Total Personnel Losses 33 2
1. Resignations 0 1 0
2. Transfers 3 2 2
####
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UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
GREAT LAKES REGION
33 EAST CONGRESS PARKWAY, ROOM 410
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6O6O5
November 14, 1969
MEMORANDUM
TO: SEE BELOW
FROM: H. ¥. Poston, Regional Director
SUBJECT: Monthly Regional Director's Report to the Commissioner
Transmitted herewith is a summary of the Great Lakes
Regional activities for the month of October.
10—
ADDRESSES: Commissioner (2)
Deputy Commissioner (2)
Assistant Commissioners (5) (Administration 9)
Regional Directors (2)
GLR Program and Laboratory Directors (l)
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
PERIOD COVERED: October 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
The Great Lakes Region announced it was taking immediate
steps to remove oil from the wreckage of the abandoned
motor vessel Nordmeer. The Nordmeer has been aground
for two years on a sand bar in Lake Huron, approximately
12 miles northeast of Alpena, Michigan. The vessel went
aground with approximately 48,000 gallons of oil in its
tank. The Detroit District of the Corps of Engineers and
the Ninth Coast Guard District took part in locating the
Nordmeer and in determining the amount of oil present.
L. B. O'Leary, Director of the Lake Huron Basin Office of
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, Grosse lie,
Michigan, was designated as project officer to negotiate
for a contract to remove the oil. This is the first such
action undertaken by the Department of the Interior in the
Great Lakes under the Oil Pollution Act of 1924.
A thirty per cent increase in oil and hazardous chemical
spills has been recorded in the Great Lakes Region, ac-
cording to H. W. Poston. Mr. Poston emphasized that these
are in addition to the daily discharges from the known
pollution sources which are under abatement action. He
reported that "in the first nine months of 1969, 126
spills have been documented by Fv\TPCA's Pollution Sur-
veillance branch. That figure compares with only 94
spills recorded for the entire year of 1968." He said
that increased cooperation between FWPCA, the Coast Guard,
Corps of Engineers and state and local agencies may be one
reason for the increase, but he added there appears to be
a real increase as well. Mr. Poston said the largest
number of traceable oil spills have been industrial dis-
charges, which have accounted for roughly one-third of all
spills, and one-half of the spills that can be pinned down
to a specific cause. Together, the Lake Michigan and Lake
Huron basins accounted for 81 per cent of all the reported
spills. The Lake Huron Basin Office reported 54 spills, or
43 per cent of the total, while the Lake Michigan Basin
Office showed 48 spills or 38 per cent of the total.
II. Individual Program Comments
A. Water Quality Standards
Dr. Don Mount, Director of the National Water Quality
Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota, appeared before the
Joint Atomic Energy Committee of the House and Senate
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
in Washington. The committee was conducting hearings
on the potential for thermal pollution at nuclear
power plants. Dr. Mount detailed considerations that
must be made in establishing temperature standards
for rivers and lakes.
Notice was filed in the Federal Register of October
31, 1969, proposing water quality standards for those
Iowa rivers previously excepted. These include the
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. These standards are
based upon material presented at conferences held in
Davenport, Iowa, on April 8-9, 19&9, and in Council
Bluffs, Iowa, on April 15-16, 1969. The proposed
standards would require secondary treatment which
would achieve a 90% reduction of BOD at all munici-
palities by the end of 1973. Continuous disinfec-
tion would be required of all municipal waste
treatment discharges when discharged into interstate
waters designated for public water supplies. Phenol
limits from other than man-made sources would be set
at one part per billion. Man-made heat sources would
be limited such that discharges shall not raise the
average daily temperature more than 5°F; nor be
harmful to locally occurring fish; nor exceed at
any time a temperature of 90°F. The notice further
states that dilution shall not be considered a
substitute for proper waste treatment at any time.
Interested persons have 90 days to file written
comments or additional data for consideration. The
final notice is to be published in six months.
A detailed status report was submitted to Washington
outlining all remaining'exceptions" from water quality
standards. Suggested procedures for resolving these
exceptions were included along with prospects for
settlements. Also, as part of the effort to remove
exceptions and to propose revisions where suitable,
a review of implementation plans to determine en-
forcement procedures presently used by the states
was compiled and is being sent to them for review.
Informal hearings concerning alleged water quality
standards violations were held October 7-8 in
Cleveland, Ohio, and October 9 in Toledo, Ohio.
The Cleveland hearings involved waste discharges
fromU. S. Steel Corporation, Jones and Laughlin
Steel Company, and Republic Steel Corporation to
the Cuyahoga River and then to Cleveland Harbor.
The Toledo hearings dealt with discharges by the
City of Toledo and Interlake Steel Company to the
Maumee River. The hearings affected some immediately
noticeable results in that U. S. Steel, Jones and
Laughlin Steel, and Interlake Steel agreed to provide
additional pollution abatement, to speed up their
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
program, or to meet their established schedules.
U. S. Steel, through in-plant control cleaned up
one of its discharges. The City of Toledo, which
had been over a year behind its schedule, submitted
its final plans to the State of Ohio which then
approved them. The Director of the Lake Erie Basin
Office visited the Regional Offie e to confer with
the Regional Director regarding follow-up plans to
the recent informal hearings in Cleveland and Toledo.
It was decided to carry out a survey of the Cuyahoga
River to determine precise treatment needs for each
waste discharger. It was also decided that the
entities cited in the informal hearings should some-
how now be directed in order to meet water quality
standards. The form that this direction will take
has not been decided.
B. Comprehensive Planning
The annual report covering the first year's work on
the Section 3(c) Planning Grant-Milwaukee River
Basin planning study was received from Southeastern
Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. The report
was submitted in draft form with a request for review
and suggested revisions before submittal of the formal
annual report. The grant is $50,000/year for two years,
C. Technical Services
Zack Dobbs, chemist at the Lake Ontario Basin Office,
completed the analyses of lake cruise samples for
silica, magnesium and sulfates using the automated
Technicon. The analyses of samples taken from sites
in the Oak Orchard Creek area has been completed.
Particular emphasis is being placed on the phosphate
and nitrogen tests and whether a nutrient build-up
is occurring as the result of agricultural runoff in
this area.
Backlog tributary surveillance samples for the last
six months of the year are currently being analyzed.
The laboratory completed the analysis of two Round
Robin Cyanide Samples in participation with other
laboratories of the Great Lakes Region.
D. Federal Activities
Two Lake Erie Basin Office biologists traveled to
Paulding County, Ohio to observe possible biological
ramifications inthe channeling of the Little Auglaize
River. This is a flood control project of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
An evaluation of the low flow augmentation potential
was made for a considered multiple-purpose reservoir
in Ellicott Creek, New York. The considered im-
provement, referred to as Sandridge Reservoir, is
being studied by the New York State Division of Water
Resources in connection with their study of the Erie-
Niagara basin. Unofficial comments were requested by
the Corps of Engineers who must submit a report by
the end of this year.
Robert Bowden, Howard Zar and other members of the
Technical Activities Branch of the Lake Michigan
Basin Office surveyed Lake Michigan in the vicinity
of the fossil fuel power plant at Waukegan, Illinois;
also at the site of the proposed nuclear power at
Zion, Illinois on October 8 and 9- Water and benthic
samples were taken and temperature soundings were
recorded. Radio-chemistry received nine water samples
for gross beta and alpha determinations from Lake
Michigan in the Zion, Illinois area. Additional water
and bottom sediment samples were taken to send to the
National Field Investigation Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
for gamma scanning and uranium and strontium analysis.
A report on the history of Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration actions to effect abatement of
raw sewage discharges from the Toledo Coast Guard
Station, Toledo, Ohio, was prepared and forwarded to
a Toledo city councilwoman in response to questions
which she raised during the October 9> 1969 Water
Quality Standards Hearings in Toledo.
A telephone request was received from the Corps of
Engineers, North Central Division, for information
pertaining to vessel waste treatment and/or holding
facilities. Information was provided on all types
of units which are presently known to this office,
such that they would be able to evaluate the several
types for possible installation on Corps of Engineers
floating plants.
In reply to a letter of October 16, 1969 from the
District Engineer, Corps of Engineers, St. Louis
District, pertaining to operation and environmental
problems at the Monsanto Pumping Station, the Corps
was informed that FWPCA considers effluent from the
Village of Sauget sewage treatment plant is a pollu-
tant and that exposure to the fumes from this effluent
represents a health hazard. The Corps was also in-
formed that the continuous operation of the pumping
station is a key to the successful operation of the
project.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
E. Enforcement
The summary was issued for the Second Session of
the Calumet Area Enforcement Conference which was
held December 11-12, 1968 and January 29, 1969,
in Chicago. The Conferees required their Technical
Committee, which was established at the December
meeting, to submit a report on the adequacy of
treatment requirements in the conference areas
prior to the next progress meeting. The Conferees
also agreed to submit quarterly progress reports
on each industry for which extensions have been
recommended. In his issuing letter, the Secretary
of Interior included schedules for abating pollu-
tion. He stated, "It is recommended that effective
progress toward abating pollution may be made by...
industries if they meet the remedial schedules
listed "
The Director of the Lake Erie Basin Office met with
the City of Cleveland and together they visited
Research Oil and Refining Company, a notorious oil
polluter of the lower Cuyahoga River. The company
was told by the City that they would be shut down
if they didn't stop dumping oil in the Cuyahoga
River. The company agreed to stop.
The City of Cleveland had constructed a barrier in
an overloaded sewer line to divert excess sewage
and industrial wastes to the Cuyahoga River. After
discussions, the City agreed to remove the barriers
and to take the necessary steps to convey all the
sewage to the sewage plant.
The Lake Superior enforcement conference executive
session was held in Duluth. A large crowd of
approximately 300 people observed the conferees in
their deliberations. Most of FWPCA's proposed
conslusions and recommendations were adopted. One
conclusion said there is presumptive evidence that
taconite tailings are causing pollution of Lake
Superior. The adopted recommendation concerning
Reserve Mining Company requires the company to
undertake further engineering and economic studies
relating to ways and means of reducing discharges
of tailings to Lake Superior. The plan should be
submitted to the conferees in six months. A tech-
nical committee was established to resolve problems
on the proposed water quality criteria.
Minnesota's Attorney General announced formation of
a legal task force for environmental protection.
The srx-member task force consists of two special
assistant attorneys general assigned full-time to
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and
four other members of the Attorney General's staff,
all trial lawyers. The task force will be aided by
ten volunteer lawyers on the Attorney General's
staff. The task force will work closely with the
MPCA and will be charged with bringing court action
against persons, firms and municipalities certified
to it by the MPCA as causing air or water pollution.
F. Cooperative Programs
An evaluation report on Minnesota's FY'70 program
plan was prepared and forwarded to headquarters.
Comments on New York's FY'?0 program plan prepared
by the Lake Ontario Basin Office were received and
forwarded to headquarters and the Northeast Region
for inclusion in their summary evaluation report.
All review comments have been received on the Iowa
FY'70 program plan. Iowa provided the additional
information requested for inclusion in their plan
and copies were provided to the Program Directors
and Lake Michigan Basin for review and comments.
Michigan submitted their final report which details
FY'69 water pollution control expenditures.
A copy of a letter addressed to Mr. A. D. Sidio,
from Mr. Jack Smith, Missouri Water Pollution Board,
was received in this office. This letter stated
that meetings had been held with representatives
of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District,
National Lead Company and Missouri Water Pollution
Board to discuss a program to be submitted to Mr.
Sidio, regarding a proposal for water quality
improvement in the Mississippi River by the National
Lead Company. A copy of this letter was forwarded
to Col. Decker, District Engineer, Corps of Engineers,
St. Louis District for his information, and with the
request that we be informed of any further developments.
We were informed by the Federal Activities Office in
Washington that the Department of Defense had requested
the Bureau of the Budget to delete the proposed waste
treatment facilities project at Fort Sheridan from the
FY 1971 A-81 program, on the basis of Sec. 807 timing
provisions. Washington was informed that we do not
concur with this deletion, and recommended that the
BOB review the request because if these funds are not
made available, this Federal installation will not be
able to comply with the time schedule established by
the Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference, whether they
make the decision to upgrade their existing treatment
facilities or connect to the North Shore sanitary
system. The information provided was considered to
be satisfactory for referral to the BOB.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
G. Construction Grants
The principle theme of the semi-annual Construction
Grants Chiefs meeting held in Washington was the
different type of construction grant program that
can be expected in the future. It will be a much
bigger program in terms of available funds, there
will be more staff needed for the program, new
rules and regulations governing the program will
be unfolded as the months go by, and, all in all,
many changes can be expected to produce a program
that results in cleaning up the nation's streams
as fast as possible. This type of theme was
stressed by the Assistant Secretary and all other
top level headquarters officials connected with
the program.
The Regional Office has recommended disapproval of
a construction grant application from Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. The application requests Federal aid to support
the construction of what we have determined to be a
collection sewer. Inasmuch as this is the entire
application, it has been referred to Commissioner
Dominick for formal disapproval action in $78,900
Federal grant request.
A funded priority and application for the proposed
Callender, Iowa project has been returned to the
state in accordance with the applicant's request.
In reviewing the application, we had requested
confirmation of the applicant's ability to meet the
construction starting deadline and at the council
meeting held to discuss this matter it was decided
that project construction would be deferred. The
Elburn, Illinois possible reimbursement application
was also returned to the state because the community
decided to proceed with the project without any
possibility of future grant. This is the first time
an applicant has requested we discontinue servicing
a possible reimbursement project.
H. Pollution Surveillance
An investigation of the lower Minnesota River to
determine the cause of the low dissolved oxygen was
made in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency. The Agency visited each discharger
on the lower 30 miles of the river while personnel
collected river water samples in an attempt to isolate
the source. The Agency failed to collect samples of
the discharges; however, preliminary results of the
river samples indicate the source to be in the
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
Chaska-Shakopee area. Circumstantial evidence points
the finger at the American Crystal Sugar Company in
Chaska. Strangely enough, the dissolved oxygen began
rising after the first inquiry by the MPCA and is now
near normal levels.
The automatic water quality monitor on the Minnesota
River recorded a significant drop in the dissolved
oxygen content of the river (from 7.0 mg/1 to 3.0
mg/1 in 10 hours). The Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency was notified and is investigating.
An investigation of taste and odor problems in the
Mississippi River below St. Louis has revealed high
carbon chloroform extract and threshold odor.
On October 24 the Lake Erie Basin Office was notified
of a fish kill in Lake Erie at Euclid, Ohio. Investi-
gators estimated over 10,000 fish, mostly Eastern
Gizzardshad, were killed. Samples were taken and
preliminary analysis indicated that cyanides were
present in both the lake water and effluent from storm
overflows. Water samples and dead fish were sent to
the Duluth lab for more detailed examination. The
state and city were both notified, and investigation
is continuing.
Several sections of the Lake Michigan Basin Office
laboratory branch completed portions of the first
draft of the report on water quality investigations
of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Dubuque,
Iowa. The chemistry and biology sections completed
analysis of selected samples from the Mississippi
River study at Dubuque, Iowa.
Staff members of the Lake Michigan Basin Office in-
vestigated a spill in the north branch of the Chicago
River of 1,000 gallons of transmission oil from a CTA
garage. This spill was contained and cleaned up.
I. Research and Development
A visit was made to the South St. Paul Sewage Treatment
Works to discuss the future scheduling of the research
and demonstration grant. Polymer testing will be con-
ducted on the industrial flowage of Swift and Company
until they cease operations on November 25, 1969.
Following this, testing will continue on domestic
sewage until January 1, 1970, at which time all plant
scale testing will be discontinued. Discussions are
scheduled with the city and the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency to reach a common understanding so that
delays in construction of adequate treatment facilities
at South St. Paul will not be delayed.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
J. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
As a result of a fish kill on the St. Louis River
that occurred the last week in August, staff members
became involved in bacteriological analyses on the
St. Louis River, and have followed up the situation
resulting from low flow and the discharge of raw
wastes into that river. They have gathered valuable
information on the growth rates and persistence of
pathogenic bacteria in the St. Louis River in re-
lation to suitability as a body-contact recreational
area. Rather high counts of several important
pathogenic bacteria have been found in the river,
and concurrent use for swimming by the children in
West Duluth was observed at the time these counts
occurred. We anticipate that this will provide "a
realistic outdoor laboratory" in which to evaluate
water quality criteria for recreational usage.
A method of measuring breathing rates of small
aquatic organisms, including fish, has been developed
and is arranged in such a way that there are no wires
or electrodes attached to the experimental animals.
This method may provide a very sensitive tool for
assessing stress resulting from exposure to toxic
materials after only short periods of time, and
could also be very valuable for monitoring changes
in industrial waste effluents. Literature has been
reviewed on the toxicity of over 100 substances to
bluegills in preparation for evaluating the spectrum
of toxic materials for which such a measure might be
useful.
The analyses of core samples taken from the western
end of Lake Superior for taconite tailings have been
completed, and the results were reported to the re-
convened session of the Lake Superior Enforcement
Conference. The conferees accepted our conclusion
that taconite tailings do occur in Wisconsin. Bio-
assay tests in which Daphnia and trout eggs are
being exposed to tailings are in progress in an
attempt to determine at what concentration of sus-
pended tailings an adverse effect occurs. Daphnia
tests have been completed at prevailing lake
temperatures, and egg tests are now under way.
Apparatus has been assembled and testing is about to
begin to determine the need for a winter chill period
for initiation of yellow perch reproduction. This
aspect of the required annual thermal regime in a
body of water is very important to our standard-setting
process. We need to know if a chill period is needed
and what magnitude of difference is required between
summer and winter temperatures in order to initiate
reproduction.
-------
10
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - October 1969
III. Administrative Services
The Twin Cities Naval Air Station has been directed
by the Department of Defense to close by July 1, 1970.
Details of the closing have not been finalized by the
Navy. No information is available as to the final
disposition of the property. Mr. Bryson, Director
of the Upper Mississippi River-Lake Superior Basin
Office has discussed with the Base Commander the
status of FWPCA facilities with respect to the
closing. Captain Clark has recommended to the
Department of Defense that no action be taken to
vacate FWPCA offices. Should GSA take over the
facilities after the Navy withdraws, a move by FWPCA
now would be inappropriate.
August 31, September 30, October 31,
Personnel Staffing 1969 1969 1969
A. Total Positions 219 217 218
B. Total Personnel on Board 218 216 214
C. Total Personnel Gains 111
1. New Hires 111
2. Transfers 000
D. Total Personnel Losses 233
1. Resignations 00 1
2. Transfers 232
# # #
-------
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
GREAT LAKES REGION
33 EAST CONGRESS PARKWAY, ROOM 410
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6O605
October 9, 1969
MEMORANDUM
TO: SEE BELOW
FROM: H. W. Poston, Regional Director
SUBJECT: Monthly Regional Director's Report to the Commissioner
Transmitted herewith is a summary of the Great Lakes
Regional activities for the month of September.
ADDRESSES: Commissioner (2)
Deputy Commissioner (2)
Assistant Commissioners (5) Administration (9)
Regional Directors (2)
GLR Program and Laboratory Directors (l)
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT _ GREAT LAKES REGION
PERIOD COVERED: September 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. ¥. Poston
I. Regional Activities
Secretary of the Interior Hickel spoke before the Executives' Club
of Chicago on September 19. Secretary Hickel took note of the new
tools in abatement such as the 180 day notices for" polluters in Lake
Erie. He also talked about new mechanisms for financing, and
warned that the government will prosecute those who pollute.
II, Individual Program Comments
A. Water Quality Standards
The Wisconsin Interstate Water Quality Standards Summary
was submitted to Headquarters for formal review.
B. Comprehensive Planning
The Minnesota River Basin report was reviewed at Head-
quarters and returned to the UMR-Lake Superior Basin
Office for minor revisions and final typing. This
report, which was prepared for the Corps of Engineers,
presents results of a study on water supply and water
quality control needs in the Minnesota River for use in
multipurpose water resource planning.
Comments received from work group members on the Water
Quality Appendixes for Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie
were collected and forwarded to Team Captains. Only a
few work group members submitted comments. The first
draft of Sections 1-4 for Lake Ontario Basin was dis-
tributed to work group members for comments.
First draft of Sections 1-4 for Lake Superior Basin was
received and distributed to work group members for com-
ments. This completes the first phase for the prepara-
tion of the Water Quality Appendix for all five of the
lake basins.
C. Technical Services
The two-week survey of the Mississippi River in the
Dubuque area started on September 15, 1969. All labo-
ratory personnel in the Lake Michigan Basin Office were
involved in analyzing samples from the Mississippi
River study.
A status report on a nuclear power plant owned by
Rochester Gas and Electric has been prepared for the
Regional Director. This plant will go into operation
within the next two to three weeks.
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - September 1969
E. Enforcement
A final draft of initial sections of the "Mississippi
River Water Quality Evaluation and Surveillance Report—
St. Louis Area" was received from the Metropolitan St.
Louis Sewer District and is undergoing review. The
complete report is expected in early October.
^
•
&, The Summary of the July 22, 1969 Upper Mississippi River
Evaluation Meeting was issued. The Summary
- out that though extensions of construction schedules
were >^V-.-ijially requested by three dischargers, the Con-
ferees g>x&> °d no extensions.
Following the August reconvening of the Calumet Enforcement
Action, in-plant inspections were made of all industries
which had not yet abated or had just recently abated pollu-
tional discharges. These inspections to 18 industries were
to determine progress in meeting conference requirements.
Slippage from schedules previously submitted by the indus-
tries was found, but assurance was obtained that final
dates would be met.
The Executive Session of the Lake Superior Enforcement
Conference was held in Duluth on September 30-October 1,
1969. The "Summary and Conclusions" and "Recommendations"
were adopted by the Conferees and will be submitted to the
Secretary of the Interior. The Conferees concluded that
there was presumptive evidence in the conference record
to indicate that the discharge from the Reserve Mining
Company endangers the health and welfare of persons in
States other than those in which such discharges originate
and that this pollution is subject to abatement under
provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
The Conferees recommended: that a technical committee be
formed to propose needed upgrading of Lake Superior water
quality standards; that Reserve Mining report within six
months on alternate methods for disposing of their taconite
tailings; that secondary treatment, phosphate removal (80$
removal on a State basis), and disinfection be provided by
all dischargers to Lake Superior or interstate tributary
streams; the establishment of insecticide concentration
limits; and the establishment of other pollution control
programs. The conference will reconvene in approximately
six months to receive required reports and evaluate progress.
On September 3-11, 1969, the Chief, Pollution Surveillance
Branch, inspected industries cited in the Calumet Area
Enforcement Conference, to determine the status of construc-
tion and if the industries would meet the proposed conference
deadline. Mr. Earl Knight, Metropolitan Sanitary District of
Greater Chicago; Mr. Sam Moore, Indiana Stream Pollution
Control Board; and Carl Blomgren, Illinois State Sanitary
Water Board; participated in the inspections in their area
of interest.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - September 1969 4
A cooperative effort between the Minnesota State Depart-
ment of Education and the St. Cloud Vocational School
has led to the formation of a committee including the
above plus the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency,
Mr. M. Robins, Executive Director and Chief Engineer of
the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District, and possibly
Mr. D. Bryson, Director of the UMR-Lake Superior Basin
Office, to develop a two-year course in environmental
technology. The two-year course would include water
pollution, air pollution and solid waste disposal sub-
jects geared for the high school graduate. With respect
to the water pollution courses, this would lead to em-
ployment as treatment plant operators. Tentative plans
call for a pilot course to start in the fall of 1970.
The entire staff of the Lake Erie Basin Office, plus
outside help from Chicago, Cincinnati, Rochester and
Detroit, prepared for informal hearings on the Cuyahoga
and Maumee Rivers. Activities have included outfall,
river, sediment and lake sampling and analysis; bio-
assays; and photography. Trips have been made to Chicago,
Toledo, Columbus and Washington to seek information and
prepare testimony.
A meeting was held September 16 at the Detroit Metro-
politan ¥ater Board Office to discuss progress being
made toward meeting the 1970 date for completion of
facilities. Present at the HE eting were G. J. Remus,
General Manager, and H. E. Werner, Assistant Chief
Engineer of Detroit Metropolitan Water Services, R. W.
Purdy, Executive Secretary, and J. E. Vogt, Chairman,
Michigan Water Resources Commission and L. B. O'Leary,
Director, Lake Huron Basin Office.
F. Cooperative Programs
New York's FY '70 water pollution program plan was received
from the Northeast Region and provided to the Lake Ontario
Basin Office for review and comment.
Clarence C. Oster conducted surveys of flood damaged sani-
tary sewerage facilities in Iowa. Nine cities were investi-
gated for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and approxi-
mately $100,000 was recommended to the OEP as being eligible
for reimbursement monies. Eight cities remain to be surveyed
under the August 14, 1969 Disaster Declaration Date.
G. Construction Grants
A notice of withdrawal of the $46,500 grant offer to the
Village of Cosmos, Minnesota, has been sent to the Mayor.
The withdrawal notice was sent because of the refusal of
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - September 1969
the Village Council to award a project construction
contract following receipt of bids. Several Council
members objected to the project and, thereby, have tied
up further action. Unless the Village can demonstrate
its intent to move forward in the immediate future, the
grant withdrawal will become effective in 30 days.
The State of Michigan has announced detailed guidelines
for implementing the two new MPCA construction grant
offer conditions—namely, (l) the preparation of a
tailor-made STP manual for each project and (2) start-up
training for plant employees. As the Michigan O&M pro-
gram moves forward, the Michigan guidelines will be
watched by FWPCA for compliance with the grant offer
O&M conditions.
A consulting engineers file of over 300 engineers that
have worked on at least one construction grant project
at one time or another, has been surveyed to determine
the number of consultants currently active on ongoing
projects. Our survey has determined that 128 engineers
are currently working on 354 active projects. On future
mass mailouts to consultants on important notices on the
construction grants program, the mailouts will be limited
to active consultants only.
Minnesota has received grant applications for FY 1970
construction grant funds from 55 applicants. The total
estimated construction costs covered by these applica-
tions is $46.6 million. The applicants have requested
$14 million in Federal aid, which is approximately four
times as much aid as is currently available to the State.
A public hearing held in Chicago by the U. S. Department
of Labor to determine compliance with Federally-assisted
construction projects resulted in several stormy and
disruptive demonstrations by construction workers. Those
connected with the hearing have implied that sufficient
evidence of discrimination on Federal projects exists to
terminate some existing construction contracts. The
degree to which the FWPCA Construction Grants Program
will be affected is not yet clear.
The Chicago Sanitary District Board of Trustees has passed
a strong resolution urging Congress to appropriate the
full billion dollar construction grant authorization for
this fiscal year. In the meantime, Vinton Bacon, the
General Superintendent of the Sanitary District, has
sharply criticized, in the press, the lack of adequate
construction grant financing.
There is some fear that the State of Michigan will be
unable to sell the first segment of its $335 million State
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - September 1969
grant matching bond issue. Bonds went on sale October 7
at a 6 percent maximum interest rate. In the event the
bonds are not sold, permission will be sought from the
State legislature to boost the allowable interest rate
above the statutory 6 percent ceiling.
The Wisconsin water pollution control agency has issued
a policy statement designed to discourage the proliferation
of small sewage treatment plants in urban areas. The
statement recommends the use of larger urban facilities
as opposed to the continued construction of a number of
small inefficient treatment plants.
H. Pollution Surveillance
The Lake Ontario Basin Office has received from the New-
York State Health Department their 1969 coliform data for
beaches in the Rochester area. This data 'indicates that
the water quality at Ontario and Durand Eastman Beaches
has improved.
Mr. Richardson of the Lake Huron Basin Office acted as
technical advisor on an inspection of the M/V Nordmeer
at Alpena, Michigan. Divers inspected the oil tanks under
contract with the Corps of Engineers to obtain an estimate
of the amount of oil remaining in the vessel. The Coast
Guard also took part in the investigation.
Messrs. O'Leary and Richardson, Lake Huron Basin Office,
met in the U. S. Attorney's office with representatives
of the Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard to discuss
methods for expediting oil pollution cases in the Detroit
area.
Due to difficulties with the Coast Guard, the proposed
Mississippi River chemistry work and the loss of a chemist
to Cleveland for several weeks, the fall cruise on Lake
Ontario was called off.
One person was killed and four homes were destroyed at
Warsaw, New York, when a gasoline truck overturned onto an
oncoming car near the bottom of a twisting hill on Route
20A. The spilled gasoline set fire to four houses and
caused the leaching of the asphalt from a newly paved
road. It also caused explosions in the sewers and popping
of manhole covers. The sewage treatment plant had to be
shut down and resultant bypassing of wastewater resulted in
fish kills on Oatka Creek. Considerable foam was used to
prevent additional explosions. The asphalt which leached
from the pavement, adhered to the creek banks in the
vicinity of the community's outfall. Water intakes 10
and 20 miles downstream were not, affected.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - September 1969
I. National Water Quality Laboratory - Du.lu.th
Data on taconite tailings was presented in a technical
report by the National Water Quality Lab at the Lake
Superior Enforcement Conference.
The involvement of the laboratory in translating tech-
nical findings and unpublished information into a
usable form for standards setting has continued to
increase and occupy more staff time.
Approximately one man-month was devoted to the prepara-
tion of recommended temperature standards to protect
the aquatic life in Lake Michigan. Existing temperature
records from various points in the Lake were received
from the region and were compiled and reviewed in light
of their significance to the organisms within the Lake.
Time was also devoted to assisting the Ohio Basin Region
with the development of temperature standards for the
Ohio River. Aquatic life in the Ohio River was divided
into four categories—one for cold water, and three for
warm water fish, and based upon the tolerance of the
species. Maximum and mean temperatures for each month,
or in some cases, two-week periods, were recommended.
The Engineering Committee accepted the validity of our
recommendations, but unfortunately, the final decisions
on standards have not yet been reached. We believe that
a landmark of progress was achieved because those involved
recognized that there can not be one or two magic numbers
for temperature which will be all-inclusive and all-
protective.
The laboratory was requested by the Lake Huron Basin
Office to test the toxicity of Dresinate-95 to aquatic
life forms. This material was suspected as being the
cause of a fish kill in the Detroit area. It had a
surprisingly high bactericidal effect, causing reduc-
tions in growth as low as 1 ug/1. The toxicology report
was transmitted to the Lake Huron Basin Office.
A meeting was held during the week of September 15 with
the personnel from the Corvallis Laboratory and the
National Thermal Research Program. We were pleased to
find essentially no overlap between the present programs,
and we feel that under the new agreement the programs
should complement each other significantly.
The contract with Aerojet regarding the development of a
method for determining water quality criteria for recrea-
tional use is under way. It appears to the staff members,
at the present time, that the same old problem will "bug"
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - September 1969
this contract that is troublesome in other areas, and
that is the lack of hard data upon which to base any
mathematical model, or any conclusions.
In the work to find shortcut methods to circumvent
long-term exposures for predicting safe copper con-
centrations, some of the first experiments suggest
that the measurement of breathing rates may provide
a useful tool for predicting sublethal effects for
copper. Blue-gills exposed to a concentration
approximating the 96-hour TL^ value responded very
quickly by changing their breathing rates.
The quarter's work on the experimental stream near
Cincinnati has been a revealing one. ¥e realize even
more the complex problems that affect the validity of
any single standard for a natural waterway. It became
obvious that the toxicity of copper in this water below
the sewage plant varied by a factor of 40, depending on
the stage of stream flow. To date, it has not been
possible to relate the change in toxicity to the volume
of flow, the relative contribution of the sewage treat-
ment plant to the stream, or to turbidity. The present
intent is to begin adding copper to the stream the first
of November with the clear realization that the values
selected may be entirely too low, or too high, under
certain flow conditions. It seems that only by launching
into the exposure, can we really identify the major
problems that must be resolved in this complex situation.
During the quarter, a research team was designated with
the primary responsibility of developing methodology for
investigating fish kills. We were pleased to learn of
the increased emphasis being placed on the investigation
of fish kills by headquarters, and we intend to cooperate
as much as possible with this effort in the future. It is
our intent to include a broad spectrum of investigative
techniques in this activity, including the diagnosis of
disease-caused problems, parasites, toxicants, and envi-
ronmental conditions.
III. Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A. Total Positions
B. Total Personnel on Board
C. Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
D. Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
July 31,
1969
221
219
0
0
0
1
1
0
August 30,
1969
219
218
1
1
0
2
0
2
September 30,
1969
217
216
1
1
0
3
0
3
## #
-------
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
GREAT LAKES REGION
33 EAST CONGRESS PARKWAY, ROOM 410
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6O6O5
MEMORANDUM
September 9, 1969
TO:
SEE BELOW
FROM:
H. ¥. Poston, Regional Director
SUBJECT: Monthly Regional Director's Report to the Commissioner
Transmitted herewith is a summary of the Great Lakes
Region activities for the month of August.
ADDRESSEES: Commissioner (2)
Deputy Commissioner (2)
Assistant Commissioners (5)
Assistant Commissioner Admin. (9)
Regional Directors (2)
GLR Program Directors; Lab Director (l)
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT
PERIOD COVERED: August 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
GREAT LAKES REGION
-------
Regional Director's Report - August 1969
other industries and municipalities, were "waiting in the
wings" with similar requests using the same approach of
river quality.
B. Comprehensive Planning
First drafts of the Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake
Erie portions of the Appendix 7, Great Lakes Basin Frame-
work Study were distributed to members of the Water Quality
Work Group.
Revised draft of the FWPCA portion of the Oakley Reservoir
report was transmitted to Washington.
C. Technical Services
With the assistance of the G-reat Lakes Division, Canada
Center for Inland Waters, a 35-foot core of central Lake
Erie bottom sediment was obtained. A detailed chemical
and biological analysis is to be done in an attempt to
determine more exactly the natural (and artificial) rate
of eutrophication.
D. Federal Activities
Russel Voegtlen and Walter Grantz of the Toledo Port Authority
visited the Lake Erie Basin Office to discuss their plans for
providing diked areas to deposit Maumee River dredgings. The
Port Authority will provide diked enclosures, at no cost to
the Corps of Engineers, for many years to come.
FWPCA's Contracts Compliance Officer participated in several
meetings with a number of other federal agencies involved in
administering federally-assisted construction programs. The
purpose of the meetings was to explore the federal government's
role and position in relation to the current Chicago dispute
between the construction building trades and the black
Coalition for United Community Action. One of the prime
purposes of the black coalition is to insure equal employment
opportunity in the building trades for all regardless of race,
color or creed.
E. Construction Grants
Messrs. O'Leary, McDonald, Gayer, and Potter, of FWPCA, Great
Lakes Region, met with Michigan Bureau of Water Management and
Michigan Department of Public Health staff members in Lansing
to review the state's training and instruction programs for
the personnel who will be operating newly constructed treat-
ment plants. This is in line with intensive FWPCA efforts to
improve and upgrade the operation and maintenance of facilities
constructed with federal grant assistance.
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Regional Director's Report - August 1969
The Chicago Sanitary District has said that plans and
specifications will be completed by the end of 1969 on 48
sewer and plant construction projects totaling over $127
million. Authority for advertising the initial 8 projects
(all of which involve contracts over $1 million) has been
sought from the District's Board of Trustees. In commenting
upon the list of projects, MPCA. urged the consolidation of
as many related contracts as possible into one application
as opposed to a profusion of separate related grant appli-
cations .
The 1-year needs list from Michigan has been received and
reveals that Michigan will consider for certification 68
projects for priority this year. The total construction
cost of the projects is $135 million. Inasmuch as any
Michigan project certified this year will receive a com-
bined federal-state grant of 55 per cent, the total grant
outlay for these 68 projects would be $74-5 million.
However, it is understood that Michigan will certify only
53 projects because one of the conditions of certification
is that the project must be placed under construction by
December 31 > 1969. Fifteen of the 68 projects have
apparently been unable to assure that such a construction
date can be met. It is expected that certified projects
will start being sent to FWPCA momentarily.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District began full
operation of their secondary plant. However, they were
required to curtail the plant operation because of the
excessive drain on the power supply in the Twin Cities
area, caused by running of air conditioners because of
the continuing hot weather.
A request from headquarters for a survey on the number of
active projects for which industrial wastes comprise at
least 75 per cent of the total waste volume has revealed
that there are only five active construction grant projects
in the Great Lakes Region. The overall total project load
is approximately 300.
The Chicago Sanitary District has inquired on the possible
eligibility of trucks, barges, or pipeline to haul sludge
from its Chicago plants to sludge disposal sites near
Ottawa, Illinois, which is approximately 50-60 miles away.
This is the land reclamation project whereby MSD hopes to
ultimately solve its gigantic sludge disposal problem.
FWPCA has not yet ruled on the eligibility question.
During the course of a final inspection at one of the
Milwaukee sewage treatment plants, it was learned that
Milwaukee is currently achieving a 95 per cent reduction
in total phosphorus removal in a pilot project at the Jones
Island sewage treatment plant. The high phosphate removal
rate is being achieved by the addition of waste pickle
-------
Regional Director's Report - August 1969 4
liquor received free of charge from a local steel company.
If the pilot project continues to prove out, Milwaukee is
considering the possibility of applying the pickle liquor
to the total 200 mg/d Jones Island plant to achieve 95
per cent phosphorus reduction on a total plant basis. This
could be a major breakthrough in controlling nutrients in
Lake Michigan.
Following receipt of a grant application for mechanical
and electrical improvements at Milwaukee's Jones Island
treatment plant, the State of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee
Sewerage Commission have once again been advised by us
that it will not be possible to approve grant applications
(whether for immediate funding or as possible reimbursements)
at the Jones Island plant. The reason for FWPCA hold up on
such applications is the fact that Milwaukee is in default
in complying with the installation of chlorination facilities
at the Jones Island plant. Such facilities were supposed to
be installed and operating by last May, but to date the plans
and specifications and necessary funding has not been developed
for these facilities.
A visit to the Sauget, Illinois, WPC-I11.-264, waste treatment
works project by the Deputy Chief revealed a problem typical
of that area on the Mississippi River across from St. Louis.
Almost every project financed by FWPCA in this highly indus-
trialized area is experiencing severe operating problems and
Sauget is no exception. The entire Sauget grant will be
withheld until such time as it can be demonstrated that an
operable treatment facility exists in Sauget. This particular
plant is one of the largest and most highly industrialized
treatment plants ever financed by this Region.
F. Pollution Surveillance
Observation runs on the Detroit, Rouge, and Raisin Rivers
were completed. The Detroit River appeared to be in good
condition. Outfall observations were normal except for
McLouth Steel and Wyandotte Chemicals which were discharging
unusual amounts of suspended solids. Slight traces of oil
were observed on the Raisin and Rouge Rivers.
Martin R. Wahl, Aerial Photography Specialist, was accompanied
by Lake Erie Basin Office's microbiologist on a picture-taking
flight of the area. This included the Cleveland shoreline,
Cuyahoga River industrial area, Kelleys Island, Western Lake
Erie, Maumee Bay, Toledo Harbor, the Detroit-Raisin-Rouge
industrial complex, Sterling State Park and Magee Marsh State
Reservation. Noticeable water pollution sites were photo-
graphed, and when possible, pollution sources were traced.
Also photographed were the dredging dike fills, and the
dramatically visible algal and plankton blooms in the island
areas.
-------
Regional Director's Report - August 1969
A meeting was held with Cleveland water supply personnel
in regard to the poor water quality at the Crown water
intake. Cleveland reported the water quality to be the
worst ever. All water quality data in the vicinity of the
intake and at the filtration plant were reviewed. It is
the Lake Erie Basin Office's belief that the intake line?
is broken and drawing in low quality bottom water.
A citizen who had complained to his Congressman relative
to water and air pollution from a Hooker Chemical Corpora-
tion waste chemical dump was contacted. Observations were
made of the area surrounding the disposal site. For several
years, sealed drums of chemicals have and are being deposited
within sections enclosed by above-ground earth dikes. Odorous
chemicals having the appearance of heavy oil are seeping
through the dikes. Efforts have been made to intercept this
seepage but it is apparently ineffective during heavy rains
or extended wet periods.
The Lake Michigan Basin Office cooperated with the Coast
Guard and the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District in the
investigation of two oil spills. The first was a 1,000
gallon spill alongside the Cargill dock in the Calumet River.
The source of this spill was not determined. The second spill
occurred at Navy Pier and samples from the bilge of the sus-
pected polluter, the Scottish motor vessel "Verdalla," will be
compared with samples taken at the scene of the spill for use
in possible legal action.
G. Research and Develo-pment
The Lake Erie Basin Office compiled a report listing 22 studies
that could be undertaken in connection with the $20,000,000
proposal to demonstrate new methods and techniques, and develop
preliminary plans to control pollution within all or any part
of the watersheds of the Great Lakes.
H. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
A method has been developed to longitudinally section and scan
by x-ray diffraction the cores taken from the bottom of Lake
Superior during the first week of July. At present, approxi-
mately one-half of these cores have been scanned, initially
only for the presence of cummingtonite, and more detailed
analysis will be done subsequently. This first scan will
enable us to plan the second sampling cruise and complete it
before the bad weather and the fall storms begin. All core
samples have been coded and the log has not yet been opened,
so we do not know at the present time what distribution the
cummingtonite has in the Lake.
-------
Regional Director's Report - August 1969
Final plans have been made in conjunction with the Public
Health Service in Cincinnati to evaluate the role of taconite
tailings in the transport of bacteria in Lake Superior, and
also to evaluate the increased survival of pathogenic bacteria
as a result of the cold temperatures in the Lake.
Tests with the toxicity of detergents to important game fish
fry have been terminated, and the northern pike appears to be
one of the more sensitive of the fish tested to detergents,
showing effects on growth at concentrations less than a part
per million. White suckers and smallmouth bass were slightly
more tolerant.
A new research team was formally appointed with the mission
of developing methodology of investigating fish kills. This
has been an on-going activity in addition to other duties
during the past year, and it was decided to devote the full
time of certain people to this important function so that
better success can be expected when fish kills must be
investigated. In conjunction with the activity, the staff
reviewed and commented on two drafts of a proposed "Standard
Methods for the Examination of Fish Kills," a document that
is being prepared by Headquarter's staff.
I. Public Information
WDIO-TV, Channel 10, Duluth, ran the half-hour documentary
on the Lake Superior Taconite Story for the second time on
August 10th at 3 p.m.
Publication of Lake Huron Basin Office's telephone number in
"Action Line," a daily problem-solving column of Detroit's
morning newspaper, resulted in an increase of oil pollution
complaint calls. One such citizen complaint about oil and
grease problems on a stream (drainage ditch) through a golf
course was referred to the Michigan Bureau of Water Management,
and resulted in the discovery of an industrial pollution
problem which is now under investigation by the state agency.
The local NBC-TV (Cleveland) affiliate taped a half-hour public
affairs show featuring the Lake Erie Basin Office Director being
questioned on water pollution by a group of high school students.
-------
Regional Director's Report - August 1969
III. Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A.
B.
C.
D.
Total Positions
Total Personnel on Board
Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
June 30,
1969
222
220
1
0
1
1
0
1
July 31,
1969
221
219
0
0
0
1
1
0
August 30,
1969
219
218
1
1
0
2
0
2
# ##
-------
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
GREAT LAKES REGION
33 EAST CONGRESS PARKWAY, ROOM 410
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6O6O5
MEMORANDUM
August 11, 1969
TO: SEE BELOW
FROM: H. ¥. Poston, Regional Director
SUBJECT: Monthly Regional Director's Report to the Commissioner
Transmitted herewith is a summary of the Great Lakes Region
activities for the month of July.
ADDRESSEES: Commissioner (2)
Deputy Commissioner (2)
Assistant Commissioners (5) Administration (9)
Regional Directors (2)
G-LR Program Directors; Lab Director (l)
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT
COVERED: July 1969 — u^Bcli L3K6S K6&IOI1
— — ^f
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. POSTON
I. Regional Activities
One of the most significant steps to be made by the Construction Grants
Program in recent years was formally announced to all state water pollu-
tion control agencies, some 350 consulting engineers} and representatives
of approximately 300 active projects. The announcement informed all of
these parties that future construction grant offers will look toward a
stepped-up program of project operation and maintenance. The initial
steps in implementing this much needed policy will be the requirement
that each project develop a tailor-made plant operating manual before
the final project closeout and that all plant employees be properly
trained in all plant functions and responsibilities during the initial
plant start-up period. FWPCA will be able to financially participate
in these activities. A visit was made to the region by headquarters
personnel to discuss the possible establishment of a special squad of
operation and maintenance "trouble shooters" in Cincinnati. This squad
would be available upon request to the region for utilization at plants
with particularly severe operating problems. The region endorses this
concept so long as additional resources are made to the region to step
up its own O&M program through the addition of at least one full-time
person.
The National Broadcasting Company has scheduled a one-hour documentary
titled, "Who Killed Lake Erie" for September 12 at 7=30 p.m., EDT.
Assistance in the production of the documentary was given by members
of the Lake Erie, Ontario and Huron Basin Offices.
An inspection of the personnel management program of the Great Lakes
Region got underway the week of July 28, as representatives of the U. S.
Civil Service Commission started a two-week visit. The inspection team
is attempting to evaluate how GLR is managing its human resources,
particularly at the management and supervisory levels. In addition,
special emphasis is being given to reviewing the Equal Employment
Opportunity, Federal Merit Promotion and Incentive Awards programs.
The team is conducting personal interviews with selected employees and
management officials, administering questionnaires to supervisory and
non-supervisory employees, making position classification audits,
studying personnel management practices and making a review of personnel
records, policies and reports.
II. Individual Program Comments
Water Quality Standards
The Wisconsin Water Quality Standards Summary was reviewed by the state
and returned to this office. The state's comments and suggestions are
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 2
being incorporated into the summary,, which will be sent to Washington
for formal review.
Comprehensive Planning
The Lake Huron Basin Planning report was sent to Washington for review
and clearance. It is anticipated that this report will be released
jointly by FWPCA and the State of Michigan.
H. D. Hirt attended the NIPC Technical Advisory Committee meeting for
H. W. Poston. The committee reviewed plans for waste water control in
Du Page County and Cook County and recommended adoption as regional
plans by the Planning Commission.
Technical Services
The aquatic biologist and a field crew are working offshore of the
Brookwood Nuclear Power Plant east of Rochester. Artificial substrates
suspended above the rocky bottom six weeks ago are being pulled and
replaced by similar units. The newly installed substrates will also be
examined in six weeks. Similar surveys next year after the power plant
goes into operation this fall should supply data as to the possible
effect of thermal discharge on bottom dwelling organisms.
A joint effort between the University of Rochester and the Lake Ontario
Basin Office to evaluate the outflow from Irondequoit Bay was undertaken
with the use of the LOBO boat and the University of Rochester's instru-
ments. The University of Rochester is presently doing a detailed study
of Irondequoit Bay relative to temperature, DO, conductivity, chlorides,
sulphates and light penetration.
Beach samples were collected on the Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers in
addition to several beaches on the Lake Ontario shoreline between the
two rivers. A Rochester embayment beach sampling program indicates
that, to this date, the beaches are cleaner than they have been for the
past three years.
Messrs. Townsend and Anderson met with Soil Conservation Service repre-
sentatives at the SCS area office in Batavia to discuss plans and
activities for proposed studies of land runoff in selected areas. A
field reconnaissance was made of three possible sites in the upper
watershed area of Oak Orchard Creek for which SCS is developing work
plans for watershed improvements. One site has been selected for
measurement of runoff quality and volume for subsequent comparison with
land use practices including crop types, fertilizer application, insec-
ticide and herbicide usage, and terrain features. Participation by
NTS Department of Health and the Agriculture Extension Service is
expected.
Nine staff members participated in a preliminary survey of parts of the
central portion of the Mississippi River. The purpose of this survey
is to obtain chemical and hydrological data.
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 3
A 2-day meeting on the analysis of pesticides in the Great Lakes basin
was held in the Lake Michigan Basin Office July 22 and 23- Attendees
represented Federal, state and Canadian water pollution control agencies.
The object of the meeting was to establish an on-going program in the
adoption of uniform methods for pesticide analysis. Standard samples
will be distributed by the Analytical Quality Control Laboratory,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Lake Erie Basin Office Director met with the Coast Guard relative to
unofficial reports that boat time assistance, so well provided by them
up to now, was being suddenly cut off. The Coast Guard made the report
official and offered very little encouragement for any assistance in the
future. This bad news came right in the middle of limnological studies
and at the most crucial time, forcing a drastic change and curtailment
of the program. The Lake Ontario Basin Office offered their boat for
limited studies on Lake Erie.
The second weekly cruise of the summer limnological study of the central
basin of Lake Erie has been completed. Several new systems for measure-
ment of dissolved oxygen, oxygen uptake, productivity, transparency, and
bottom sediment resuspension are being tested and success is apparent.
Core samples on the bottom of Lake Superior were collected from 44
stations in four transects and at four other selected stations. The
purpose of the sampling was to determine the areal distribution of
taconite tailings on the bottom of the lake.
Federal Activities
Lt. Commander Cronk, U. S. Coast Guard, met with Mr. Lubratovich to
discuss waterfront pollution, both present and future trends, with
reference to the Duluth Harbor, the inner harbor, and St. Louis River.
A suggestion was sent to the Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District,
Cleveland, Ohio, to hold a meeting in the Regional Office on August 5,
with representatives of the Coast Guard and FWPCA to discuss matters
of mutual concern regarding pollution abatement at Coast Guard instal-
lations and onboard Coast Guard vessels.
Information was forwarded to the Chief, Federal Activities Branch,
Headquarters, regarding vessel waste pump-out stations in the Great
Lakes. This information included listings for the State of Michigan
and the Province of Ontario, as supplied by the state. Other informa-
tion included pump-out facilities in Chicago Park District Harbors and
for federal vessels located in Lake Michigan. Additional information
is to be forwarded as it becomes available.
A staff member attended a meeting on July 9, called by the Metropolitan
Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, to discuss pollution problems at
the Glenview Naval Air Station. The station, one day before, informed
the Sanitary District that they would not send a representative to the
meeting. Vinton Bacon, upon learning of the station's apparent un-
willingness to effect immediate pollution abatement, issued a statement,
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 4
with members of the press present, accusing the Navy of gross uncoopera-
tion and having a "go-fly-a-kite" attitude. He stated that the District
would call the station to a show-cause hearing. It was later learned
that emergency funds have been made available to perform the necessary
remedial work.
A review was made of an application for permit by the Norfolk and Western
Railway Company to dredge approximately 50,000 cubic yards of material
from its slip and the Huron River Channel and turning basin at Huron,
Ohio. It is proposed to dispose of all dredged material on established
dumping ground in Lake Erie. Analyses of samples indicated that the
bottom sediments are moderately polluted. Because of an emergency
situation which developed in the area due to heavy storms on Lake Erie,
and because of moderate pollutional characteristics of the bottom
sediments, approval was given for a one-time operation only. It was
recommended that the applicant be advised to investigate acceptable
upland property or an enclosed diked area for disposal of future dredged
materials.
A review was made of an application for permit by the Hanna Furnace
Corporation to dredge 60,000 cubic yards of material from the Union
Canal, Buffalo Harbor, and to dispose of the dredged materials on the
established dumping ground in Lake Erie off Lackawanna, New York.
This project is the same as one for which an application was made in
April 1968, and based on results of analyses, objections were made on
the granting of the permit. There is no reason to believe that the
grossly polluted condition of the bottom sediments has improved, and it
was recommended that the permit be denied.
Cooperative Programs
Michigan's Fiscal Year 1970 Water Pollution Control Plan was reviewed.
A program summary evaluation was completed and sent to the Great Lakes
Region. Missing from the plan are various implementation tables which
are to be submitted at a later date.
FWPCA has often emphasized to the Corps of Engineers that serious con-
sideration should be given to greater usage of the headwaters reservoirs
for low flow augmentation, water supply and related purposes for the
Twin Cities metropolitan area. Early this spring, the U. S. Forest
Service requested assistance from the U. S. Army Coastal Engineering
Research Center and the Corps of Engineers in determining the best
solution to bank erosion problems on the headwaters reservoirs of the
Mississippi River. Discussions by Messrs. Bryson and Oster with the
Planning Staff of the St. Paul District Corpa of Engineers about the
same time, lead the Corps to expand their consideration of problems
with the usage of the headwaters reservoirs. Resulting from the above,
Mr. Oster participated in an inspection trip to the headwaters reser-
voirs, followed by a joint meeting between the Corps, U. S. Forest
Service, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Minnesota Conservation
Department and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, to discuss bank
stabilization on the reservoirs and also water level control. The latter
item is the governing factor concerning availability of water for
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 5
downstream uses. The outgrowth of the meeting is the Corps of Engineers
will be doing additional computer studies on the reservoirs, experiment-
ing with different levels and obtaining benefits applicable to each level.
Comments will be solicited from all agencies concerned, regarding new
operating procedures for the reservoirs.
The second progress meeting on the Twin Cities - Upper Mississippi River
Enforcement Conference was held July 22. All dischargers in the confer-
ence area, with the exception of South St. Paul and Mankato, are in
basic compliance with established timetables. Requests for a variance
from the final completion date for constructing and operating treatment
facilities were denied South St. Paul and Mankato. The largest single
discharger in the area, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District,
presented a plan whereby they will meet all conference requirements by
the target date, June 17, 1971. This was a complete reversal of attitude
from last year when the district requested a one-year extension for sub-
mittal of preliminary plans.
All comments on Wisconsin's FT'70 program grant application have been
returned to the Regional Office. Additional information to complete
their application has been requested from the state. However, work
continues on preparing the summary evaluation report. Illinois and
Michigan have submitted their FY'70 program grant applications, and
both have been routed for review and comments. A copy of the Missouri
FY'70 plan was received from the Missouri Basin Region and has been
sent to the Lake Michigan Basin Office for review and comments.
The Iowa CAMPS rural operation training plan has been circulated to all
states in the region. Strong interest has been expressed in this program
and, so far, both Michigan and Illinois have expressed interest in
adopting similar programs. Follow-up meetings are planned with the
states.
The Area Manpower Institutes for Development of Staff (AMIDS) instructor
training course for 20 operator-instructors from 10 central states has
been scheduled for August 18-22, 1969 in the Regional Office.
The "Animal Waste Disposal" conference program has been finalized. The
conference will be held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, on
November 6-7, 1969.
Enforcement
Communities along southeastern Michigan's Huron River have voluntarily
agreed to provide phosphorus reduction treatment ahead of the Bureau, of
Water Management schedule.
The Calumet Area Enforcement Conference was scheduled to reconvene on
August 26, 1969 in the Illinois Room of the LaSalle Hotel. The conferees
will review progress toward cleaning up the Calumet River. Besides the
FWPCA, parties to the conference are the Illinois Sanitary Water Board,
the Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board and the Metropolitan Sanitary
District of Greater Chicago.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 6
Mid-year status of compliance reports were prepared for the St. Louis,
Clinton, Detroit, Menominee, Upper Mississippi River, Lake Erie and Lake
Michigan enforcement areas. Slippage from schedules has occurred in the
Lake Erie, Detroit and Upper Mississippi areas, though substantial
progress is underway.
A revised Lake Superior study plan was submitted to the Commissioner.
This plan outlines the total resource needs to accomplish the program
in terms of scheduling, manpower and costs, and outlines the intent of
each study.
A progress evaluation meeting was held in Minneapolis for the Twin Cities-
Upper Mississippi River area on July 26. Six waste dischargers requested
time extensions. Consideration of any extensions was postponed until
further progress is indicated by the dischargers. The conferees agreed to
reevaluate the requests in early 1970.
Construction Grants
Lake Erie Basin Office personnel attended a meeting held by the Ohio Basin
Region regarding Cleveland's plans for a Cuyahoga Valley sewer, and the relation
of Bedford Heights' upcoming STP construction to those plans. Although
everyone appeared to agree that the trunk and interceptor plan is the best
solution, Bedford Heights appears to be committed to building its own
plant, with or without outside assistance. In attendance were representa-
tives from the Ohio Water Development Authority, Ohio Department of Natural
Resources, Ohio Department of Health, the City of Cleveland, the City of
Bedford Heights, and the Regional Directors of the Ohio Basin and Great
Lakes regions.
The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, which is the regional
planning agency for the Chicago area, is considering recommending dis-
approval of a number of federal construction grant applications now
pending with the Commission. The reason for the disapproval, if it
happens, is that the projects involve only such items as treatment
plant sidewalk repairs, landscaping, and related items, none of which
involve the construction of conventional treatment plant units.
Congressman Dingell of Michigan is conducting a poll of all states to
determine their need for additional construction grant funds. The purpose
of his poll is to present to the Congress information regarding the extent
of the need for grant funds on a state-by-state basis. Responses have
been received by Congressman Dingell from the states of Michigan and
Illinois. Both of these states stress very emphatically the need for full
federal construction grant funding at the earliest possible date. As of
the middle of July, responses have not been received from Wisconsin, Iowa
or Minnesota.
The Solicitor's Office of the Department of the Interior has reviewed the
new Michigan law implementing the state construction grant program. The
law was reviewed for compatibility with the increased grant provisions of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The Solicitor has issued an
opinion stating that the Michigan law is compatible with the FWPC Act.
Of particular significance is the fact that the new Michigan law includes
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 7
a review and approval of the state priority list by the Michigan legisla-
ture before the state can issue priorities. This marks the first time
that a state legislature has become involved in the approval of project
priorities.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District formally announced at the Twin
Cities Enforcement a very ambitious construction program to be completed
by June of 1971. The program involves the expenditure of some $35 million
in total construction funds. It will raise the level of treatment at the
plant to its highest level ever. The program is dependent upon receiving
anticipated federal grant funds.
There is some indication that the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District
may be going forward in the near future on a number of large projects
that will not be covered by construction grant applications, although
federal aid may well be sought later on these projects. Because of the
possible non-eligibility of proceeding in this manner, the Sanitary
District is being notified officially that going forward with either
large or small projects without federal grant applications could end up
jeopardizing ultimate federal participation because of the failure to
meet applicable federal requirements.
Headquarters is currently assessing the possibility of issuing a policy
on the degree of treatment that should be received during construction
on sewage treatment works projects undergoing expansion. It was recom-
mended to headquarters that the construction contractors so program
their work during expansion of existing facilities so as to provide at
least the same degree of treatment during construction as was provided
prior to construction.
Pollution Surveillance
A meeting was held with Mr. Warren Wood, of the U. S. Geological Survey,
to discuss takeover of the water pollution surveillance system stations.
Letters have been sent to the station operators explaining the transfer
of responsibility. Each station will be visited during the first part
of August to introduce the operators to Geological Survey personnel.
A survey of Lake Huron beaches from Port Huron to Saginaw Bay indicated
the following: no plankton blooms were seen; Cladophora growths seem to
be smaller this year than in the past two years; the alewife dieoff
reported near Lookout Point does not extend into Saginaw Bay or lower
Lake Huron.
A diversion of stormwater into Lake Michigan occurred in the Calumet
River as a result of the heavy storms on July 17. From three to five
inches of water fell within a two-hour period over much of the Chicago
area.
Residents along Lake Ontario were plagued by obnoxious odors arising
from a large buildup of rotting Cladophora on the shoreline. Lake
Ontario Basin Office personnel investigating complaints, found the
algae piles to be as much as three feet deep.
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 8
On July 17, regional office personnel accompanied Coast Guard, Army Engi-
neers, and State of Michigan ¥ater Resources Commission representatives
in an inspection of the SS FRANCISCO MORAZON, which has been aground near
South Manitou Island since November I960. The purpose of inspection was
to check the ship for the presence of oil in its tank and if oil were
found to make a study of technical feasibility for removing such oil.
Court proceedings have given the owners of the ship until October 1, 1969
to remove the ship from the site.
On July 18, Mr. Richardson, on his way to attend the Governor's Con-
ference on Thermal Pollution, caught a tank truck driver discharging
approximately 800 gallons of oil onto the shoulder of 1-75 near Clarkston,
Michigan at 5:30 a.m. The Michigan State Police and County Sheriff were
contacted, and the trucker was ticketed for littering. The material was
AE3 oil, used for road surfacing. Some of the oil flowed into a drain and
might have flowed into a small lake nearby; however, the Michigan Depart-
ment of Natural Resources constructed a straw dike to contain the material
and thereafter the oil hardened, thus negating ahy further threat to the
lake.
NationalWater Quality^Laboratory - Duluth
Acute toxicity tests of Dresinate-95 were made for the Lake Huron Basin
Office. More sensitive aquatic life such as trout and Gammarus have a
TLjjj value in the range of 1 to 5 parts per million and more resistant
aquatic life such as certain snails and guppies have TL^ in the 5 to 10
parts per million.
Eggs of white suckers were incubated in various copper concentrations
and the fry survival and growth measured for thirty days. Twelve parts
per billion had no effect on the white suckers and 37 parts per billion
caused a decidedly detrimental effect on growth and survival. These
values would be slightly higher in water with a greater hardness than
that in Lake Superior that is about 44 parts per million (as calcium
carbonate).
Temperature sensitivity tests with eggs and fry confirmed the findings
of 1968 that the maximum acceptable temperature for perch egg incuba-
tion and fry survival is 18° centigrade and for white sucker eggs and
fry is 21° centigrade. Findings from these studies and others indicate
that temperature standards should be scrutinized closely in regard to
the permissible temperatures during the spring months when spawning
occurs. Since this appears to be a very sensitive period, in regard
to elevated temperatures.
Public Information
"Taconite and the Lake" was shown on July 12 at 7:00 p.m., on WDIO-TV.
The documentary was shown as an attempt to bring out the facts presented
at the Lake Superior conference, with emphasis on the actual information
that was given, unclouded by emotionalism.
Robart Bowden escorted Mrs. Goldshaw of the Goldshaw Film Enterprises
and a photographer on a tour of Calumet Harbor, Calumet River, and
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - July 1969 Page 9
the Indiana Harbor Canal. Goldshaw Enterprises is making a film of water
quality trouble spots in the State of Illinois.
Dr. Mount participated in the panel session held at the Holiday Inn in
Duluth by the Manufacturing Chemists Association, and several of the
Duluth Laboratory's technical staff attended as observers. Dr. Mount's
discussion of the Lab's objectives was televised on Channel 6, at ten
o'clock, p.m.
III. Administrative Services
May 31, June 30, July 31,
Personnel Staffing 1969 1969 1%9
A. Total Positions 222 222 221
B. Total Personnel on Board 220 220 219
C. Total Personnel Gains 010
1. New Hires 000
2. Transfers 010
D. Total Personnel Losses 111
1. Resignations 101
2. Transfers 010
# # #
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: June 1969 - - - - Submitted: July 3, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR:
H. W. Poston
I. REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
A two-day meeting for regional program and office directors was held June 20 in
Rochester, New York at the Lake Ontario Basin Office. Theme for the meeting was
"New Approaches to Water Pollution," and concerned a discussion of goals and poli-
cies, problem areas, and administration of the "Clean Water" program.
FWPCA Commissioner David D. Dominick visited the Great Lakes Regional Office June 16.
The Commissioner met with Great Lakes Region program directors for a discussion of
problems, saw a slide presentation of problems in the Great Lakes area, and addressed
all the members of the Chicago office at an afternoon assembly. The Commissioner
wound up his whirlwind tour of the Chicago office with a helicopter tour of the
Calumet area. His guide was H. W. Poston. The Commissioner told the regional per-
sonnel that, "I rely on my regional staffs to pull together with me in a mutual
effort to solve our nation's water pollution problems." Commissioner Dominick
phasized that there would be no major policy changes from his office at the
ent time. He also spoke briefly on the status of personnel ceilings, the
budget, pending legislation and related matters. In response to a question, the
Commissioner stressed that the FWPCA would be represented through the Department
of Interior on the President's new Council on Environmental Quality, which met for
the first time June 20. The following Tuesday, June 17, Commissioner Dominick spoke
at the State Conference of Sanitary Engineers in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also
visited the Lake Ontario Basin Office. On the 18th, Commissioner Dominick visited
the Lake Michigan Basin Office in Chicago.
II. INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM COMMENTS
A. Water Quality Standards
Mr. Risley, accompanied by Dr. Philip Gustafson of the Argonne National Laboratory,
attended a hearing at the Department of Natural Resources at Madison, Wisconsin on
June 6. This hearing was called at the request of the Wisconsin Ecological Society
relative to their concern that the criteria for nuclear power plant discharges are
too lax. At the hearing, a presentation was made by Dr. Dean F. Abrahamson of the
University of Minnesota Medical School. His presentation reviewed the history of
the hearings in Minnesota which led to the recommendation of nuclear power plant
discharge criteria for the State of Minnesota which are far more restrictive than
AEC criteria. The main thrust of the argument was that the power companies agree
that they can operate without difficulty within these recommended criteria. The
Ecological Society requested the State of Wisconsin to consider adopting the
Minnesota criteria.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 2
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held a public information meeting
at Red Wing, Minnesota concerning the discharge permit for non-radioactive
wastes from Northern States Power Company's Prairie Island nuclear generat-
ing plant. The 1.1 million kilowatt plant is currently under construction
and is scheduled to begin operation in 1972. All statements by interested
citizens and groups asked for careful study before granting the permit.
Many requested that a joint federal-state study group be convened to
gather data. The company has stated it will meet the interstate water
quality standards which have a sliding temperature scale on a 5°F rise
over ambient whichever is greater with a maximum temperature of 90°F.
The unresolved question is the definition of the mixing zone.
A review of proposed nuclear power plant, Monticello Unit No. 1, Northern
States Power Company was completed and forwarded to the Regional Office.
A great deal of controversy has resulted from the proposed operation of
this plant. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has set radiological
standards that are more strict than the Atomic Energy Commission. The
AEC has informed the MPCA that the latter has no jurisdiction in setting
such standards. Governor H. LeVander has stated he will back the MPCA
and take the matter to the courts if necessary.
The FT'70 municipal and industrial printouts were received from Washington.
The municipal printouts have been reviewed with regard to program plan
information and the water quality standards information is presently being
checked. The industrial printouts have been partially completed. Entering
of the program plan and water quality standard information is about to
begin. After correction and updating by the Regional Office, the printouts
will be sent to the states for their review.
The Wisconsin Water Quality Standards Summary was given an informal review
by headquarters' staff and returned to this office. If is being forwarded
to the State of Wisconsin for review by the Division of Environmental
Protection.
B. Comprehensive Planning
Representatives of the planning branch attended an organization meeting at
Appleton, Wisconsin sponsored jointly by three local organizations in
Northeastern Wisconsin. Purpose of the meeting was to develop plans for a
cooperative study of water and related land resources in the Fox-Wolf River
basins. It is anticipated that a requested for 3(c) planning grant money
to cover part of the costs of the proposed study will be forthcoming. One
announced purpose of the study is to provide local backup for the ongoing
Great Lakes Basin Framework Study.
C. Technical Services
The analyses of seven predredged water and bottom sediment samples from
Little Sodus and Oswego Harbor were completed for all parameters to
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 3
determine the on-site condition of the lake water and bottom environment
prior to dredging.
Representatives of Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation visited the Lake
Ontario Basin Office to discuss measures they are taking to correct the
problem of oil leaking from their fuel handling facilities to the west
slip of the Oswego Harbor. Although they are completely replacing all
fuel piping and eliminating certain operations, a significant amount of
oil has accumulated in the soil and seeps to the harbor. Measures for
control of this seepage include a floating barrier in the slip and a
series of wells from which accumulations are removed.
A biologist visited the "dried up" bed of the Niagara River just above
Niagara Falls to examine bottom fauna. The Corps of Engineers have a
project underway to evaluate the condition of the rock face of the
falls and the removal of accumulated rock at the base of the falls.
A pesticide monitoring program has been developed for the Lake Huron
Basin Office area, and assistance has been requested from the Lake
Michigan Basin Office for pesticides analyses.
D. Federal Activities
Communication was received from the Ninth Coast Guard District con-
cerning the pollution of the waters of Lake Erie by the Coast Guard
Station and the Coast Guard Cutter TUPELO at Toledo, Ohio. A proposal
was made about a year ago for the Coast Guard to participate in the
cost of an interceptor to be built by the City of Toledo. However,
the Coast Guard has pleaded inability to enter into an agreement with
the City of Toledo due to lack of funds. ¥e have requested the Coast
Guard to investigate interim measures for the solution of pollution
problems at these stations since they are in violation of the Lake
Erie Enforcement Conference requirements and are receiving criticism
from various sources. Several alternatives for interim facilities
were recommended to them.
A review was made of an application for permit by the Detroit Edison
Company to dredge in Lake Erie offshore their property, approximately
eight miles northeast of Monroe, Michigan. It is proposed that
2,000,000 cubic yards be placed on shore and used in the construction
of control dikes. The review revealed that the City of Monroe water
supply intake is located approximately one mile south of the dredging
site, and it was recommended that the water in the vicinity of this
intake should be frequently monitored during the dredging operations,
and that dredging should be stopped whenever turbulent or polluted
waters drift into the intake area. It was also recommended that the
polluted waters should not be discharged to the lake from behind the
proposed diked enclosures. It was finally asked that these
recommendations be made conditions of any permit issued.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 4
E. Enforcement
L. Breimhurst met with R. Andrew and G. Glass of the National Water Quality
Laboratory in Duluth to lay out a sampling program to determine the extent
of taconite tailings deposition on the bottom of Lake Superior. Four
transects will be sampled as follows:
from Grand Marais, Minnesota to Ontonagon, Michigan;
from Silver Bay, Minnesota to Sand Island, Wisconsin;
from Encampment Island, Minnesota to Herbster, Wisconsin; and
from Stony Point, Minnesota to the mouth of the Brule River
in Wisconsin.
The bottom core samples will be taken from each transect equidistant apart
during the first cruise, which will be the week of July 6 aboard the Bureau
of Commercial Fisheries boat the "Siscowet." Two samples will also be
collected off the Duluth water supply intake, one in Minnesota waters and
one in Wisconsin waters. In addition to the bottom core samples a limited
quantity of water samples will be collected at selected sites.
The Lake Erie Enforcement Conference, chaired by Murray Stein, reconvened
on June 27 in Cleveland, Ohio. The conferees discussed municipal and
industrial waste compliance schedules, Lake Erie modeling, boat pollution
regulations, phosphorus control, and agricultural pollution. The following
reports were completed in connection with the conference: l) Industrial
and Municipal Status of Compliance with Abatement Schedules, Lake Erie
Basin, as of January 1, 1969; 2) Summary of Algal and Dissolved Oxygen
Characteristics in the Central Basin of Lake Erie - Summer, 1968; 3) Lake
Erie Bathing Beach and Tributary Bacterial Water Quality - June 1969; and
4) Lake Erie Water Treatment Costs Related to Water Quality.
The Lake Erie states and the federal government presented programs to
remove 80% of the point source phosphorus discharged to the basin's
waterways. Schedules call of phosphorus removal as follows: New York-
1971, Pennsylvania-July 1972, Ohio-1973 (direct to lake) and 1975 (to
tributary stream), Indiana-December 1972, Michigan-June 1977 (Detroit
by 1972) and federal installations-1972. Conferees presented detailed
reports of compliance with design and construction schedules as approved
by the Secretary in the summary of the March 22, 1967 conference. They
noted that appreciable slippage has occurred, but progress is being made.
Trash oil which accumulated on the Cuyahoga River, at the head of the
navigation channel, caught fire and caused an estimated $50,000 damage
to two railroad bridges. A SITREP (Situation Report) was sent to the
Regional Office via TWX. Lake Erie Basin Office staff members are
continuing to investigate the incident.
A special Lake Erie beach sampling program was conducted to obtain current
bacteriological data for the Lake Erie Enforcement Conference on June 27•
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 5
F. Cooperative Programs
A meeting was held with City of Cleveland representatives concerning a
program for sewage treatment plant operator training. The City of
Cleveland has requested federal assistance in order to carry out the
program.
G. Construction Grants
Western Monroe County residents approved a $9-7 million proposed western
extension of the Northwest Quadrant Pure Waters District No. 1. Citizens
in the towns of Sweden, Clarkson,' Hamlin, southern Parma, north Ogden,
and the villages of Brockport, Hilton and Spencerport approved the con-
struction of an interceptor sewer to be laid through southern Parma and
into southern Ogden tying in with the Spencerport treatment plant which
is presently under expansion. Earlier this year, a Hilton-Brockport
interceptor was approved by the County Legislature; both interceptors
will eventually tie into the proposed Town of Greece treatment plant
which will discharge to Lake Ontario.
During a program review session in the Regional Office with the Commis-
sioner of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, he expressed
his concern about the level of construction grant funding. A detailed
report on the status of the construction grants program in the Great Lakes
Region was presented to the Commissioner. Particular reference was made
to the backlog of needs amounting to almost 2,000 projects seeking almost
one-half billion dollars in Federal construction grant funds.
Several days before the scheduled withdrawal of a $197^010 construction
grant to Berrien County, Michigan, county officials visited the office in
an attempt to salvage the grant through an accelerated project schedule.
Pending the development of a step-by-step schedule leading up to placing
the project under early construction, further action on the grant with-
drawal will be withheld.
With the signing by the Governor of the $285 million State of Michigan
construction grant Implementation Act, the State Water Resources Com-
mission has indicated that a number of projects will be certified to
FWPCA for grant consideration in the fairly immediate future. It looks
as if as many as 50 projects may be sent to us for review this summer.
These projects will be eligible for consideration for a combined 55 per
cent state-federal construction grant under the Michigan Implementation
Act.
The Illinois legislature has passed and sent to the Governor a bill
authorizing the Chicago Sanitary District to issue $380 million in
nonreferendum construction bonds. This is the largest bond issue in
the nation to ever be authorized for a municipal entity. According to
the Superintendent of the Sanitary District, the district will now
build in seven years what would have taken 20 years to do under normal
financing. It is estimated that the program will be rolling within a
few months.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 6
Action that had been deferred on seven Milwaukee sewer projects has now
been resumed following the submission of a revised schedule for placing
the Milwaukee South Shore sewage treatment plant in operation by mid 1972.
The schedule was submitted as a result of a meeting last month with
Milwaukee and state representatives. Prior to the meeting and receipt
of the revised schedule, there were indications that Milwaukee might be
developing an undue amount of slippage in completion of the South Shore
secondary treatment plant. The revised schedule eliminates any undue
slippage.
A schedule received from the City of Detroit in connection with its
million construction grant project now being supervised by us under the
possible reimbursement provisions, shows that Detroit will not meet the
November 1970 schedule for placing secondary treatment facilities in
operation. This schedule was originally established under the enforce-
ment conference recommendations for Lake Erie. Acceptance of a revised
schedule, which would see completion of the necessary facilities delayed
by at least 1-1-g years, was presented to the federal-state conferees at
the June 27 reconvened session of the Enforcement Conference. In view
of the magnitude and complexity of Detroit's undertaking, the conferees
raised concern, but did not recommend disapproval of the revised schedule.
According to the Wisconsin Federal Aid Coordinator, action on the imple-
mentation phase of Wisconsin's approved $144 million state grant matching
program has been deferred by the state legislature. Consideration of the
implementation measures needed to get the program going will be resumed
by the legislature as soon as action on other pending matters are resolved.
This could be as late as August or September.
H. Pollution Surveillance
Jim Pappas of the Regional Office and Stanley Whitebloom of the Chicago
Metropolitan Sanitary District accompanied R. Bowden, D. Kee and J. Slovick
on a surprise surveillance inspection tour of Chicago's inland waterways.
Numerous violations were noticed and are being investigated.
The weekend pollution surveillance run by FWPCA officials from the Lake
Michigan Basin Office, the Great Lakes Regional Office and the Metropolitan
Sanitary District led to an unusual event. Pollution control authorities
had noticed a ship moored in a slip off the Sanitary and Ship Canal. The
ship was recognized to be one that was involved in a pollution incident
earlier. When pollution control authorities approached the ship for
closer observation and started photographing it, the ship captain decided
to pull out of the slip and head downbtream in the canal. Later, news-
papers stated the ship and its owner were being hunted by federal and
state agents. It seemed the ship had disappeared from the Chicago area.
An FWPCA official notified the FBI as to ship location at the time of the
surveillance run. That day, the ship was located just a few miles from
where pollution control authorities said they had seen it.
A final assessment of the oil spill that occurred June 16 on the Mississippi
River above Lock and Dam 4 showed that approximately 64,000 gallons of No. 2
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 7
fuel oil spilled from a barge that ran aground on a wing dam. Containment
and cleanup activities were not successful for various reasons. The oil
was completely volatilized by June 19. There was no damage to aquatic life
or wildlife.
Surveys of bottom sediments at Monroe and Bolles Harbors in Lake Erie were
completed. These surveys included not only the normal grab samples which
are analyzed in the laboratory, but several "reconnaissance" samples which
are analyzed just for physical characteristics in the field. In this
manner, a more complete picture of the sediments in a large area can be
obtained.
A two-day field observation and sample collection trip on the St. Marys
River was completed, just prior to dedication ceremonies for the new Poe
Lock at the Soo. Mr. Elly, chemist, provided advice on analytical pro-
cedures to the operators of the surveillance station at the Sault Ste.
Marie, Michigan water treatment plant.
I. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
The contractor for the Lake Superior water intake line at National Water
Quality Lab continues to drill and blast in the lake. There is approxi-
mately 100 feet of drilling remaining at 20 to 30' depths. The pumphouse
excavation is complete and reinforcement for the floor slab is in place.
ADDENDUM
E. Enforcement
Six-month status of compliance reports for all enforcement areas within the
Region are being prepared. Completion of all reports is expected in early
July. Present listings of direct waste dischargers for the major conference
areas include: Lake Michigan 244, Lake Erie 227, Calumet 115, Upper
Mississippi River 55, and Detroit River 3&.
F. Cooperative Programs
Meetings were held regarding operator training with the Metropolitan Sani-
tary District of Greater Chicago; the City of Cleveland; Lorain County
Community College; and the Illinois State Employment Service. Other nego-
tiations for operator training were carried on with Southern Illinois
University (Edwardsville) and the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Wisconsin's FT'70 water pollution control program plan was submitted, and
the Great Lakes Regional review has begun.
South Dakota's FT'70 water pollution control program plan was received from
the Missouri Basin Region. It was reviewed by the Lake Superior Basin
Office and comments were forwarded to the Missouri Basin Region and to
headquarters.
Indiana's FY'70 water pollution control program plan was received from the
Ohio Basin Region and has been forwarded to the Lake Michigan Basin Office
for review.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - June 1969 Page 8
III. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
April 30, May 31, June 30,
Personnel Staffing
A.
B.
C.
D.
Total Positions
Total Personnel on Board
Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
1969
221
221
1
0
1
1
0
1
1969
222
220
0
0
0
1
1
0
1969
222
220
1
0
1
1
0
1
# # #
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT •-••• GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: May 1969 /^ 7"" /O . Submitted: June 11, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.W. Poston
I. Individual Program Comments
A. Water Quality Standards
Mr. Risley of the Lake Michigan Basin Office attended a meeting
at the National Water Quality Laboratory with Dr. Theron 0.
Odlaug, University of Minnesota; Drs. Mount, Weber, Baumgartner;
Dale Bryson, and other National Water Quality Laboratory staff
members to plan a proposal of future studies to be conducted on
Lake Superior to determine the effects of taconite disposal. A
short-term (six months) and a long-term study plan were both
developed. This proposal will be forwarded through the Regional
Director to the Commissioner.
Mr. Breimhurst of the Upper Mississippi River-Lake Superior Basin
Office attended a hearing by the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources on the alleged pollution of the surface waters-in the
Black River basin. There was very little rebuttal to the con-
clusions of the Division of Environmental Protection, Department
of Natural Resources, that local areas of pollution were occurr-
"ing around municipal and industrial waste sources. The transcript
of the hearing will now be reviewed by the State, and orders will
be issued. Approximately 75 people attended the hearing.
FWPCA recommendations regarding the granting of a permit to National
Lead Company were forwarded to the Corps of Engineers. FWPCA. recom-
mended that the company, within 3 years, provide adequate treatment
or connect to a municipal system providing adequate treatment, and
that planning, design, and construction of necessary facilities be
completed on a time schedule satisfactory to FWPCA and the State of
Missouri.
B. Comprehensive Planning
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, serving as consul-
tants to the Ohio Water Development Authority, outlined their
ideas for pollution abatement of the lower Cuyahoga River. Under
the proposed system, a centralized treatment plant would be built
using Southerly STP effluent, to provide processed water to the
three steel mills. The proposed center also would collect waste
water from the mills and clean it before dumping it back into the
river. The estimated cost would be $30 million contrasted to $41
million if each mill were to build its own treatment plant.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 2
Lake Erie Basin Office personnel attended a briefing held by
the Cleveland office of the Federal Aviation Administration
on the study status of proposed jetports in the Cleveland
area. Receiving serious consideration now are two locations
in Lake Erie and one near Ravenna, Ohio. One area in Lake
Erie is 3-4 miles off Avon Point and the other is some 12
miles north-northwest of Cleveland. A lake jetport would be
comparable in size to Pelee Island.
Research results from current laboratory experiments, both
at Duluth and at Newtown, were used to prepare summaries on
temperature, oxygen and pH requirements for use by the Ohio
Basin Region in their discussions with ORSANCO regarding
water quality standards on the Ohio River.
C. Technical Services
A biological study of the Fox River and the Fox Chain 0' Lakes
in Illinois and southern Wisconsin was continued. Eleven
stations have been sampled. Benthic samples are collected at
three points for each cross section of the stream.
Current meter study in Lake Michigan, in the heavy industry
area of Calumet-Indiana Harbor, was undertaken to provide
water current and wind data from a network of eleven inshore,
shallow-water stations. This data is needed for calculating
and predicting movement of pollutants entering the lake.
Preparations, underway since December 1968 included training
of personnel, acquisition and preparation of field equipment,
and negotiating for the services of a suitable boat and crew.
During the week of May 12, the Coast Guard buoy tender Woodbine
and crew was made available to Mr. Holleyman who is in charge
of this study. Technical activities branch personnel supple-
mented by three divers and the crew of the Woodbine, positioned
the eleven stations in the lake where they will be automatically
recording data until early November.
The first week of field work for the summer program to investi-
gate the mechanics of dissolved oxygen depletion in the central
basin of Lake Erie was completed with the assistance of the
U. S. Coast Guard Cutter, Bramble. Dissolved oxygen concentra-
tions as per cent saturation in the surface and hypolimnion
water averaged 117$ and 84%, respectively.
Each station cooperator assigned to the Lake Michigan Basin
Office has been contacted to explain the transfer of Cincinnati's
support effort to the basin office. Supplies have been sent to
some stations and arrangements made for a new pump for the carbon
filter at the Cape Girardeau station. Mr. Kee has scheduled
meetings to discuss network operations with the operators.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 3
Representatives of Bethlehem Steel visited the Upper Mississippi
River-Lake Superior Basin Office to observe the automatic moni-
toring system. They are in the process of installing a system
to measure the quality of the effluent from their plant in
Buffalo, New York. They were impressed with our system and
plan to incorporate much of the design of our system into theirs.
The Lake Ontario Basin Office biologist met with New York State
Conservation Department fishery biologists to discuss plans for
a sampling program at the Niagara Mohawk Nuclear Power Plant
which is to begin operations later this year. A preliminary
reconnaissance was made to determine sampling locations, the
extent and type of samples required, and some artificial sub-
strates were placed. Lake Ontario Basin Office will handle
all the biological analyses except the fishery which will be
the responsibility of the State Ichthyologists.
Mr. Townsend of the Lake Ontario Basin Office met with Mr. Wallace
L. Anderson, State Conservationist, and three members of his staff
at the New York State Office of the U. S. Soil Conservation
Service in Syracuse. This was an exploratory meeting to determine
how to proceed in implementing recommendations in the Lake Ontario
Report relative to pollution from agriculture. Two small water-
sheds currently under consideration for flood prevention and other
improvements, Flint Creek and Oak Orchard Creek, were suggested as
potential areas for monitoring and characterizing land runoff for
evaluating benefits from modifying land management practices.
D. Federal Activities
A copy of our objections (dated May 15, 1968) to a public notice
concerning filling operations at Gordon Park by the City of
Cleveland was forwarded to the City in response to their recent
request. Recent information indicates that the City has continued
to dump refuse at this location in Lake Erie for the past year
without suitable permanent protective dikes as recommended by
this office.
A letter was forwarded to the Commandant, Ninth Naval District,
concerning pollution problems at Glenview Naval Air Station,
Glenview, Illinois. The results of our recent inspection at
the station were reported, and recommendations for immediate
remedial action were made.
The Michigan Water Resources Commission voiced several complaints
about federal installations in its statement presented at the
Lake Superior Enforcement Conference. Principal complaints con-
cerned raw sewage discharges from Coast Guard Light Stations,
operational deficiencies and plant malfunctions, and the federal
government's refusal to submit routine operation reports to
state agencies. Recommendations on how we can solve these
problems are being prepared at the Commissioner's request.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 4
In response to our recommendations, the Esco Dredge and Fill
Corporation, Erie, Pennsylvania, has agreed to deposit polluted
dredged materials on upland property or in a diked area rather
than in Lake Erie, as was originally planned.
A staff member made an inspection of waste disposal practices at
Glenview Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois, in response to
complaints by the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater
Chicago. The visit revealed pollution of the West Fork of the
North Branch, Chicago River from aircraft washing and fire
fighting operations. This problem has persisted for ten years.
A report of our findings will be transmitted to Navy personnel
with recommendations for remedial action.
E. Cooperative Programs
Computer printouts which consolidate several responses in the
program grant application were received. The printouts contain
the extensive water quality standards implementation information,
the intrastate stream industrial facility needs and the five-year
list of municipal construction needs which are part of the states'
water pollution control program plan. They are to be checked by
this office and forwarded to the states for correction, comple-
tion and updating before they become a part of the states' Fiscal
Year 1970 program plan.
Manpower needs under the CAMPS program are now being reviewed for
Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Kentucky. State water
pollution control agencies have been urged to obtain membership
on their state CAMPS committee and Iowa and Minnesota now have
such membership.
The deadline for commitment of funds for the on-the-job training
program for waste treatment operators has been extended until
September 30, 1969- Signed contracts have been executed with
Detroit (40 trainees) and Des Moines (20 trainees) and are in
negotiation with Cleveland (40 trainees), Chicago MSD (20 trainees),
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (20 trainees) and
Lorain County, Ohio (20 trainees). All five states under the
Great Lakes Region training jurisdiction have been notified of
the extension and encouraged to contact the cities which might
use the program.
F. Enforcement
The first session of the Lake Superior Enforcement Conference was
held on May 13-15, 1969 in Duluth, Minnesota. Overflow crowds
were indicative of the large public interest in this conference.
The report "An Appraisal of Water Pollution in the Lake Superior
Basin" was the basis for the FWPCA statement to the conferees.
The conference was chaired by Assistant Secretary Carl L. Klein
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 5
and Commissioner David D. Dominick. Mr. Dominick stated that
after the conferees have reviewed the testimony and supple-
mental materials presented, the conference will be reconvened
to consider the conference summary and conclusions.
Progress Evaluation Meetings have been scheduled for the Lake
Erie and Upper Mississippi River Enforcement Conferences. The
Lake Erie meeting will be held on June 27? 1969 a"t the Sheraton
Cleveland Hotel. The conferees will primarily concern them-
selves with reports from two technical committees, detailed
lists and plans for obtaining an 80 per cent reduction in
phosphorus discharges to the basin; and detailed reports on
the status of obtaining compliance with conference require-
ments and schedules. The Upper Mississippi River Meeting is
scheduled for July 22, 1969 at the Holiday Inn Central in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The conferees will review progress
toward abating pollution within the conference area.
The first draft of a water quality standards summary was
completed and submitted to Headquarters for informal review.
Summaries of the Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota water
quality standards are to be prepared following the Wisconsin
review.
The National Water Quality Laboratory at Duluth has been
requested by the Office of Enforcement and Cooperative Programs
to formulate water temperature criteria for the protection of
aquatic life in Lake Michigan, and work has begun on this
project. Cooperating in the effort, the Lake Michigan Basin
Office has provided the National Water Quality Laboratory with
temperature data collected throughout Lake Michigan.
A staff member attended a meeting on May 26 called by the New
York State Health Department to discuss the May 8-9 oil spill
from the Ashland Oil Refinery into the Niagara River. Others
represented included the Ashland Oil Company, U. S. Army Corps
of Engineers, U. S. Coast Guard, Erie and Niagara County Health
Departments. The Ashland Oil Company reported that human
failure was the primary cause and outlined procedures being
taken to prevent a recurrence.
A meeting with Ohio Water Resources Commission was completed
to discuss the observations of the Michigan Water Resources
Commission and FWPCA of the oil discharge to the St. Clair
River from Sarnia on April k, 1969- Statements on the actual
outfalls involved and the industry responsible were given to
the OWRC for possible legal action.
G. Construction Grants
Procedures are now being developed that will result in the
placing of a sign at each construction grant project announcing
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 6
the fact that FWPCA has contributed a grant to that project.
Although the placing of a sign will not be mandatory at this
time, each applicant will be encouraged to erect such a sign.
The possibility of a state matching program in the State of
Iowa is dead for this session of the legislature. A bill
proposing such a matching program, reached the floor of the
Iowa House but was voted down. Attempts will be made to
revive the bill when the legislature convenes next January.
Gerald Remus, head of the Detroit water and sewer system, has
threatened to resign over a hike in user rates connected with
the financing of Detroit's $100 million expansion of its
sewage treatment works and intercepting sewer system. The
expansion project, WPC-Mich.-138?, is currently being serviced
by FWPCA under the possible reimbursement provisions. A pro-
posal recommendation by the Detroit City Council called for a
boost of 60 per cent in user rates. To prevent the increase,
Remus declared that he not only would resign, but would take
court action if necessary.
A meeting was held in the Regional Office with officials of
the Milwaukee Sewerage Commission and representatives from
the state water pollution control agency to resolve a threatened
delay in expanding Milwaukee's South Shore waste treatment plant.
Such plant expansion to secondary and phosphate removal facilities
is called for by 1972 under the Lake Michigan Enforcement Con-
ference recommendations. Until Milwaukee officials can convince
FWPCA that the 1972 date can be met, payment on seven Milwaukee
projects involving approximately $4 million in Federal grants
will be withheld. As a result of the meeting, it was agreed
that Milwaukee would develop a written step-by-step schedule
calling for placing the necessary facilities in operation by
July 1, 1972.
A compilation of construction grant projects in which industrial
wastes comprise 50 per cent or more of the total waste volume
has been issued by headquarters following submissions by the
individual regions. Out of a total of 8,304 projects surveyed,
some 384 projects or 4.62 per cent were reported to have indus-
trial waste comprising 50 per cent of the total waste volume.
The Great Lakes Region led the nation in the number of projects
in this category with 134 or somewhat over 10 per cent of all
projects surveyed in the Great Lakes Region. The lowest region
to report was the Ohio Basin Region which reported a mere six
projects or less than 1 per cent of the total project load in
the Ohio Basin.
Flood damage surveys were completed on the sanitary sewerage
facilities of North Mankato, Minnesota. Damage occurred to a
lift station, trunk, sewers and manholes. It was determined
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 7
that repair of the damage is eligible for reimbursement under
PL 875. This is the first of an anticipated 20-25 cities in
Minnesota which will need these surveys as a result of the
spring floods. It is anticipated that approximately 6-10
cities in Wisconsin have flood damage to their sewerage fa-
cilities.
The largest grant offer ever made in the State of Illinois—
$2,079,000—was offered to the City of Joliet. The Chicago
Sanitary District has received much more in total Federal
money, but never has received a grant for a single project
as big as the one made to Joliet.
Two important bills cleared the Illinois House Committees.
One bill provides for a $100 million state matching grant
program. Another bill provides for a $380 million non-
referendum bond issue for construction strictly within the
Chicago Sanitary District. Neither bill has yet been acted
upon by the Illinois Senate.
A complaint of actual and potential odors at the North Shore
Sewage Treatment Plant in Lake County, Illinois, has been
voiced to FWPCA, the Lake County State's Attorney, the
Illinois Sanitary Water Board and to various other parties
concerned with the project. This is the Sanitary District
that floated a $35 million bond issue last year to undertake
a multitnillion dollar improvement of its system. The first
phase of the project, WPC-I11.-754, is being administered
by FWPCA under the possible reimbursement provisions. The
odor complaint is being investigated.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District has formally com-
plained to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the
state priority system for sewage treatment works construction
grants. MSSD feels that the priority system is inequitable
in that the Sanitary District is not getting what it considers
its fair share of construction grant funds. The District is
now launching a series of projects designed to improve the
treatment plant over a four-year period. The estimated cost
of the overall improvement program is almost $33 million.
The Sanitary District is very concerned about obtaining the
necessary Federal grant funds to assist in the implementation
of this program.
Over 200 construction grant applications have been received by
the State of Illinois for Federal construction grant funds that
will be available in Fiscal Tear 1970. The priorities for con-
sideration of such funds will be considered by the state agency
shortly. The number of applicants for available funds was
greatly in excess of such funds.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page
H. Pollution Surveillance
An oil spill on May 1, 1969, was reported by the Coast Guard
to the Lake Michigan Basin Office on May 2. This was 20,000
gallons of #6 fuel oil being unloaded at the Youngstown Sheet
and Tube Company. The spill was caused accidentally by a
barge collision with the barge being unloaded at the dock.
Oil on the beaches at Oscoda, Michigan was investigated by the
Lake Huron Basin Office and found to consist of one-to-three
inch globules of heavy black oil mixed with sand, scattered
along the beach for a distance of ten miles. This appeared to
be an oil spill several days old that washed onto the beach as
a result of easterly winds. No source was identified and
damage consists mostly of the nuisance to residents of the area.
Lake Michigan beaches are being sampled at 8 points from Rainbow
Beach at 75th Street in Chicago, to the East Chicago, Indiana
public beach. In addition, the Hammond beach on Wolf Lake will
be sampled. The beaches will be sampled each Tuesday and Thurs-
day during the swimming season. This program is coordinated with
the state beach sampling programs of Illinois and Indiana who
sample too but on different days each week.
A review of oil pollution incidents by the Lake Michigan Basin
Office has revealed that the majority are caused by pipeline
breaks, accidents or carelessness.
Samples from the Barge Canal and Tonawanda Creek in the Buffalo
area were submitted far lab analyses. Five samples from different
mileage points on the Genesee River and eight samples from the
Black-St. Lawrence Rivers, all a part of the surveillance program,
are currently being analyzed for all parameters. Work is also
continuing on the analyses of Lake Cruise samples taken last
August.
The Lake Huron Beach Observation was completed. No serious
problems with alewives or algae were noted. Algal growths
appear to be less profuse this year, possibly because of higher
water levels in the lakes.
Flood damage surveys were conducted on the following Wisconsin
communities: Prescott, Fountain City, Alma, Menomonie and Hudson.
Mr. Oster of the UMR-Lake Superior Basin Office and Mr. Sam Castagna
of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Eau Claire office,
made the Federal-State team to investigate the damages for the
Office of Emergency Preparedness. This completes surveys needed
for Wisconsin cities above La Crosse. Follow-up surveys will be
needed for four Wisconsin communities below La Crosse. Investi-
gations thus far in Wisconsin have shown minimal damage to sani-
tary sewerage facilities. Five cities remain to be inspected in
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969 Page 9
Minnesota. These will be investigated within the next two to
three weeks.
The automatic water quality monitor located on the lower Minne-
sota River has been placed back in service and the system is
once again completely operational. The monitor site was under
14 feet of water for approximately two weeks. Minor site
repairs were necessary before reinstallation. Data collected
during the period of the spring floods at another monitor site
indicated that the physical and chemical quality of the river
downstream of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District was
not significantly lowered as a result of the bypassing of the
District's waste treatment plant. Microbiological data was not
collected during this period.
I. Research and DeveloTment
Research and Development, Great Lakes Region, has granted
Burgess and Niple, Consulting Engineers, an extension to 16
months on contract number 14-12-401, "An Investigation of
Storm and Combined Sewer Pollution at Bucyrus, Ohio." The
contractor requested this extension to allow for an evaluation
of overflows during dry weather flow conditions.
J. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
Substantial effort was devoted this month to preparation of
information for the Lake Superior Enforcement Conference that
began on May 13, 19&9- Many of the experiments designed to
demonstrate biological effects of taconite did not provide
conclusive evidence in either direction. It was found through
neutron activation analyses that both iron and chromium are
taken up by fish exposed to the less than 2 micron particle
size fraction of taconite tailings, during 24-hour exposures.
The same size fraction of taconite at concentrations of only a
few parts per million remarkably promoted growth of bacteria
at a typical Lake Superior temperature of 4°C. Taconite also
provides a source of food for bacteria when added to distilled
water.
Eggs of rainbow trout, walleye and northern pike are being
exposed for thirty days to various copper concentrations.
This will provide the first information on safe copper con-
centrations for walleyes and northern pike.
The exposures of northern pike eggs to various temperatures
during incubation and hatching have been completed and the
results confirm those obtained in 1968. Eggs hatched success-
fully at temperatures between 6 and 18°C.
The two-year exposure of brown bullheads to copper is now
beginning to provide results as the bullheads have begun to
spawn. Bullheads are known to be very sensitive to copper,
and this will provide the first information on safe concen-
trations of copper for spawning in catfish.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - May 1969
Page 10
Fish are being moved from Duluth to Bayport in preparation
for the next experimental run. All systems are functioning
normally at the field site after the spring flood.
II. Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A. Total Positions
B.
C.
D.
Total Personnel on Board
Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
March 31,
1969
221
221
2
2
0
1
1
0
April 30,
1969
221
221
1
0
1
1
0
1
May 31,
1969
222
220
0
0
0
1
1
0
## #
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT ••••- GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: APRIL ,^969 ,x"7 "~)- ' ' // / J Submitted: May 8, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTORxUV. Poston t
I. Regional Activities
The Multiagency Contingency Plan for Pollutional Pollutional Spills
in the Great Lakes Region has been completed and forwarded to the
Commissioner. Copies of the plan were also forwarded to Regional
Operation Team Members and Basin Office Directors. The plan pro-
vides a basis for coordination and direction of Federal, State,
and local response systems and encourages the development of local
governments and private capabilities to minimize the effects of
spills of oil or other hazardous material.
The checklist to be used for review of maintenance and operation
procedures at Federal installation waste treatment facilities was
completed. This checklist will be submitted to the Regional Program
Coordinators of all regions and to headquarters for their review and
comments. It is now being used on a trial basis in connection with
the site visits in the Great Lakes Region.
II. Individual Programs
Water Quality Standards
1. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency conducted hearings on
requests for variances from established time schedules and
from water quality effluent standards and river standards in
the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Companies or municipali-
ties requesting variances included: Armour and Company,
Swift and Company, St. Paul Union Stock Yards, South St. Paul,
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company - Chemolite Plant,
Northwestern Refining Company, Shakopee, American Crystal
Sugar, St. Peter, Mankato and a proposed mobile home park near
Anoka. Cities and industries requesting extensions of time
include: South St. Paul (l year), Shakopee (18 months),
Northwestern Refining Company (6 months), Mankato (15 months)
and St. Paul Union Stock Yards (l year). A report on the
hearing will be submitted to the Regional Office.
Comprehensive Planning
1. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Council is gathering
information for a preliminary concept plan for a major river
corridor study. In conjunction with this study they are
performing a water use information survey which will con-
solidate and evaluate known information relating to water
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969 2
use, describing the status of data collection and a summary
of conditions, trends and recommendations. The survey will
also provide an evaluation of needed studies to provide
additional basis for development policy. In connection
with this survey staff members of the Metropolitan Council
visited this office to obtain information from our files on
various uses of water such as water supply, waste disposal,
flood control, navigation, hydroelectric, recreation, fish
and wildlife, and climate. Information available on the
above subjects, plus information on our program will be
sent to them in the near future. We will be given an
opportunity to review portions of the report concerning
our input, prior to publication.
2. A final rough draft of the Lake Huron Comprehensive Report
has been sent to the Michigan Water Resources Commission
and Great Lakes Region Office for review and comment.
Technical Services
1. Arrangements have been completed for the use of a Coast
Guard boat to install current meter stations. Installation
of instruments was scheduled to begin April 28.
Federal Activities
1. Harbor sediment surveys were made at Waukegan, Illinois;
Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Two Rivers,
Wisconsin. Each of these harbors are to be dredged by the
Corps of Engineers in the near future. Reports on the
condition of the bottom sediments in all areas of each
harbor that are included in the Corps of Engineers dredging
projects will be prepared.
2. The Illinois Sanitary Water Board was advised by letter of
proposed revisions in chlorination facilities at Chanute
Air Force Base, Illinois. Revisions were recommended by
the North Central Division, Corps of Engineers, and con-
curred in by this office that it would be unnecessary to
install two chlorination facilities, including buildings
when the required chlorination could be effected satis-
factorily with a single installation at a saving of about
$70,000 to the government.
3. An inquiry was received from headquarters regarding a
complaint that had been received in the office of Senator
Hart (Mich.) from a Conservation association regarding
pollution of the Jordan River by Jordan River National
Fish Hatchery. It was reported to headquarters that a
survey had been made in January of this year by the Lake
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969
Michigan Basin Office and a report issued in February 1969-
The recommendations in this report were that another survey
should be made during the period of high waste discharges
during spawning season and that the Bureau of Sport Fisheries
and Wildlife submit a project to install a settling basin or
lagoon to settle out solids. The Lake Michigan Basin Office
has conducted a second survey and analyses are being run, and
a report is expected in about two weeks. The Bureau of Sport
Fisheries and Wildlife also informed this office that a pre-
liminary project proposal has been prepared and that it will
be submitted to this office for review in May 1969- This
project is proposed to be funded in FY 1971.
4. A review was made of an application for permit by the Erie-
Lackawanna Railway Company to dredge approximately 1,500 cu.
yds. of material at its dock in Old River at Cleveland, Ohio
and to dispose of the dredgings in the authorized dumping
ground in Lake Erie. Samples were collected at two points
by the Lake Erie Basin Office, and analyses were conducted
in the usual manner. Results of chemical and biological
analyses revealed gross pollution at one sampling station
and moderate pollution at the other. It was recommended
that the Federal permit not be issued for the proposed
project unless provision is made to deposit dredged materials
in a suitable enclosed area on upland property or in a water
area enclosed by a relatively impermeable dike. The recom-
mendation was forwarded to the Regional Coordinator, Ohio
River-Appalachian Area for transmittal of a departmental
statement to the Corps of Engineers.
5. Information was received from the Corps of Engineers that
the National Lead Company has made an official request for
a two-weeks' extension of time beyond the deadline of April
11, 1969 in order to complete their analyses of the FWPCA
report. This office offered no objection to the requested
extension of time.
6. A review was made of an application for permit by Sinclair
Oil Corporation to construct marine docking facilities in
Grand Traverse Bay near Traverse City, Michigan. No objec-
tion was made to the granting of the permit, but it was
stated that the possibility of spills during loading and
unloading operations which could cause pollution of Grand
Traverse Bay were of concern to us. It was recommended
that the applicant provide assurance regarding precautions
to eliminate any spills, and further that a description in
writing of protective devices be furnished to the Corps of
Engineers, with a copy to this office.
7. H. A. Anderson of the Lake Ontario Basin Office attended
the public meeting for discussion of the report on "Dredging
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969 4
and ¥ater Quality Problems in the Great Lakes" held at
Buffalo, New York on Tuesday, April 29. Of the seven
individuals presenting statements, four definitely
favored discontinuing the deposition of dredgings into
the lake. Joseph J. Dunn, representing the Commissioner
of Public Works of the City of Rochester reported that
they believed the improved municipal waste treatment would
reduce pollution of the sediments dredged in the Rochester
area so as to permit their deposition in the lake. David
DeHaven, representing the Conservation Clubs of Pennsyl-
vania objected to the dike disposal sites proposed at
Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. Stone of the New York State
Conservation Department objected to the proposed dike
disposal sites at Rochester, New York.
Cooperative Programs
1. The Regional Office was represented at the Regional Coordi-
nating CAMPS Committee meeting in Chicago on April 9-10.
The Regional Manpower Development and Training Officer will
be on a subcommittee to review the State of Michigan CAMPS
plan for Fiscal Year 1970.
2. Visits were made to Madison, Wisconsin and Minneapolis,
Minnesota to discuss with State officials the national
on-the job training contract for waste treatment operators
and the CAMPS program. This completes the initial round
of orientation visits to the capitols of Illinois, Michigan,
Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, begun in January.
3. On-the-job training contracts are in progress in Des Moines,
Iowa; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago,
Illinois. Funds must be committed by July 18, 1969 to these
training courses unless FWPCA is successful in obtaining an
extension in time from Labor and HEW.
4. A site visit to the University of Wisconsin was made with a
5-man inspection team. Five FWPCA graduate professional
training programs were examined. Students expressed some
difficulty in getting responses from FWPCA, Washington on
available professional openings.
5. The State of Wisconsin has requested assistance in putting
on a conference on dairy farm animal waste management.
Arrangements for the conference have begun, and a date
will be set pending the availability of speakers. The
Regional Training Officer will be the coordinator of this
conference.
6. A suggested list of six one-day professional level symposia
has been formulated based upon top Regional Office personnel
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969
preferences. These would be held in various Great Lakes
basins where the specific problem is most urgent.
7. The Great Lakes States Governors' Conference on Pesticides
was held in Chicago on April 20. The governors recommended
that the monitoring program developed by the pesticide
committee of the Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference be
immediately and fully implemented, and they requested that
the Federal government provide $200,000 to supplement the
monitoring programs currently underway by the states.
8. A meeting was held on April 20 following the governors'
conference attended by Ray Johnson and Dr. John Carr of
the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and Dr. Mount, Vic
Lambeau and Clifford Risley, FWPCA. The pesticide moni-
toring program was reviewed in light of recent developments.
It was suggested that FWPCA develop an expanded pesticide
program and that the Four-State Pesticide Committee be
reconvened on May 9 to review the proposed program.
9. Dr. Mount of the National Water Quality Laboratory attended
the Governors' Conference in Chicago on Sunday and served
as a resource person to Assistant Secretary Klein. Arrange-
ments have been completed to reconvene the Lake Michigan
Enforcement Conference Pesticide Committee on May 8 in
Chicago to reconsider the recommended program in light of
recent seizures of coho salmon due to pesticide content.
10. Commissioner Dominick spoke at the first annual Monroe
County Pure Waters luncheon held at the Rochester Chamber
of Commerce building. Following the luncheon program he
visited the Basin Office. The staff presented a review
of progress, accomplishments and future activities. A
tour of the facilities concluded his visit.
11. A meeting was held with Cleveland city officials relative
to the construction of Interstate Route 1-90. Cleveland
wants to dispose of the excavations in Lake Erie, by using
them to build up their sand-starved beaches.
12. Copies of correspondence were received from Mr. Howard B.
Schulman to Congressman William E. Minshall, regarding
request for advice on proposed dumping of excavated materials
into the waters of Lake Erie from a high rise apartment
building at Lakewood, Ohio. This request was referred to the
Lake Erie Basin Office in a letter from the Deputy Commissioner
to the Congressman. As a result, a conference was arranged to
be held in Cleveland, Ohio on May 2 to discuss this matter
with Mr. Schulman. Representatives of the Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife,
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969
and the Regional Coordinator will be present at this meeting.
Following the conference, a report will be submitted to
Congressman Minshall.
13. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held a hearing on an
application by Northern States Power Company for a permit to
discharge wastes to the Mississippi River from its new nuclear
generating plant near Monticello, Minnesota. The hearing
lasted two days and approximately 300 people were in attendance.
A very restrictive permit was drafted by Dr. Ernest Tsivoglou,
consultant to the Agency. The limitations contained in the
permit are 98 per cent lower than those established by the
Atomic Energy Commission and the International Council on
Radiation Protection. Statements were made by Minnesota
Congressional Representatives Karth and Eraser of St. Paul,
and Minneapolis, respectively, Mayor Naftalin of Minneapolis,
15 legislative representatives from the Twin Cities area,
the City Council of St. Paul, as well as numerous conservation
groups and private citizens. Without exception all were opposed
to the granting of the permit and requested that the Agency
require the plant to be operated as a completely closed system
with no discharge of radioactivity material to the water or
air environment. By a split 4 to 3 vote, the Agency withheld
action on the permit for a period of one month in order to
permit one of its members to submit a list of 400-500 questions
to the Agency's consultant.
14. Robert M. Buckley of the Lake Huron Basin Office and Mr. George
Groft, PhD, Michigan State Chamber of Commerce, participated
in a panel discussion on the impact of the $335 million Clean
Water Bond Issue at a meeting of the Southern Wayne County
Chamber of Commerce.
15. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held a hearing on the
application by the North Suburban Sanitary Sewer District,
for a permit to discharge treated effluent to the Mississippi
River one mile downstream of the Minneapolis water intake.
The City of Minneapolis and the Metropolitan Council spoke
against the granting of the permit. The Agency continued the
hearing to April 18.
Enforcement
1. The three steel companies on the Cuyahoga River are now dumping
their dredgings within the diked enclosure in the Cleveland
Harbor.
2. Final preparations were made for the Lake Superior Enforcement
Conference. The FWPCA report, "An Appraisal of Water Pollution
in the Lake Superior Basin," was given final review and turned
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969
over to the printer. Plans for the FWPCA presentation at
the conference were completed and a final review scheduled.
Requests have been received from a number of private citi-
zens and conservation and other civic organizations to
participate in the conference.
3. It has been recommended that the Lake Erie and Upper Mississippi
River enforcement conferences meet to consider progress in im-
plementing the recommendations issued by the Secretary.
4. A summary statement on progress at the Lake Michigan Enforcement
Conference was prepared for the Regional Director for presenta-
tion at the Open Lands Project Four-States Conference on Lake
Michigan held in Chicago on April 12.
5. An informal progress report on Federal enforcement actions on
Lake Michigan and the Calumet area was presented to the Chicago
Engineers Club in Chicago on April 16.
6. The Iowa Standards-Setting Conference was convened in Davenport
on April 8-9 and in Council Bluffs on April 1$. The conference
was called with particular reference to treatment requirements
and implementation plans on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers,
temperature requirements on interior streams and disinfection.
In addition to Iowa and Federal agency statements, other States,
municipalities, industries and interest groups appeared as
parties to the conference. The record of the conference has
been forwarded to the conference chairman.
Construction Grants
1. The Minnesota State Senate Civil Administration Committee
unanimously approved the Metropolitan Council's sewer bill,
enhancing the chances for the bill to become law. The bill
creates a seven-member board appointed by the council to run
a regional sewage system in the Twin Cities area. A bill of
this type has never before been voted on in the full Senate.
In the two previous legislative sessions, the House passed a
metropolitan sewer bill, and in all likelihood will pass the
present one.
2. The Michigan House has once again deferred final action on
the $285 million State bond implementation law already passed
by the Senate. It appears that action is imminent by the
House. Such action will result in the certification of 30-40
projects to FWPCA.for obligation of FT 1969 construction grant
funds. No project will be certified unless it is in a state
of "readiness-to-go."
3. The state matching program in Iowa will be considered by the
Iowa legislature within the next few days. Chances of passage
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969
of a $4 million state matching appropriation is considered
highly uncertain at this point. If the bill is not passed
during this session of the legislature, indications are
that it will be one of the first items to be considered at
next year's session of the legislature.
4. Minnesota expects to send sufficient projects to the Regional
Office shortly to encumber all unobligated grant funds. This
action would make Minnesota the first State in our region to
obligate all of this year's construction grant funds.
5. A $49,740 grant offer to Morristown, Minnesota has been
withdrawn because of the community's inability to finance
the project without financing help from FHA. If our agency
had been aware of the need for FHA financing at the time of
making our grant offer on March 3, the grant offer would
not have been made at all by our agency.
6. A freeze on grant offers and grant payments to sewer and
sanitary districts located in the State of Wisconsin has
been imposed until further notice. The purpose of the
freeze is to determine the affect of a recent Wisconsin
Supreme Court decision on the unconstitutionality of
Wisconsin's sewer districts. When this affect is determined,
the freeze will be dropped.
7. There was a flurry of activity, telephone calls and other
communications on the constitutionality of State statutes
for establishing metropolitan sewer districts in the State
of Wisconsin as a result of several inquiries from an
individual living within the Western Racine County Metro-
politan Sewer District. The individual alleges that the
State statutes are unconstitutional and the State agency
advises that the State Supreme Court decision, upon which
the allegation is based, pertains only to the establishment
of a Fond du Lac MSD. Headquarters has advised that process-
ing of grant applications to sewer districts in Wisconsin
should be suspended pending clarification on the constitu-
tionality of the State statutes. A copy of the Supreme Court
decision on the Fond du Lac matter was received and trans-
mitted to headquarters for appropriate review by the
Solicitor's office.
8. The City of Red Wing, Minnesota construction grant application
for waste treatment facilities to serve the S. B. Foot Tanning
Company in Red Wing, the identical project for which an R & D
grant was made previously, was disapproved. The disapproval
was based on the fact that the experimental and nonexperijnental
portions of the project are inseparable and that such insepa-
rable identical facilities cannot simultaneously be financially
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969
supported under both the R & D and Construction Grant Sections
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
9. The Chicago Sanitary District has gone to the State legislature
to seek approval of a $380 million bond issue to abate water
pollution and stop flooding in the Chicago area. If the legis-
lature grants its approval, a voter referendum will not be
required within the district. Unless the Sanitary District
can come up with some additional financing through this or
other techniques, it will be unable to let any more construction
contracts until next September. The final Federal grant funds
available to the District from this year's appropriation—
$211,675—were made to the District.
10. Kenneth Voight has been designated to participate in a Federal
aid panel at a meeting of the Northeastern Wisconsin Planning
Commission. The meeting, scheduled for May 6 in Neenah, will
cover a variety of topics in addition to Federal aid. Attend-
ance in the neighborhood of 200 municipal officials, consulting
engineers and others is expected.
11. A resolution has been received from the City of Duluth, Minnesota
expressing that community's willingness to undertake construction
of secondary treatment facilities, or tertiary if required, to
satisfy the Federal-State water quality standards for Lake
Superior. Up until the receipt of this resolution, there had
been no firm assurance from the City of Duluth that it would
make a commitment to raise the level of its treatment beyond
the existing primary treatment. The action by Duluth consti-
tutes a significant advance in the Lake Superior Basin inasmuch
as Duluth is by far the largest community discharging directly
into Lake Superior.
12. An inquiry was received from Mr. Ray Leary, Chief Engineer and
General Manager of the Milwaukee Sewerage Commission, regarding
Milwaukee's difficulties in complying with a special condition
contained in the last seven construction grant offers made to
Milwaukee. This condition stipulates that no payment will be
made on any of the grants until FWPCA has assessed Milwaukee's
progress toward providing adequate treatment facilities at the
South Shore Waste Water Treatment Plant in accordance with a
schedule that Mr. Leary provided on February 13, 1968, requiring
completion of the facilities in 1971. Milwaukee was advised
that the present 1971 date governs although cognizance would be
taken of subsequent deadlines established by the Lake Michigan
Enforcement Conference. A report on steps to be taken to insure
that Milwaukee is meeting all deadlines has been requested.
13. The State of Wisconsin passed an advisory referendum for a pro-
posed $144 million State construction grant bond issue. The
State legislature must now take action to enact enabling
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969 10
legislation to make the bond issue effective. It is expected
that this action by the legislature will take several months.
Enactment of the bond issue will provide State aid to an
estimated 476 potential sewage treatment works projects and
will result in pre-financing a segment of the Federal grant
share until more Federal funds become available.
14. Last November, the Illinois billion dollar natural resources
bond issue was defeated at the polls. It was expected that
a new bill would be introduced upon convening of the 1969
legislature. Such a bill, Senate Bill 98, has now been
introduced. The bill is similar to the provisions contained
in the defeated billion dollar bond issue. Public hearings
on the bill began on April 14 in Springfield and FWPCA
presentation was made at that time.
Pollution Surveillance
1. An oil emergency occurred in the Detroit River on April 22.
About 96,000 gallons of waste products consisting of oil and
soapy materials were discharged from a Chrysler Corporation
lagoon into the Trenton Channel. The spill was first detected
by Michigan Water Resources Commission personnel who then
notified the Lake Huron Basin Office. Marine Pollution
Control, a private firm, was requested by the Lake Huron
Basin Office to contact Chrysler for authorization for
cleanup. The Coast Guard, Corps of Engineers, and Ontario
Water Resources Commission were notified and joint efforts
were devoted to collecting samples and tracking the material
as it flowed into Lake Erie. Within 24 hours the material
had dispersed into the water leaving no evidence of any oil
slick on the surface. Thus no further threat to wildlife
remained. Coast Guard aerial surveillance of the affected
area in Lake Erie 24 and 48 hours after spill revealed
discolored patches of water within an area of 3 miles below
the Detroit Light, 2 miles southeast of Stony Point, 2-3
miles east of Monroe Harbor extending about 8-10 miles in
an easterly direction into the lake. They reported as of
about noon, April 24, that the discoloration was dissipating
rapidly.
2. The Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in Minnesota crested
during the past week and are slowly receding. In both
basins the river levels were only slightly below the record
level set in 1965. However, damage has been considerably
less than the 1965 level because of preparations made by
the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and municipalities. An
unusual phenomena occurred along the Minnesota River in that
the river crested simultaneously at all points.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969 11
3. The site of the automatic water quality monitor on the Minnesota
River is currently under 14 feet of water. The other two moni-
tors located on the Mississippi River upstream and downstream of
the Twin Cities metropolitan area continue to function and are
transmitting data.
4. The organic chemistry laboratory initiated analysis on pesti-
cide samples from Lake Michigan collected at City of Chicago
water intakes. This activity is part of a coordinated activity
for pesticide surveillance in Lake Michigan in cooperation with
the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. The Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries will collect samples in the spring and in the fall.
5. The Coast Guard patrol observed a discoloration on the Des
Plaines River, in Joliet, Illinois, on April 21 and made an
inspection. The spilled substance was ink from Olin Kraft,
Incorporated. Samples and color photos were obtained. Gary
Harmon, State of Illinois, was notified and he is following up
on the sample results. Olin Kraft has been under violation
orders and may be vigorously prosecuted.
6. An oil spill was reported by the Michigan Water Resources
Commission on the St. Glair River, originating from the Sarnia,
Ontario oil processing area, and extending downstream as far
as the North Channel. Other agencies, including the Ontario
Water Resources Commission, were contacted, and Lake Huron
Basin Office personnel accompanied the Michigan Water Resources
Commission on a helicopter reconnaissance of the area. This is
similar to materials previously spilled from the same area. It
is a light substance, probably consisting mostly of latex, and
does not usually cause damage that would be associated with
heavy petroleum products.
7. An equipment failure occurred Wednesday, April 30, about 4:30
p.m., at the Sherwin-Williams Plant in Cleveland, Ohio. Some
200 gallons of cobalt paint drier were discharged to the
Cuyahoga River. The company took steps to mitigate the spill's
effects. The Lake Erie Basin Office was alerted and the
Director dispatched a program advisor to investigate the
incident.
8. Messrs. Bryson, Breimhurst and Oster visited the Minneapolis-St.
Paul Sanitary District plant to observe the flood preparations
taken by the District. The plant was being placed back in
operation at the time of the visit. The preparations taken
were well planned and it appears that very little actual damage
occurred.
9. An oil spill occurred at Brewerton on Oneida Lake. Presently,
the New York State Department of Health and Conservation have
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969 12
legal actions against one of the companies. The company
has been party to minor spills during the past several
years. Lake Ontario Basin Office personnel investigated
the spill.
10. A Lake Ontario Basin Office staff engineer attended a meeting
called by the Coast Guard on a local contingency plan for
Oswego. A local committee chaired by the civilian defense
chief and composed of the fire chief and two men from industry
with the Coast Guard and State Health Department personnel as
advisory members was formed. The first task of the committee
will be to purchase 1,000 feet of boom. Storage will be in
the Port Authority Building. The City of Oswego and at least
three industries have committed funds toward the purchase.
The cooperative effort resulted from a recent oil spill.
11. The current status of oil accumulation on Buffalo area waters
was investigated. The Black Rock Channel is unusally free of
heavy floating oil slicks. In many previous years a signifi-
cant accumulation of oil has occurred during this period of
the year at this location. The Inner and Outer Buffalo Harbor
was also free of ice and oil. On March 2, high flow in the
Buffalo River was flushing out the existing accumulations of
oil and debris. These were flowing down along the U. S. shore
of the Upper Niagara. The quantity of oil was probably not
great enough to create the serious conditions in the Lower
Niagara which have occurred at times in the past.
Research and Development
1. Twenty-eight Research and Development grant applications were
reviewed. Research and Development was visited by prospective
applicants on eight different occasions during the month.
Approximately twenty application packets were requested by
interested citizens.
2. Drs. Berlie Schmidt and Faz Haghiri of Lake Erie Basin Office
met with two members of the staff to discuss the possibility
of an R & D grant for a project to study control of agricultural
runoff. The project would be based at the Ohio Agricultural
Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio.
National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
1. Blasting operations and removal of rock began in the pump
station area for the raw water intake at the National Water
Quality Laboratory in Duluth. Drilling of the trench was
completed on land to the lake shore and drilling was begun
within the lake area to approximately Station 2+10 South.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT - APRIL 1969 13
2. Mr. Lubratovich of National Water Quality Laboratory, Duluth
traveled to Monticello on April 9 to meet with Mr. Norris
Fitch, Mr. Peterson, and Mr. Bohn, Engineers of Northern
States Power Company to determine the best possible method
of installing pumping units for the hot water supply to the
pond area, and reviewed area of discharge into the east
cooling tower. Mr. Lubratovich will design a method of
placement of pump, location and discharge piping to be
approved by Northern States Power Company.
International Program
The Chief, Technical Activities Branch, attended a public hearing
on New York's proposed rules and regulations for oil and gas well
drilling in Lake Erie. Most participants were opposed to drilling.
A few industrial representatives were for it, particularly Canadian
interests.
Public Information
The Deputy Regional Director was the featured speaker at the regular
monthly meeting of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Sierra Club on
April 2. Officials of the Chapter indicated that they will be re-
orienting their conservation efforts in this area to pay particular
attention to the pollution problems of the Great Lakes. The FWPCA's
program in the Great Lakes, with particular emphasis on Lake Michigan,
was described. The discussion was illustrated with color slides.
III. Administrative Services
February 28, March 31, April 30,
Personnel Staffing 1969 1969 1969
A. Total Positions 223 221 221
B. Total Personnel on Board 220 221 221
C. Total Personnel Gains 3 21
1. New Hires 2 20
2. Transfers 1 0 1
D. Total Personnel Losses 1 1 ]_
1. Resignations 1 10
2. Transfers 001
## # #
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: March 1969 | rv' , Submitted: April 11, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
1. Three staff members of the Lake Huron Basin Office attended a meeting
at the U. S. Geological Survey office in Lansing to discuss'the
possibilities of transferring certain water quality monitoring
functions currently performed by the FWPCA to the USGS.
2. Discussions with the Department of Interior Coordinators have resulted
in somewhat revised procedures for the handling of comments and corre-
spondence to the District Engineers. FWPCA is to act as the coordi-
nating agency for all Interior Bureaus, and, in one case, is to prepare
a departmental letter on the Regional Coordinator's letterhead for
transmittal to the Coordinator for his signature. In the other case,
FWPCA is again to prepare the Departmental letter on the Coordinator's
letterhead, is to sign same letter for the Coordinator and send it
directly to the Corps of Engineers, with a copy to the Coordinator.
3. A request was sent to each of the Basin Offices in the Great Lakes
Region to review and comment on proposed criteria for determining
acceptability of dumping dredged sediments in the open waters of the
Great Lakes. It is hoped that uniform criteria will be established
so that such information submitted by the Basin Offices will contain
analysis of- the same parameters and units used for reporting will be
uniform. It is believed that this will be helpful because of the
several District Offices of Corps of Engineers to whom we report.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
Final preparations began for the Iowa Water Quality Standards
Conference scheduled for April 8, 1969 in Davenport, Iowa. It is
the first conference to be called for the purpose of establishing
water quality standards. The Davenport conference will be concerned
with the Interstate waters of Iowa which drain into the Mississippi
River. A similar conference will be held in Council Bluffs later
in April. The main disagreement between the federal government and
Iowa is over secondary treatment of sewage going into the Mississippi
River. Frank Hall, Director, Enforcement and Cooperative Programs,
Great Lakes Regional Office, will present the FWPCA case.
A meeting was held with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to
resolve the definition of a "trace" as used for certain parameters
in the interstate water quality standards.- They are legally bound
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 2
to utilize the available technology at the time the standards were
proposed, i.e., 196$. The Agency does not plan in the near future
to update the definition to reflect current analytical technology.
A draft of the Lake Superior report for the upcoming enforcement
conference was completed.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency formally adopted intrastate
water quality standards and statewide effluent standards at their
March meeting. The interstate water quality standards were also
officially adopted, however, Findings of Fact, Conclusion, and
Orders of Determination were not completed yet so it will be
necessary for the Agency to re-adopt the standards upon completion
of these items. Mr. Robert Burd, Deputy Assistant Commissioner,
Office of Operations met with the Agency to discuss the interstate
standards.
L. E. Townsend attended the second of four hearings on temperature
criteria being conducted by the New York State Department of Health
for the Water Resources Commission. The Commission has announced
proposed numerical criteria which are intended to define official
State standards that are in general terms. Industries and power
companies have indicated much displeasure with the criteria claim-
ing the limits are excessively conservative and restrictive. The
general opinion is that the criteria, if adopted as proposed, will
be very helpful in effectively administering thermal pollution
control.
2. Comprehensive Planning
Final organization of Federal, state, and local government agencies
was accomplished at a Natural Disaster meeting in Madison, Wisconsin
on March 19, 19&9 f°r coping with the impending Upper Mississippi
River flood. Mr. Viktora attended this meeting as a representative
of FWPCA.
3. Technical Services
L. Breimhurst met in River Falls, Wisconsin with Dr. Milan Wehking,
Project Director for the River Falls Demonstration Project of the
"Channel Aeration Process for Stabilization of Sewage Solids." The
project will demonstrate the use of the channel aeration process
in place of a standard anaerobic digestor for stabilizing solids
from the existing primary and secondary settling tanks at the city's
trickling filter sewage treatment plant. Construction on the project
is scheduled to start April 15 with the evaluation phase to start
July 1$.
Chemists from the Ontario Water Resources Commission and Michigan
Water Resources Commission attended a two-day phenol workshop at
the Lake Huron Basin Office laboratory. Samples from the Detroit
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 3
River were analyzed, with each agency using their own methods and
equipment. Results were compared and differences discussed.
Since the three agencies supply data for International Joint Com-
mission reports, standardization of the methods is necessary for
proper interpretation of data.
Waste oil has appeared in large quantities in several small
streams in the southeast Michigan area. Apparently tank trucks
hauling waste oil are releasing it along highways instead of at
disposal facilities. FWPCA field crews inspected oil spills at
Novi and Pontiac, which were being contained and removed by State
and county agencies, and a large spill on the Clinton River at
Mt. Clemens, which was still under observation. Oil was also
observed on the Rouge River near the Oakwood pumping station.
4. Federal Activities
It was learned that Commonwealth Edison Company had agreed to
conditions previously recommended to limit and control pollution
from Zion, Illinois Nuclear Power plant. It was recommended to
the Corps of Engineers that such conditions be incorporated in
any permit issued to the company.
A request for permit by Esco Dredge and Fill Corporation to dredge
at their docks in Erie Harbor, Pennsylvania and to deposit the
dredged materials in Lake Erie was reviewed after receipt of
analyses of bottom samples. We requested that the Corps of
Engineers not issue a permit for the proposed dumping except for
a small area under consideration which was found to be only
moderately polluted. The majority of the area to be dredged was
found to be highly polluted.
In response to a Headquarters request, a briefing document,
concerning National Lead Company, St. Louis, Missouri, was
prepared and transmitted. This document provided background
information on National Lead's permit application, related
correspondence, waste discharge characteristics, and on water
pollution problems in the St. Louis area.
Word was received from the Iowa State Department of Health that
an oil slick on the Mississippi River had been traced to Savanna
Army Depot. A staff member was immediately sent to the Depot to
investigate. It was learned that a considerable quantity
(approximately 3*000 gallons) of fuel oil had reached a slough
in the Mississippi River some three months ago, after a mal-
function in the Depot's boiler plant fuel system. The oil was
contained in the slough by constructing an earthen dike. The
oil was subsequently burned off. The cause of the recent oil
slick in the Mississippi River is not yet apparent; however,
investigation is continuing.
A review was made of an application for permit by the City of
Rochester, New York to install a steel sewer outfall pipeline
-------
Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 4
in Lake Ontario, extending about 9*600 feet into the Lake.
Samples were collected and analyzed by the Lake Ontario Basin
Office and the results indicated that the pollutional
characteristics of the bottom materials are marginal. On the
basis of this information, we expressed no objection to the
granting of the permit to deposit the excess dredged materials
on the established dumping grounds in Lake Ontario.
A review has been made of an application for permit by the
International Salt Company to dredge approximately 3^000 cubic
yards of material in its slip in the Old Cuyahoga River Channel,
and to place the dredged materials on one of two authorized
dumping grounds in Lake Erie. Samples were collected and
analyzed by the Lake Erie Basin Office, and analysis revealed
that the bottom materials are completely sterile of any aquatic
life higher than bacteria, and chemical analysis showed
pollutional constituents to be in such magnitude that the
sediments are highly polluted. It was recommended that all
dredged material be deposited in a suitable enclosed area on
upland property or in a water area enclosed by relatively
impermeable dikes rather than in the open waters of Lake Erie.
John Egan, president of Chicago's Metropolitan Sanitary District,
set April 1 for a meeting of concerned city, state and federal
agencies, including the FWPCA, to come up with a plan for dealing
with oil spills in the Chicago area. The action followed an oil
spill from Proctor and Gamble. About 5,000 gallons of soybean
oil spilled into the Chicago River during the last week of March.
Jim Pappas of the Great Lakes regional office was named as FWPCA
representative to the meeting.
It was recently reported to this office that the Bureau of Public
Roads interstate highway projects and HUD urban renewal projects
are being constructed in the Toledo, Ohio area without following
requirements of sewer separation or installation of separate
sewers. The two agencies were requested to provide information
regarding their present practices in this area since the Lake
Erie Enforcement Conference recommendations are in effect in
this area.
A review was made of a permit by the U. S. Steel Corporation to
dredge 33000 cubic yards of material at its dock in the Cuyahoga
River, Cleveland, Ohio, and to dispose of the dredgings on the
authorized dumping ground in the open waters of Lake Erie.
Analysis of samples collected at this location indicated the
bottom sediments are grossly polluted, and it was therefore
recommended that the permit not be issued for the proposed
project.
A review was made of an application for permit by the Associated
Estates Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, to place shale and rubble
-------
Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 5
fill in Lake Erie at Lakewoodj Ohio. It was learned that the
materials being dumped into the Lake are unwanted excavated
materials from the construction site, and it was recommended
to the Corps of Engineers that the request for permit be denied,
and that the applicant be required to dispose of these excavated
materials and those already dumped at this location on upland
property.
5. Cooperative Programs
A meeting was held March 21, 1969 at the Morton Arboretum, for
coordinating the efforts of several agencies involved in the
water management and pollution control activities on the Illinois,
Fox River and Chain '0' Lakes. This meeting was sponsored by the
Northern Illinois Water Resource and Conservation Commission and
the Northeast Illinois Natural Resource Service Center. Repre-
sentatives from the Federal government, States of Illinois and
Wisconsin, and several county governments were present and
participated in the program. C. Risley presented the FWPCA
program as it affects the Fox River.
A meeting was held with New York State Department of Health
officials in Albany to discuss implementation of recommendations
in the joint FWPCA-NYSDH report on Lake Ontario. The Regional
Director reiterated our position as to the purpose and applica-
tion of the entire report as it relates to specific sections of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and our overall program
in the basin. Accompanying Mr. Poston were Messrs. Klashman,
Sutton and Townsend. NYSDH has developed a phosphorus control
policy, applicable to plants one MGD and larger, which requires
treatment to effect discharge levels between 0.5 and 1.0 mg/1.
Direct discharges to the Niagara River and Lake Ontario would
be required to achieve the levels by December 1975; indirect
discharges by December 1980. There appears to be no justifiable
rationale for the later target for indirect discharges and our
efforts will be directed towards meeting the proposed levels by
1975.
Dr. Edward Martin, Director, Clean Water Task Force, in his first
public statement outlining Cleveland's plans to abate water
pollution, proposed the creation of an authority for the metro-
politan area in which Cleveland would finance, through revenue
charges, construct and operate facilities to treat with advanced
waste treatment all municipal and industrial wastes in the area
at a cost of $1.5 billion.
6. Enforcement
An affidavit describing the Lake Michigan Basin Office investiga-
tion of an oil spill incident in the Sanitary and Ship Canal last
September was forwarded to the U. S. Coast Guard as requested for
use in possible prosecution of the International Harvester Company
by the U. S. Justice Department.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 7
a grant check of $37,000 was retrieved just in time by having the
Lacon Postmaster return the check to us rather than deliver it to
the Village of Lacon. Further payments will be withheld pending
a complete review of the project.
The Regional FWPCA Manpower Development and Training Officer is
exploring the possibility of entering into a contract for on-the-
job training of sewage treatment plant operators in the Chicago
area. If this materializes, the possibility of having one staff
engineer from Construction Grants participate in the training
will be considered.
Increasing talk about the possibility of a State sewage treatment
grant matching program in Iowa has resulted in a statement of
position by the Iowa Water Pollution Control Agency. At its last
commission meeting, the State refused to either endorse or dis-
approve such a State program. Instead, the State announced its
neutrality.
According to reports from the Michigan Water Pollution Control
Agency, the Michigan Senate is considering a precedent-shattering
amendment to legislation that it is considering for implementing
the State's $285 million sewage treatment works bond issue. If
the amendment is successful, it would require the State legisla-
ture to review and approve all sewage treatment works construction
grant projects before such projects are certified by the State
agency. The final outcome on this matter is expected within the
relatively near future.
For the first time in a number of months, a recommendation has
been sent to headquarters asking for concurrence in the outright
disapproval of a construction grant project. The project in
question is located in Red Wing, Minnesota. The disapproval
recommendation is based upon the fact that the identical project
has received an R&D grant and, therefore, it is not eligible for
a construction grant.
8. Pollution Surveillance
C. Oster and a representative of the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency conducted final flood damage inspection surveys on the sewer-
age systems of the cities of Mankato, Wells and North Mankato.
These inspections were conducted to ascertain whether the flood
connected damages of the August 7, 1968 rains had been corrected.
The inspections were necessary to enable the Office of Emergency
Preparedness to make payments to the cities. The repairs and
cleaning were completed and the projects were approved for payment.
Mr. Oster attended a meeting in Madison, Wisconsin conducted by
the Wisconsin Department of Local Affairs and Development to
discuss the impending river floods. All of Wisconsin's efforts
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page
to date have been of a coordination and advisory nature to the
communities. With this type of preliminary work the involve-
ment of FWPCA in flood damage assessment should be easier as
lines of communication are being established now.
The water quality monitor on the Minnesota River has been dis-
connected and moved to high ground in anticipation of near
record flooding. The monitors on the Mississippi River are
not in danger and will continue to operate and transmit data
during the duration of the expected floods. It is anticipated
that the Minnesota River monitor will be out of service for
approximately one month.
A spill of spent pickle liquor was reported in the Frank and
Poet drain, by a citizen in Gibraltar, Michigan, it came
from the McLouth Steel Corporation. Spills have been reported
from McLouth Steel at this location in the past but this is the
first report in the last two years. The Michigan Water Resources
Commission is investigating.
A detergent spill from an unknown industrial source near or in
Brockport on the Barge Canal caused a billow of foam close to
"100" feet high. County and State officials suspect several
sources and are investigating. The foam was noted at a 30 foot
waterfall west of Brockport just downstream of a discharge from
the partially filled Barge Canal to Sandy Creek.
Messrs. Libby, Fisher, and Kahn made an aerial reconnaissance of
the Fox River (Illinois) from a point below Yorkville, Illinois
to a point near Burlington, Wisconsin on March 18, 1969- Photo-
graphs were taken. No unusual conditions were noted except that
siltation and sludge beds were evident below the larger cities;
and the whole basin is becoming more populous than it was only
a few years ago.
An 8,000 gallon asphalt oil spill reported was contained
and removed from the Mississippi River by the GAF Corporation to
the satisfaction of the FWPCA and the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency. The State agency will be pursuing with the company safe-
guards to install to prevent a future occurrence.
9. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
Preparation of technical summary sheets for the Lake Superior
Enforcement Conference was begun. These are to be used as a basis
for standards on Lake Superior.
Approximately ten research grant proposals were received for tech-
nical review by staff members.
B. R. Jones met with Bureau of Commercial Fisheries workers at Ann
Arbor, Michigan to delineate areas of responsibility on temperature
research and avoid duplication of effort.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 9
On March 26 Dr. Mount met with staff members of the Under Secretary
Train, Commissioner Dominick, and Assistant Commissioner for
Research and Development to discuss the pesticide problem in Lake
Michigan coho salmon and develop an action program for FWPCA.
10. International Program
A report from Canadian conservationists that several thousand Greater
Scaup ducks in the Lower Niagara River were observed to be coated
with oil on Wednesday, February 26 was investigated. The investiga-
tion revealed that the Niagara River has recently been relatively
free of oil. The ducks had left the river by the following day and
apparently were a transient flock that had picked up the coating or
discoloration at some other location. No ducks killed due to an
oil coating were found.
The Michigan Water Resources Commission helicopter crew sighted a
white substance coming from the Canadian side of the Detroit River,
just above the Rouge River Channel and extending downstream in
streaks as far as Wyandotte, Michigan. Canadian authorities
informed us that it was coming from a dump belonging to the City
of Windsor and located adjacent to the Canadian steamship slip.
High water caused by easterly winds on Lake Erie floated much of
the material out into the Detroit River. Windsor and Ontario
Water Resources Commission officials are investigating the problem.
An FWPCA field crew observed oil on the Rouge River coming from the
Oakwood pumping station and other oil of an unknown origin. The
Michigan Water Resources Commission was notified.
11. Public Information
A letter was received from a private citizen, Mr. Rick Riley of
Keokuk, Iowa, complaining about pollution of the Mississippi River
and Sandusky Creek, resulting from depositing trees and garbage on
the ice and waters of the streams. In reply, Mr. Riley was informed
of the responsibility of the FWPCA under the Water Pollution Control
Act, the Clean Water Restoration Act, and the water quality standards
applicable to interstate waters. He was further informed of the
scheduled Standards Setting Conference in Iowa, and extended an
invitation to attend. A copy of our letter was forwarded to the
Iowa Department of Health for their information.
The Lake Michigan Basin Office staff .designed, equipped and
staffed an exhibit at the Chicago Boat, Travel and Outdoors Show
the week of March 21-30 at the International Amphitheatre. It
was an educational exhibit which include a continuous color slide
show, literature, and personal contacts to answer questions about
water pollution control activities.
Frank Corrado, formerly with CBS News, Chicago, joined the Great
Lakes Region as Public Information Director.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 10
III. Administrative Services
William Abbott, Acting Chief, Program Development Branch, Lake Michigan
Basin Office, announced his resignation from government service effec-
tive March 29- Mr. Abbott has accepted a position with S. C. Johnson
and Son (Johnson Wax) in Racine, Wisconsin.
January 31, February 28, March 31,
Personnel Staffing
A.
B.
C.
D.
Total Positions
Total Personnel on Board
Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
1969
224
218
2
1
1
0
0
0
1969
223
220
3
2
1
1
1
0
1969
221
221
2
2
0
1
1
0
###
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: February 1969 Submitted: March 17, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. ¥. Poston
I. Regional Activities
1. Upper Mississippi River Basin Study
The Corps of Engineers, North Central Division, reported in St.
Paul, Minnesota that the Upper Mississippi River Basin Compre-
hensive Study will be completed on schedule during 1969. The
complete phase - one report will be reviewed during early summer
by the governors of the seven states involved in the study.
Evidence presented by federal and state governments will lead
to smaller regional studies to solve problems such as pollution
or inadequate recreational facilities.
2. Oil Pollution - Lake Oil Drilling
Several states are manifesting increased concern with the matter
of offshore drilling for gas or oil in lake beds. According to
a survey conducted by a local newspaper only Michigan of the
four Lake Michigan states would reject requests to drill for gas
or oil in the bed of the Lake. The other states indicate that
there is no rule on the subject because they have never had such
a request. Drilling takes place in Canadian waters of Lake Erie
and Pennsylvania waters have been leased for drilling. It was
reported that Ohio now has no plans to lease Ohio waters for
drilling.
3- Metropolitan and Regional Planning
State and local agencies are showing greater recognition of the
advantages in avoiding piecemeal pollution-control projects.
Considerable attention has been given to this subject by the
Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments and in Lake County,
Illinois' master plan for public works.
II. Industrial Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
A meeting of Water Quality Standards Coordinators was held in
Chicago. A program for the inclusion of water quality standards
compliance in the STORET inventories was presented. The print-
outs for Fiscal Year 1970 will include municipal listings, and
similar industrial printouts are planned for Fiscal Year 1971.
States are expected to cooperate in this program through the
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 2
mechanism of the State Program Grant Application. The format
for the preparation of summaries of the ¥ater Quality Standards
of all the States was presented, and the development of those
summaries will begin in the near future.
Drafting of the Iowa standards conference report was completed.
The report was given regional and headquarters review.
A compilation of water quality criteria for the Lake Superior
states was completed. The report compares Michigan's, Minnesota's
and Wisconsin's respective criteria for the various water uses
assigned to Lake Superior.
2. Comprehensive Planning
Comments on the proposed Lake Huron Basin Report were received
by the Lake Huron Basin Office from the Michigan Water Resources
Commission and are being reviewed for incorporation into the
report. Some of the maps and tables are being revised for further
discussion with the Michigan Water Resources Commission.
3. Technical Services
Two congressional inquiries concerning the Donald C. Cook nuclear
power plant near Bridgman, Michigan were answered by the Lake
Michigan Basin Office. The inquiries were concerned about the
effects of the waste heat generated by the plant and its compliance
with water temperature standards.
Representatives of the Lake Ontario Basin Office attended a meeting
of the Finger Lake Association sponsored by the Rochester Committee
for Scientific Information. Professor David Comey of Cornell
University, Executive Director of the Citizens Committee to Save
Cayuga Lake, discussed the thermal pollution problem which may
develop with the construction of nuclear power plants on the
Finger Lakes.
The Director of the Lake Erie Basin Office met with representatives
of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources concerning the subject
of oil and gas well drilling in Lake Erie.
The Director of Lake Erie Basin Office met with a representative
of the Soil Conservation Service to discuss various programs
pertaining to water pollution control including some of the
pollution problems related to land runoff in the Lake Erie Basin.
Microbiology personnel of the Lake Michigan Basin Office completed
a special report on the Salmonella Survey conducted by the Lake
Ontario Basin Office on the Rochester Sewage Treatment Plant,
Genesee River and selected beaches in the vicinity of Rochester.
Overall, 8? Salmonella strains were isolated representing 21
serotypes .
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 3
4. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The report of an investigation of waste discharges from the
Jordan River National Fish Hatchery, Elmira, Michigan was
forwarded to the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. A
study was conducted at this installation by the Lake Michigan
Basin Office following a complaint against the facility. The
conclusion of the report was that the Hatchery is presently
in violation of the Michigan Intrastate Water Quality Standards
and the intent of the Executive Order. Information was sub-
sequently received from the BSF&W that a project has been
requested to provide a settling basin to remove solids
producing nutrients.
A preliminary Engineering Report was reviewed pertaining to
remodification of wastewater treatment facilities at the
Michigan Army Missile Plant, Sterling Heights, Michigan. Two
alternatives were proposed but it appears that discharge to
the Detroit system is the preferable solution to the problem.
A review was made of Federal installations in and adjacent to
the area to be considered at the Iowa Water Quality Standards
Setting Conference. A mailing list of concerned Federal
agencies and installations was prepared at the request of our
Office of Enforcement and Cooperative Programs. Arrangements
have been made for a staff member to visit all significant
Federal waste discharge locations in the conference area prior
to the April 8 session.
A review has been made of an application for permit by the City
of Chicago, to install storm sewer outfalls in a cooling system
intake and outfall through a sheet steel bulkhead at the site
of the new McCormick Place. The Metropolitan Fair and Exposi-
tion Authority passed a resolution that no pollution would
occur to Lake Michigan as a result of the completed construc-
tion. This will be accomplished by the installation of grease
and oil traps and collecting basins and pumps to discharge the
runoff into the sanitary sewer system during off-peak hours
and thus prevent any polluted materials from discharging to
Lake Michigan. On the basis of the above information, no
objection was made to the granting of the permit.
5- Cooperative Programs
The Training Officer participated in an orientation meeting in
Washington on the national contract to FWPCA for operator
training. Meetings or contacts were made on this subject with
the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, the
State of Iowa, the State of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Sewerage
Commission. The City of Des Moines, through the State of Iowa,
has asked that funds be reserved for training 40 waste treatment
operators through the national contract.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 4
A visit was made by the Training Officer to the University of
Toledo with an inspection team from Washington to survey the
efficacy of the grant to this institution for graduate train-
ing in biological engineering. Assistance was given to the
Southeast Campus of Chicago City College and to Southern
Illinois University in preparing curricula for technician
training.
Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have submitted
reports on their water pollution control program expenditures.
Except for the Illinois program these reports indicate appro-
priate progress in implementing the State's water pollution
control programs. Illinois is presently under budgetary
restrictions which will limit the full implementation of the
State's water pollution control program. However, these
restrictions may be lifted before the end of Fiscal Year 1969.
Estimates of the Federal Program Grant allotments for Fiscal
Year 1970 were provided to the States.
6. Enforcement
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and the FWPCA submitted
reports listing all wastewater discharges to the Lake Michigan
Basin at the February 25, 1969 Reconvened Lake Michigan Enforce-
ment Conference. These reports also contained schedules for
construction of required treatment facilities for all polluters
believed to be adversely affecting the water quality of Lake
Michigan. The conferees reported on progress they had accom-
plished to abate pollution and to carry out the recommendations
of the first conference. The conferees restated 1972 as the
outside date for completion of all treatment facilities. Each
conferee will prepare a detailed list of municipalities and
industries which are required to provide phosphorus removal and
the quantity they are to remove to provide a net reduction of 80
percent with the state. They established a two year water
quality monitoring program for the lake and major tributaries,
and directed the Pesticide Committee to establish a program for
monitoring and tracing pesticides. The Nuclear and Thermal
Pollution Committee was requested to prepare specific recom-
mendations for discharge limits and methods for controlling
potential thermal and nuclear pollution.
7. Construction Grants
The Minnesota and Iowa Leagues of Municipalities are drafting
bills for their State legislatures aimed at enacting State
matching grant programs. The enactment of such matching
programs would be designed to qualify these States for the
higher Federal grant percentages. The action by Iowa is par-
ticularly significant because heretofore that State had
demonstrated no action on behalf of a State matching program.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 5
Last year, the City of Des Moines sewage treatment plant by-
passed its entire load of raw sewage into the Des Moines River
for a period of six weeks. This was done during the construc-
tion work on project WPC-Iowa-217. In addition to our objections
at the time, the Iowa State Conservation Department has now
assessed some $31,000 in damages against the City of Des Moines
for fish kill damages caused by the bypass.
The City of Detroit, Michigan will soon be advertising on the
first leg of its $98 million sewage treatment and interceptor
improvement project. About $20 million in initial construction
will be advertised for bids within the next six weeks. Detroit
is anxious to keep the project in conformity with Federal
requirements for possible Federal grant reimbursement later.
Accordingly we are servicing the project.
The City Council of Warren, Michigan, has authorized its City
Attorney to file a suit to contest the Michigan Water Resources
Commission's recent ruling refusing to certify Warren's pending
construction grant application. The Commission refused to
certify the application to the Federal government because the
proposed Warren project was not compatible with the regional
plan for the Detroit area. As of this writing, suit has not
actually been filed. One result of such a suit could be to
tie up the entire $335 million Michigan bond issue.
As a follow-up to the meeting last month in Lake Forest with
Congressman McClory to discuss any possible Federal aid to the
North Shore Sanitary District, Illinois project, WPC-I11.-754,
the Congressman filed a bill asking for $25 million in direct
Federal grant aid for the North Shore area. This bill would
bypass the Federal Water Pollution Control Act grant formula
by providing direct relief to the project because all of
Illinois' funds are committed for the foreseeable future. A
hearing was held on the bill on March 4-
8. Pollution Surveillance
The Technical Committee established to assess results of the
pollution control program recommended by the Calumet Area
Conference is reviewing water quality data collected by
FWPCA, Illinois, Indiana and the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary
District. At a meeting held at the Regional Office with MSD
personnel and a representative from headquarters concerning
the exchange of data the MSD indicated that it would probably
enter existing and future data into the STORET system.
In response to requests from the States of Minnesota and Iowa
for STORET coding and river mileage information, 3 prints each
of 122 maps were furnished to the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency and 2 prints of each of 112 maps were furnished to the
Iowa Department of Health.
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Monthly Regional-Director's Report - Page 6
A report draft of the Federal-State water quality monitoring
network for the State of Illinois was prepared by the Lake
Michigan Basin Office and submitted to the Regional Office
for review.
The Surveillance Branch compiled an inventory of known pollu-
tion spills which occurred during 1968. A. total of 74 spills
had been reported to the Great Lakes Regional Office.
A representative of the Pollution Surveillance Branch met with
Ninth District Coast Guard Officials in Cleveland to discuss
coordination of oil contingency planning in the Great Lakes
Region. The plan was also discussed with a Lake Erie Basin
Office staff member.
9- Research and Development
The handbook on the mechanics of Research and Development grant
and contracts monitoring for Project Officers within the Great
Lakes Region was prepared and distributed to the Basin Offices.
Requests for copies of the handbook have also been received
from R&D representatives of other Regional Offices.
Six new requests have been received from Washington for Project
Officer assignments to recent R&D grant awards within the region.
Inasmuch as the Region now has 13 of its professional staff
already involved in monitoring 34 projects, this entire program
of Project Officer designation will have to be re-evaluated.
A total of 14 formal applications for R&D grants were received
for either technical or policy review by the Regional staff.
An analysis of the existing Regional R&D program together with
projections of work loads and recommendations was prepared for
consideration by Headquarters.
10. National Water' Quality Laboratory-Duluth
Several experiments are under way to establish safe levels of
copper in Lake Superior water for various types of desirable
aquatic life in order to provide information needed for es-
tablishing more realistic standards for water quality on Lake
Superior. At present, standards applicable to other waters
are also suggested for Lake Superior, but because of the very
soft water and unique fauna, more stringent requirements are
needed.
A meeting was held with Reserve Mining Company, Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency, and the Upper Mississippi River-
Lake Superior Basin Office at the Laboratory on February 14
to discuss technical aspects of the Taconite Report and to
reach agreement where possible on methods.
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Monthly Regional Director's Eeport - Page 7
Dr. Donald I. Mount traveled to Cincinnati to visit the Fish
Toxicology Laboratory at Newton to review the Newton operation
with Mr. Cawley and Dr. Stephan, and to Washington, D. C. on
February 4 to confer with Dr. Stephan, Dr. Hirsch and Mr. Grant
regarding plans and budget for proposed temperature studies at
Monticello, Minnesota. A complete package of plans, objectives,
and costs has been prepared for this project.
Mr. Teasley attended an Oil Pollution Meeting on February 28
called by the Seaway Port Authority (Mr. Oberlin and Mr. Sauter,
Duluth and Superior Port Directors), and chaired by Mr. Len
Theobald. The meeting was held at the Port Terminal in Duluth.
Approximately twenty-five statements of research need were
received from headquarters through the regional office and
approximately seventy-five more were initiated at the laboratory.
Work plans for each need were developed and submitted.
The laboratory research program suffered a serious catastrophe
during the month when a valve cross-connecting the tap water
system with the lake water system in the building was partially
opsned by a contractor, and chlorinated tap water entered the
lake water system. Over one-quarter of the building received
chlorinated tap water, and almost all of the invertebrate
experiments were lost as a result of the chlorine.
11. International Program
The Regional Director, the Director of Technical Programs and
representatives of the Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
Basin Offices attended the International Joint Commission
Advisory Board meeting at Detroit. The main purpose of the
meeting was to review the second draft of the IJC report on
Water Quality of the Lake Erie and the Lake Ontario-St.
Lawrence River Basins. A report on water quality was submitted
to the Board for approval.
12. Public Information
The Director of the Lake Ontario Basin Office has been requested
to review and discuss the Lake Ontario Report at separate meet-
ings of the Water Resource Planning and Development Boards which
have ongoing studies in the Oswego River Basin. The requests
have been accepted and a schedule has been arranged for presen-
tations .
A meeting was held at the United Auto Workers Solidarity House
to discuss regional planning for water pollution control. The
Director of the Lake Huron Basin Office and representatives of
the Michigan Water Resources Commission and the Detroit Metro-
politan Water Services participated in the discussion.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report - Page 8
The Chief, Federal Activities Coordination Branch appeared on
the program of the Kenosha, Wisconsin Chapter of the League of
Women Voters and gave a talk regarding FWPCA activities and
pollution problems in the Great Lakes Region.
The Regional Construction Grants Program Director was one of the
principal speakers at a meeting in Detroit of over 150 Michigan
State legislators, representatives of the Michigan Governor's
Office and consulting engineers. The purpose of the meeting
was to discuss ways of implementing the recently passed $335
million Michigan water pollution control bond issue. Concern
was expressed at the meeting about the lack of full Federal
construction grant funding.
During 1968 the Office of Public Information received approxi-
mately 1,100 requests by letter and telephone for publications.
From 200 to 500 additional requests were handled by other
programs.
III. Administrative Services
December 31, January 31? February 28,
Personnel Staffing 1968 1969 1969
A. Total Positions 223 224 223
B. Total Personnel on Board 2l6 218 220
C. Total Personnel Gains 423
1. New Hires 112
2. Transfers 311
D. Total Personnel Losses 501
1. Resignations 40 1
2. Transfers 100
# ###
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'I
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: January 1969 - - - ^Submitted: February 18, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston_
I. Regional Activities
1. Dredging
A Buffalo District Corps of Engineers 12 volume report, "Dredging
and Water Quality Problems in the Great Lakes" was distributed to
its own headquarters and to FWPCA for review. The report will
probably be released in March. A press release reported signifi-
cant progress by the Corps of Engineers and FWPCA on joint efforts
to reduce or eliminate pollution of the waters of the Great Lakes
incidental to the maintenance of essential depths in harbors and
channels by government and private interests. Both agencies are
working on a cooperative pilot study of dredge spoil disposal
methods and agreement has been reached on an interim program
pending long-range solutions. FWPCA. Great Lakes Region Basin
Offices have participated in this joint undertaking.
2. Pesticides
Concern with the possible dangers from the use of pesticides
continues to be manifested by government and private groups.
Additional testimony was presented at hearings started in
December by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
(Representatives of several states are introducing in State
and Federal legislatures bills designed to control pollution
from these substances.)
3. Regional Work Flans
The Regional Work Plans for Fiscal Year 1970 were completed and
forwarded to the Commissioner for review. Projected budget needs
for Fiscal Years 1971-1975 were included with the Work Plans.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
Iowa's water quality standards were approved by the Secretary
of the Interior, but important features were excepted from that
approval. Pursuant to those exceptions, the Secretary called
a conference to be held in two sessions on April 8 and 15 in
Davenport and Council Bluffs to consider the establishment of
standards in the Mississippi and Missouri River Basins. The
exceptions include treatment and disinfection requirements,
temperature criteria and the plan of implementation. A report
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Monthly Regional Director's Report
outline was prepared, schedules set and arrangements made for
the Mississippi River Basin session. Mr. Dumelle of the Office
of Enforcement and Cooperative Programs has been assigned
responsibility for the coordination of efforts preparatory to
the conference.
2. Comprehensive Planning
The Regional Director visited the Lake Huron Basin Office and
discussed the Lake Huron Report, emphasizing the importance of
comprehensive plans as a key method for achieving a clean water
program.
The evaluation study of the alternatives for development of the
Oakley Reservoir Site, Sangamon River, Illinois, has been
forwarded for Washington and interagency review. The quality
control aspects of this project and the other Departmental
interests are now being summarized in the Departmental report.
The Water Pollution Control Program report on the Black-St.
Lawrence Rivers portion of Lake Ontario Basin was submitted to
Washington for clearance.
3- Technical Services
A "Special Report on Water Quality of Lake Superior in the
Vicinity of Silver Bay, Minnesota" was completed. This report
represented the FWPCA contribution to the USDI Study Group
which furnished information to the Regional Coordinator for
his use in commenting on the matter of re-validation of the
Corps of Engineers permit to the Reserve Mining Company for
discharging taconite wastes to Lake Superior. Staff of the
La,ke Michigan Basin Office and the National Water Quality
Laboratory at Duluth contributed to the preparation of the
report.
Messrs. R. Schneider, M. Stein, D. Mount, and D. Bryson, FWPCA,
met with representatives from the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency and Reserve Mining Company to discuss some items relating
to the company's waste discharge.
Technical Programs and Lake Michigan Basin Office staff members
participated in inspections of industries in the Calumet Enforce-
ment Conference Area to assess progress of construction of waste
treatment facilities. The inspection team included representa-
tives of the four conferees — Metropolitan Sanitary District,
Illinois, Indiana, and the FWPCA. Reports of factual data
obtained on the inspections were prepared by Technical Programs
staff. Summaries of the inspection data were presented at the
conference on January 30, 1969-
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Monthly Regional Director's Report
The Director of the Lake Erie Basin Office met with the staff of
the Fisheries Research Board of Canada at Winnipeg, Manitoba to
discuss the practical aspects of pollution abatement with special
emphasis on controlling eutrophication in Lake Erie. The Canadians
are conducting research into eutrophication, and means of control
and they were particularly interested in knowing how this was being
handled in Lake Erie.
The Director of the Lake Michigan Basin Office presented an offi-
cial FWPCA position statement concerning the control of pesticides
to the Illinois Water Pollution and Water Resources Commission.
A 22-inch force main of the Buckeye Pipeline Company broke in
Lima, Ohio on January 13, 1969 releasing approximately 100,000
gallons of volatile crude oil. An estimated 6,000 persons were
evacuated from the break area as volatile crude oil covered
streets and flowed into the city sewer system- Oil reaching
the city sewage treatment plant ignited and exploded causing a
temporary shutdown of the plant. Lake Erie Basin personnel
notified the Ohio State Pollution authorities of the incident
and offered technical assistance to Lima and Ohio officials.
Ma,ssive cleanup operations were undertaken to rid the streets,
ground, sewers, and Ottawa River of oil.
4- Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
Among the activities were the following:
a. The Federal Activities Coordinator attended a meeting
called by the Corps of Engineers to discuss the National
Lead Company application for a permit to construct a
single outfall into the Mississippi River to dispose of
all industrial wastes. Persons in attendance at this
meeting included the Regional Director, Chief of Facili-
ties Programs, Corps of Engineers personnel, representa-
tives of the National Lead Company, the Missouri Water
Pollution Control Board, the Illinois Sanitary Water
Board, and representatives of the Metropolitan Sanitary
District. Three alternatives to the solution of the case
were presented. A team of FWPCA industrial waste
specialists visited the applicant for the purpose of
determining, if possible, waste treatment methods. A
report is being made on the investigation. Resolution
will be attempted at another meeting 60 days after
receipt of the FWPCA report.
b,, A report was forwarded to NASA, Lewis Research Center,
Plum Brook Station, and included recommendations made
by Mr. George Harlow, Director, Lake Erie Basin Office,
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Monthly Regional Director's Report 4
following his visit to the installation. The principal
recommendations involve plant tests for phosphate reduc-
tion, preparatory to placing the facilities in full
operation by next summer in order to comply with the
Lake Erie Enforcement Conference recommendations.
c. A contract for $233,000 has been let by K. I. Sawyer
Air Force Base to rehabilitate existing secondary
treatment facilities and to provide laboratory space.
A project for advanced waste treatment facilities
(phosphate removal and further BOD and suspended
solids reduction) is being programmed to comply with
Michigan intrastate water quality standards. Estimated
cost of these facilities is $800,000.
5• Cooperative Programs
a. The Fiscal Year 1969 program grant reallocation process
was begun. The States of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and
Wisconsin will request all funds currently available and
plan to utilize any reallocated funds which may become
available. Illinois plans to utilize only funds currently
available and does not expect to request any reallocation.
All five states will be eligible for the original FY '69
allocation and any normal reallocation.
b. The Regional Training Officer visited Springfield, Illinois
to confer with State training officials on sewage treatment
plant operator training. Conferences were held with the
staffs of the Lake Michigan and Lake Erie Basin Offices to
determine in-service training desires.
c. A $1,000,000 on-the-job training allocation to FWPCA from
the Labor and HEW Departments has been finalized. Negotia-
tions are under way with the City of Cleveland, City of
Detroit, City of Des Moines and the Metropolitan Sanitary
District of Greater Chicago to make FWPCA grants for operator
training purposes within the next six months.
6. Enforcement
a. The second session of the Lake Michigan-Calumet Area
Enforcement Conference was continued on January 29, 1969•
The findings of the inspection team, which visited ten
industries to determine the status and extent of their
pollution control efforts, were presented to the conferees.
Extensions to the December 31, 1968 deadline for facility
construction were recommended by the conferees for several
industries. Extension of the deadline was not recommended
for Republic Steel and U. S. Steel South ¥orks, and those
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Monthly Regional Director's Report
cases were referred to the Secretary of the Interior.
The committee established in December 1968 to review
present water quality and waste sources in the con-
ference area to establish any need for additional
requirements, also reported to the conferees. That
committee presented its proposed approach and
activities for the conferees' consideration. The
committee was instructed to meet and prepare for the
conferees any pertinent budget and personnel considera-
tions and delineate areas of responsibility.
b. A report outline was prepared, schedules set and arrange-
ments made for the Lake Superior Enforcement Conference
called by the Secretary of the Interior this month. The
conference to be held on May 13 in Duluth will include
the entire Lake Superior Basin, and Michigan, Minnesota
and Wisconsin will be parties to the conference. Mr.
Bryson, Director of the Upper Mississippi River-Lake
Superior Basin Office, will be responsible for the
preparation of the conference report.
7. Construction Grants
a. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency now has a new
procedure before approving project plans and specifica-
tions. The procedure calls for issuing public notices
to all parties that might be affected by a proposed
project. The notices must be distributed 30 days prior
to any approval of project plans and specifications in
order to allow additions or modifications to such plans
and specifications based on any filed objections. This
procedure will result in somewhat longer periods for
placing projects under construction although it should
result in projects that have been more fully aired
before approval.
b. Michigan has completed a draft copy of a State law to
implement its recently passed $335 million State grant
bond issue. The draft calls for pre-financing a segment
of the Federal share so that each grant applicant will
receive at least a 55 percent combined Federal-State
share in the outset of a project. The draft copy of the
bill appears to be acceptable from FWPCA's standpoint.
c. The long-lingering controversy regarding whether the State
of Michigan would certify the City of Warren construction
grant application has come to a conclusion. This is the
project that wants to go it alone rather than join with
the adjacent Detroit treatment system as recommended in
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Monthly Regional Director's Report
our Lake Erie comprehensive report. In a ruling late last
week, the Michigan Water Resources Commission disapproved
the Warren application by refusing to certify it for
consideration for either Federal or State funds.
d. Congressman Robert McClory has requested a meeting to
discuss the pending possible reimbursement application
filed by the North Shore Sanitary District,, Illinois,
WPC-I11-754. The overall project will amount to $35
million and the Congressman is seeking ways to insure
that the project will be funded to the maximum from a
Federal standpoint. The meeting called by him will be
held at the Lake Forest City Council Chambers in early
February. In addition to representatives from the
Regional Construction Grants Program, the Illinois
Sanitary Water Board and others will also be present.
8. Pollution Surveillance
a. The report of the Monitoring Committee for the Conference
in the Matter of Pollution of Lake Michigan and Tributary
Basins was submitted to the Conferees.
b. The long-term water quality surveillance plan was completed
by the Lake Ontario Basin Office and forwarded to the
Regional Office. Copies were furnished to NYSDH and USGS
for review and discussion at a meeting planned in Albany.
c. The Chief of Technical Activities, Lake Erie Basin Office,
accompanied by a Basin engineer met with Ohio Department of
Health personnel to discuss the coordinated Federal-State
monitoring plans.
d. Staff of the Lake Michigan Basin Office met with Iowa State
officials January 10 in regard to their programs for water
quality monitoring network, sample analysis procedures,
laboratory facilities, staffing, and reporting.
e. The report on the State-Federal surveillance program for
Michigan was completed and copies forwarded to Michigan
Water Resources Commission, Great Lakes Regional Office,
Lake Erie Basin Office, Lake Michigan Basin Office, Lake
Superior Basin Office for review. Arrangements are being
made to incorporate the Federal portion of the surveillance
program into Lake Huron Basin Office's 1969 field operations
program.
f. Staff of the Lake Michigan and of the Upper Mississippi
River-Lake Superior Basin Offices met with representatives
of the Wisconsin Division of Natural Resources in Madison
to discuss Federal-State Coordinated Monitoring.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report
9. Research and Development
a. The latest inventory of active projects of the Research,
Development and Demonstration Program in the Great Lakes
Region has been assembled. Active projects are those
which have received funds in either FT 1968 or FT 1969-
The inventory contains 118 entries for which approximately
$23 million have been obligated in Federal funds. A total
of 35 other projects funded prior to FY 1968 were still in
progress in FY 1968 but not considered to be active.
10. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
Completion of the temperature, egg incubation studies of brook
trout have been completed, and the results show that 53 DF. is
the maximum temperature in which the eggs can incubate normally.
The newly hatched fry were slightly more tolerant to higher
temperatures than were the embryos.
The experiments involving the exposure of brook trout to copper
are now nearly complete and the results show that there is over
80 percent mortality of eggs and fry at .03 milligrams per liter
of copper, and that at .015 m/1 the mortality is less than 20
percent. This information, plus other information gathered in
previous tests, suggests that the safe concentration of copper
in Lake Superior is approximately .01 m/1.
Work is continuing to evaluate the effect of the undissolved
copper contained in taconite tailings on aquatic life in the
lake. The principal question of concern is whether or not
these very small submicron particles of natural copper salts
will dissolve in the lake during a long period of time.
The contract for construction of the log barriers on the
experimental stream at Shayler Run has been awarded and
construction should be completed by mid-March. All con-
struction should be completed this spring, and the testing
can be started.
11. International Program
The Regional Director participated in public meetings held by
the International Joint Commission at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, for the purpose of reviewing water
pollution problems of the St. Marys River, St. Glair River and
Detroit River. Problem areas were identified, pollution control
programs were presented and IJC took a firm position in calling
for accelerated cleanup of the connecting channels.
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Monthly Regional Director's Report
8
III. Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A.. Total Positions
November 30,
1968
222
B. Total Personnel on Board 217
C. Total Personnel Gains 1
1. New Hires 1
2. Transfers 0
D. Total Personnel Losses 0
1. Resignations 0
2. Transfers 0
December 313
1968
223
216
k
1
3
5
k
1
January 31,
1969
224
218
2
1
1
0
0
0
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT ••• GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: December 1968 rSubmit^!: January 17, 1969
REGIONAL DIRECT: H. W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
Continued Emphasis on Pesticide Pollution
Both private and public organizations continued to press for
greater research and controls on the use of DDT and other
harmful pesticides. States relying heavily on the fisheries
and supporting industries are especially concerned. Extensive
hearings were held in the State of Wisconsin. in that state
a petition was filed by the Citizens National Resources
Association and the Izaac Walton League asking for an order
prohibiting the use of DDT throughout the state. Hearings
started in December by the Department of Natural Resources
are to be continued in January. The Minnesota Environmental
Defense Counsel is also asking for a ban on the use of DDT,
and possibly other pesticides.
I I . Individual Program Comments
I. Water Qua I ity Standards
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency at its November and
December 1968 meetings considered the matter of Interstate
Water Qual ity Standards. The Agency adopted changes, revi-
sions and adjustments in the standards which were proposed
subsequent to Secretary Udall's partial approval on June 18,
1968. These changes are now being considered by FWPCA.
2. Comprehensive Planning
In November, Secretary of the Interior UdalI issued Order
Number 2913 on the subject of increased Interior support
for the Water Resources Council and River Basin Planning.
Charles H. Stoddard, Regional Coordinator, Upper Mississippi-
Western Great Lakes Area, USDI, took two significant actions
involved in implementation of Order Number 2913. First he
appointed the FWPCA Regional Director as his alternate
member on the Great Lakes Basin Commission. Concurrently,
he notified all Interior agencies involved in planning in
the Great Lakes Basin of the formation of an ad hoc Great
Lakes Basin Coordinating and Planning Committee, and asked
each agency to name a member for that committee. C. R. Ownbey,
Chief of the Planning Branch, Great Lakes Region, FWPCA, was
designated Chairman of this committee.
-------
Mr. Stoddard also appointed Mr. Ownbey as his representative
on the Plan and Program Formulation Committee for the Great
Lakes Basin Framework Study. That committee met and began
the preparation of guidelines and criteria for plan formula-
tion.
3. Technical Services
The Director of the Lake Erie Basin Office met with the
Corps of Engineers to discuss with local government
officials, industry and property owners the alternative
disposal methods of Cuyahoga River dredgings.
Several staff members of the Lake Huron Basin Office
attended a public demonstration of the dredging operations
at Monroe Harbor, Michigan. The Corps of Engineers explained
the dredging and disposal procedures.
Oil spills were reported in the Lake Huron and Lake Erie
Basins. The Coast Guard is conducting investigations and
reporting on the incidents. FWPCA personnel participated
in this activity.
Staff members of the Lake Michigan Basin Office are making
a study of Lake Michigan water temperatures. This informa-
tion will be useful in the evaluation of planned nuclear
power plant operations and their effects on water quality;
staff members of the Lake Ontario Basin Office are cooperat-
ing with other governmental agencies in determing measures
to avoid possible damage to Cayuga Lake from a proposed
nuclear power station.
4. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
Among the activities were the following:
a) A draft was prepared of suggested criteria for determina-
tion of frequency of on-site visits to review waste dis-
posal practices at Federal installations. This draft
was prepared at the request of Mr. Ralph Holtje, Federal
Activities Coordination, Washington.
b) Comments were prepared relative to Corps of Engineers
Design Memorandum No. I, Ames Reservoir, Skunk River,
Iowa. Recommendations were made pertaining to the
Story City sewage treatment plant which will require
protective works and possibly chlorination and/or
phosphate removal if effluent is to continue to be
discharged into the reservoir. Other recommendations
were made.
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c) Comments were forwarded to the Buffalo District, Corps
of Engineers, concerning the Niagara Frontier State
Park Commission's request for a permit for an existing
cofferdam at Beaver Island State Park in the Niagara
River. Studies conducted by the Boston Office of the
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife indicated sig-
nificant silt loadings of concern to fish and wildlife
interests, were being discharged to the Niagara River
by unauthorized construction activities. It was recom-
mended that the permit not be issued and that the
applicant be required to remove the cofferdam as soon
as possible, and that any further silt loadings to the
river be minimized by methods satisfactory to the District
Engi neer.
5. Cooperative Programs
The revised Wisconsin State Program Plan was approved by the
Commissioner December 27. Iowa resubmitted its plan, which
was forwarded to headquarters for approval. First Quarter
payments have been made to Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
Mr. Jacob D. Dumelle has been appointed Manpower Development
and Training Officer and is devoting full time to implementing
plans for a well-rounded Regional manpower and development
training effort.
6. Enforcement
The Calumet Area Enforcement Conference was reconvened on
December I I, 1968. The conferees reviewed progress by
industries and municipalities to abate pollution. Several
industries requested schedule extensions. Before granting
extensions, the conferees called for inspections of indus-
tries which may not meet the originally scheduled completion
date. They also established a committee to review present
water quality and waste sources within the conference area
to establish any need for additional requirements. The
conference will be reconvened in late January 1969 to con-
sider findings of the inspection team.
7. Construction Grants
Highlights of this program included the following items:
a) A meeting was held with officials of the Michigan Water
Resources Commission to develop procedures for implement-
ing the details of Michigan's $335 million water pollution
control bond issue. The Commission is now in the process
-------
of developing amendments to its existing legislation
in order to perfect its ability to get the bond issue
funds to local communities as rapidly as possible.
The meeting, which was held in Detroit, is the second
meeting that the Regional Construction Grants Program
Director and the Deputy Program Director have had with
the Commission's staff since passage of the bond issue
Iast month.
b) A meeting was held with the Director of the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources in Madison to discuss
details of the State's proposed $144 million water
pollution control bond issue. The bond issue details
are now being developed for presentation to the Leg-
islature when it convenes next month. The chief purpose
of the meeting, which was attended by the Regional
Construction Grants Director and the Deputy Program
Director, was to insure that the bond issue in its
inception would be compatible with the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act's construction grant matching
provis ions.
c) The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been
requested by the Governor's office to develop a
$30 million state sewage treatment works construction
grant program for presentation to the Governor for
further consideration. If the Governor finds the
program acceptable, it will be presented to the State
Legislature upon reconvening next month. The first
contract compliance approval of a project—that of
the Southwest Sanitary Sewer District Board, Minnesota,
WPC-Minn.-54 I — involving contracts over $1 million was
received from headquarters. The approval came just
short of two weeks following the on-site pre-award
compliance conference held in Minneapolis.
d) One of the chief sponsors of the recently defeated
Illinois biI Iion-dolIar Natural Resources Bond Issue
has announced that a new biI I has been drafted for
presentation to the Legislature when it opens next
month. The details of the bill were not announced,
either as to the amount or to the date such a biI I
would be placed before a referendum.
e) Notifications were sent to all State water pollution
control agencies regarding the reallotment of any unused
FY 1968 funds after December 31, 1968. All States in the
Great Lakes Region have obligated such FY 1968 funds.
This places the States in a position to request reallot-
ment of any unused funds in other States.
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f) Commissioner Moore presented to the Construction Grants
Program staff a Unit Award for Excellence of Service
by Secretary of the Interior Udail. Individual presenta-
tions were also made to each member of the Grants staff.
8. PoI Iution SurveiI Iance
The final draft report of the Water Quality Monitoring
Program for Lake Michigan and Tributary Basin was reviewed
by the Monitoring Committee. Comments and corrections were
submitted to the Regional Office. It is anticipated that
the report will be completed and forwarded to the Conferees
early in January.
Staff members of the Lake Erie Basin Office met with City
of Cleveland officials to discuss the transfer of water
pollution surveillance stations on the Cuyahoga River to
the responsibility of the Lake Erie Basin Office.
Final review of the report for the December II meeting
of the Calumet Area Conference was completed. Copies of
the report were sent to the Conferees.
9. Research and Development
Representatives of the Natural Resources Department of the
State of Ohio and of Burgess and Niple, Consulting Engineers,
visited the Lake Erie Basin Office to discuss an application
by the State to demonstrate water quality improvements by
low-flow augmentation in the Sandusky River. Mr. Albert Printz,
Chief of the Research and Development Branch of the Regional
Office attended the meeting. Other possibilities for demon-
stration grants were also discussed.
The Chief of Field Operations, Lake Erie Basin Office met with
Dr. Will!am J. Whalen, Di rector of Research at St. Vincent
Charity Hospital. The subject discussed was a non-membrane
type dissolved oxygen micro electrode perfected by Dr. Whalen
and his associates at the University of Iowa, and its possible
application to our continuous automatic monitoring program.
10. National Water Quality Laboratory - Duluth
Congressman John A. Blatnik visited the National Water Quality
Laboratory at Duluth.
H. W. Poston, Great Lakes Regional Director, and Dr. Donaid I.
Mount, NWQL, met at Newton, Ohio to discuss the objectives of
the Fish Toxicology Laboratory and inspected the laboratory
faciI ities.
The final draft of the report of the Committee on Pesticides,
established by the Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference, was
completed and sent to the Federal Conferee, Mr. Poston.
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I I. International Program
The second draft of the International Joint Commission
Report on the Pollution of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and
the St. Lawrence River was completed. The draft will be
reviewed by the 1JC Advisory Board at its meeting in
February. Technical Programs' staff of FWPCA has been
actively participating in this work.
III. Administrative Services
October 31
Personnel Staffing 1968
A. Total Positions 220
B. Total Personnel on Board 216
C. Total Personnel Gains 0
I . New Hires 0
2. Transfers 0
D. Total Personnel Losses 0
I. Resignations 0
2. Transfers 0
November 30, December 31,
1968 1968
222
217
0
0
0
0
223
216
4
I
3
5
4
I
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT "•• GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: November 1968 _ ^Submitted:/December 24, 1968
/"I
REGIONAL DIRECTOR/: H. W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
I. Pesticide Pollution Gets Attention
Rising concern over the adverse effects of pesticides,
especially DDT and Dieldrin, was reflected by state-
ments of public officials, scientists and others during
November. The press reports that Governor Knowles of
Wisconsin has invited Governors of the other states
bordering Lakes Superior and Michigan to join in a con-
ference to plan a fight against pesticide runoff into
the Great Lakes. The Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources has called a conference in early December at
Madison, Wisconsin aimed at focusing national attention
on the pesticide problem. Scientists and researchers
from throughout the nation are expected to attend.
Fisheries scientists in Wisconsin and Michigan reported
finding widespread occurrence of pesticide residues in
fish populations. A Michigan State University scientist
said large numbers of Coho salmon, a species whose
introduction into Lake Michigan has been phenomenally
successful, are dying from DDT poisoning.
2. Agricultural Pollution Stressed
An animal waste symposium at the University of Minnesota
Farm Campus in St. Paul focussed attention on the growing
water pollution problems from those areas. John Badalich,
Director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said
that pollution caused by farm animals is one of the major
problems in that State's fight for clean water.
3. Regional Work Plans_Revised
Revised Regional Work Plans for Fiscal Year 1969 were
completed and transmitted to Headquarters.
I I. Individual Program Comments
I. Water Quality Standards
Action continues toward resolution of items excepted by
the Secretary of the Interior when he approved the water
-------
quality standards for several Great Lakes States. This
month, attention has focussed on obtaining a clarifica-
tion of several items in the Minnesota plan of implementa-
tion and other improvements requested by the Secretary.
2. Comprehensive Planning
The Lake Ontario Basin report was released at a press
conference in Rochester, New York on November 19, 1968.
Officiating at the release ceremony were Dwight F. Metzler,
Deputy Commissioner, New York State Department of Health
and FWPCA Commissioner Joe G. Moore, Jr. Reaction to the
report was generally favorable, indicating strong support
for the 31-point program it presented. The first of four
follow-up reports giving expanded details of the program
in subareas of the Lake Ontario Basin was submitted to
Washington requesting clearance for publication.
Work continued on preparation of Basin Program Reports
for Lakes Huron and Superior.
The Water Quality Work Group, for the Great Lakes Basin
Framework Study of water and related land resources,
held its second meeting at Chicago, November 22, 1968.
Work assignments and schedules were prepared, with
representatives of the State Pollution Control Agencies
conti nui ng to exh i b i t wi I Ii ngness for strong parti ci pa-
tion in the study.
On the Upper Mississippi River Basin Type I Study, report
drafts for eight planning subareas were distributed to the
Advisory Committee for review. Final drafts, reflecting
comments from previous review, were prepared for seven
other subareas.
3. Technical Programs
A draft was completed of the FWPCA report on taconite
activities on Lake Superior at Silver Bay, Minnesota.
A progress report on surveillance in the Calumet Enforce-
ment Area is being prepared for presentation at a meeting
of the Conferees in December.
4. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
An inventory and status report on wastewater disposal from
federal activities in the Lake Superior drainage basin was
compIeted.
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Highlights of reviews of permit applications to the
Corps of Engineers are as follows:
a. Installation of water intake and discharge facil-
ities in Lake Michigan at the proposed Kewaunee
Nuclear Power Plant, Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Condi-
tionally approved, based on proposed special
conditions to insure compliance with future
regulations or instructions affecting the work;
b. Discharge of untreated wastes of the National
Lead Company to the Mississippi River at St. Louis,
Missouri. Denial of permit to continue these
untreated discharges recommended.
5. Enforcement
The Lake Erie Conferees agreed that waste treatment is
to be provided by sources in the five States (Michigan,
Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York) to achieve
at least 80 percent reduction of the total phosphorus
loading from their respective States. Within six months,
each State will submit a detailed listing of all phos-
phorus discharges to the basin and where removal will be
required. The terminal date for construction of phos-
phorus removal facilities will remain as 1971.
A reconvening of the Calumet Area Enforcement Conference
has been set for December II, 1968 at the LaSalle Hotel
in Chicago. The Conferees will consider progress toward
compliance with the December 31, 1968 deadline for con-
trol of pollution from the area's industries and munic-
ipal ities.
Responses have been received from al i Lake Michigan
Conferees containing listings of waste inventories and
potential oil pollution sources. Final drafts of the
Pesticide and Thermal and Nuclear Pollution Committee
reports have been prepared, and the Monitoring Committee
report is nearing completion.
6. Construction Grants
A meeting was held with officials of Michigan Water
Resources Commission to discuss the details of implement-
ing the matching-funds program made possible in the State
of Michigan by passage of the $335 million State Bond
Issue this month. Michigan expects to certify 30 to 35
projects under this new financing arrangement within the
current fiscal year.
-------
State agencies were polled on the subject of expected
year by year projects that may be certified for con-
struction grant priority through Fiscal Year 1972.
Results of the poll indicate that 1,600 projects could
materialize within the five states administered by this
Region, if full Federal funding becomes available from
now through Fiscal Year 1972.
Special cases concerning proposed small independent
sewage treatment plants within metropolitan areas have
arisen at two locations. At Warren, Michigan, local
officials have vowed they will "fight to the end" to
build a separate project independent of the Detroit
Metropolitan System. Our recently issued comprehensive
report for Lake Erie Basin recommends that Warren be
integrated into the metropolitan area system. The
Town of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines,
has filed application for a construction grant to build
a separate treatment plant. Representatives of the
applicant, the City of Des Moines, the Metropolitan
Planning Agency and the State Pollution Control Agency
have been asked to meet with us to explore the possi-
bility of treating the town's wastes at a central plant.
III. Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A. Total Positions
B. Total Personnel on Board
C. Total Personnel Gains
I . New H i res
2. Transfers
D. Total Personnel Losses
I. Resignations
2. Transfers
September 30, October 31, November 30,
1968
1968
1968
217
216
2
2
0
220
216
0
0
0
0
0
0
222
217
I
I
0
0
0
0
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: October 1968 4j >**\ " / Submitted: November 14, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
1. Bond Issues Approved
A total of five referendums concerning the bond issues for water
pollution control were on the ballots in various parts of the
Great Lakes Region in the November general election. Four of
these issues passed: State of Michigan, $335 million; State of
Ohio, $120 million; City of Cleveland, Ohio, $100 million; City
of Toledo, Ohio, $17 million.
2. Illinois Bond Issue Rejected
Illinois ballots contained a proposal for a billion dollar state
bond issue to finance water and air pollution and other water
resource actions. The bond issue required a favorable vote by a
majority of all votes cast in the general assembly contests. It
is unofficially reported that a majority of those who voted on
the question at all voted favorably. However, it appears that
large numbers of voters simply overlooked or ignored the question
on the voting machines'. State Representative Carl L. Klein, one
of the sponsors of the bond issue, is quoted in the press as
saying the proposition's "absurd position on the voting machines
at the time of a Presidential election caused many voters to miss
it."
3. Chicago MSP Cracks Down on Poor Housekeeping
The MSD of Greater Chicago is conducting an intensive campaign
against shoreline industries that dump debris into Chicago
waterways. Helicopter patrols spot violators and initiate
legal action against them. In one case, the patrol cited a
huge oil slick fanning out over the canal near the Damen Avenue
bridge. Investigation disclosed that this was a case of delayed
action water pollution. The source was found to be construction
excavation on a site formerly occupied by a tar factory. It is
believed that the construction activity is causing material long
buried to enter the water.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Standards
No new activities to report.
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- 2 -
2. Comprehensive Planning
Reactions to the recently released Lake Erie report continued
strong during October. Comments about the report ranged from
adverse to highly favorable. The Impact of this report is
reflected partly in hundreds of requests for copies.
The Lake Ontario Basin report is now scheduled for release at
a press conference in Rochester, New York November 19, 1968-
Officiating at the release ceremony will be Mr. Dwight F.
Metzler, Deputy Commissioner, New York State Department of
Health, representing the State of New York, and FWPCA Commis-
sioner Joe G. Moore, Jr.
Work was begun on the Basin Program Report for Lake Superior
Basin.
The Plan Formulation Committee for the Great Lakes Basin
Framework Study held its first organization meeting at Detroit,
Michigan. Although the committee member representing the
Department of the Interior has not yet been designated, Mr.
Owribey of the Regional Office staff attended the meeting as an
observer.
3. Technical Programs
Field and office studies are now in progress in the Lake Superior
Basin in connection with: l) a special report on the taconite
operation at Silver Bay, Minnesota, and 2) technical assistance
for the Lake Superior Basin planning study. First draft of a
preliminary report on water movements in western Lake Superior
was completed.
Pollution surveillance activities continued in all areas under
Federal-State enforcement actions.
A coordinated surveillance program plan, integrating State and
Federal activities, is being prepared for the Lake Erie Basin.
A similar plan for coordinated surveillance in Lake Ontario
Basin is nearing completion.
4. Control of Pollution from_Federal Activities
Notifications were sent to all federal agencies having installa-
tions in the State of Michigan, concerning the State's recently
established policy on phosphorus removal. All installations
discharging waste effluents to surface waters were requested to
include at least 80 percent phosphorus removal in their plants
and to complete facilities for achieving this not later than
December 1972.
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- 3 -
A statement was prepared regarding thermal discharges to Lake
Michigan for presentation at a public hearing called by the
Michigan Water Resources Commission for November 7, 1968.
The statement, pertaining particularly to the proposed nuclear
power plant at Bridgman, Michigan, was subsequently cleared by
the Washington office and presented at the November 7 public
hearing. Efforts to arrange a joint conference with other
USDI agency offices in the Region were only partly successful
because of budget and travel restrictions in some of our sister
agencies. Conferences were held with Mr. Charles Stoddard,
USDI Regional Coordinator, and material was furnished to him
for his use in preparing a statement for the November 7 meeting
on behalf of the Department of the Interior.
5. Enforcement
No new activities reported.
6. Construction Grants
The latest nationwide assessment of backlog of construction grant
applications that need funding in the years ahead, reveals that
the Great Lakes Region heads the list. Out of a backlog of some
4,000 projects needed, more than 1,000, or 25 percent of the
total, are in the five states for which construction grants are
administered by the Great Lakes Region.
Washington headquarters wired all regions for a report on projected
PY 1970 projects if the full authorization of $1 billion nationally
is appropriated. Approximately $150 million would go to the five
states in the Great Lakes Region. In our best estimate, full access
to this amount could result in the handling of some 455 new projects.
Four of the five states would expect to use the full amount of allo-
cated funds. The exception, Iowa, stated that it would be able to
use only $4 million of a $15-3 million allocation.
Two cases of raw sewage bypass during construction—one actual and
one potential—came to attention. The actual case involved a
project being constructed at the Rockford Sanitary District,
Illinois, where some 35 million gallons a day of raw sewage were
bypassed during the month of September. When contacted, the
Illinois Sanitary Water Board stated that it is their policy to
discourage and disapprove wherever possible, potential or existing
proposals for bypassing, but the board found it was not feasible
to avoid bypassing in this case. The potential case came to light
during examination of the plans and specifications for the proposed
plant at Dubuque, Iowa. Specifications for that plant provide for
bypassing of raw sewage during construction. The project engineer
was contacted and told that such bypassing was not acceptable and
he agreed to amend the specifications to insure that sewage is
treated during construction.
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- 4 -
The Regional Construction Grants Program Director was a
principal speaker at a ground-breaking ceremony to launch
a 38-mile intercepting sewer project in Pontiac, Michigan.
Earlier this year, the Pontiac project was awarded a grant
of $&g million—the largest ever awarded.
7. Research and Development
The Hammermill Paper Company announced a new paper making
process which will enable the plant at Erie, Pennsylvania,
to meet Pennsylvania's effluent restrictions.
The Cleveland Program Office Director attended the intro-
duction ceremonies for the Pilot Pollution Control Facility
at Sandusky, Ohio. The project consists of two 100,000-gallon
balloons submerged in the lake for storage of combined sewer
overflows.
A field inspection was made of the storm water control projects
at Milk River and Mount Clemens.
8. International Program
Completed copies of the International Joint Commission "Summary
Report on Pollution of the St. Marys River, St. Glair River and
Detroit River" were received from the printer and forwarded to
United States and Canadian agencies for further distribution.
III. Administrative Services
August 31j September 31? October
Personnel Staffing 1968 1968 1968
A. Total Positions 219 217 220
B. Total Personnel on Board 219 216 216
C. Total Personnel Gains 01 0
1. New Hires 00 0
2. Transfers 01 0
D. Total Personnel Losses 02 0
1. Resignations 02 0
2. Transfers 00 0
###
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Period Covered: September 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
Submi
x*- n
GREAT LAKES REGION
bmitted : October 31, 1968
I. Regional Activities
1. Great Lakes Basin Reports
The comprehensive water pollution control report of Lake Erie
was released jy Commissioner Moore in Cleveland on Octocer 2.,
1968. The report presents a plan for water pollution control
developed pursuant to Section 3s of the Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Act.
The water pollution control report for Lake Ontario basin has
been printed and is ready for official release, which is
presently scheduled for November 19, 1968. Publication of the
Lake Ontario report jointly by FWPCA and the state pollution
control agency of New York will mark a new milestone in
federal-state relationships.
Work is in progress on the Lake Superior basin report. The
work on this report is handled by the Regional Office and two
program offices, Chicago and Minneapolis.
2. Lake Superior Pollution
The recent political campaign message of Senator Gaylord Nelson
(D-Wisc.) on television centered around his efforts in the water
pollution control program. Spotlighted were recent photographs
of discharges to Lake Superior, supposedly from Reserve Mining
Company, Silver Bay, Minnesota.
3- Minneapolis Program Office
Northern States Power Company dedicated its new Allen S. King
550,000 kw steam-electric generating plant on the interstate
St. Croix River. Approximately $U.5 million were spent on air
pollution control devices and cooling towers. The Minneapolis
Tribune ' s editorial comment is apropos : "An intriguing bit of
evidence is the low building adjacent to the plant. It houses
research facilities in which NSP and the National Water Control
Laboratory will study effects of heated water on the spawning
of fish. Some business for a power company.1 It's a sign of
the times . "
"' Program Comments
1. Technical Programs
The Regional staff has now completed the draft of the FWPCA
report on Lake Superior field studies concerning biological
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- 2 -
and chemical findings from surveys of taconite waste dis-
charges in Lake Superior. The report is intended to form
a part of the Department of the Interior report being
prepared.
The first draft of the joint IJC report (pollution of Lakes
Erie, Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River) has now been
reviewed by the IJC Advisory Board at its meeting in Niagara.
The IJC report on the St. Marys, St. Clair, and Detroit Rivers
has now been printed and is scheduled for release in the near
future.
Completed Appendix E "Water Use and Stream Quality" of the
Big Muddy River Comprehensive Basin Study and forwarded the
necessary printed copies to the St. Louis District Corps of
Engineers.
Completed Draft #2 copies of five planning subarea reports
for the UMRCBS Type 1 and distributed them for review.
Completed Draft #1 copies of five planning subarea reports
for the UMRCBS Type 1 and distributed them for review.
2. Research and Development
The R&D representative reviewed operation of the Reverse
Osmosis Field Test unit for processing pulp and paper
industry waste effluents. The unit was developed and is
operated by Pulp Manufacturers Research League at Appleton,
Wisconsin. The unit can produce up to 100,000 faliens per
day of reusable water from mill effluents. The demonstra-
tion project cost of $690,000 is financed by FWPCA (?($)
and Pulp Manufacturers Research League (30^).
3- Federal Activities
An application for permit was reviewed which was submitted
by Dunbar and Sullivan Dredging Company to remove 73000 yds.
of sand from a cellular cofferdam and deposit it on the
established dumping ground in Lake Erie. No objections were
voiced since it was learned that the sand did not contain
any significant pollution materials.
A review was made of an application for permit by the Wiscon-
sin Public Service Company to install a 120-inch I.D. submarine
water intake and discharge facilities in Lake Michigan at the
site of the proposed Kewaunee, Wisconsin Nuclear Power Plant.
Since studies are in progress pertaining to the effects of
heated cooling water discharges to large bodies of water, and
that the results of these studies will not be known for some
time, it was recommended that the permit be granted with the
-------
proviso that pre, during and post construction monitoring
"be carried out, and that the applicant be required to make
modifications to the facilities should the studies indicate
the necessity.
Pollution Surveillance
The Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District is using helicopters
for aerial surveillance of waterways for evidence of pollution.
Any pollution observed is examined immediately and tickets
issued to the firms responsible for the pollution. This
method of surveillance and enforcement has been given wide
publicity in the Chicago newspapers.
A Rochester Program Office employee while working on stream
surveillance noted an oil film on Oneida Creek below the
Hamlet of Oneida Valley and on the surface of Oneida Lake
near the mouth of the creek. This information brought to
light the fact that the week before near Oneida Valley a
Shell Oil Company gasoline truck had exploded and burned,
ingniting four nearby gasoline tanks containing 12,000
gallons.
The U. S. Coast Guard reported recurrence of the pollution
problem from the Sarnia, Ontario area on Sunday evening,
September 15. The light solid particles extended from the
vicinity of Algonac. The Ontario Water Resources Commission
was notified.
An oil spill by the Ford Motor Company on the Rouge River near
Detroit was observed on September 18 by the FWPCA patrol boat
and the U. S. Coast Guard. The company immediately began
containment and removal operations.
An oil spill on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was investi-
gated on September 18. The oil was being discharged from a
tunnel between California Avenue and the B&O Railroad and
covered approximately 1,000 yards of the Canal. The International
Harvester Company was suspected as the source of the oil but
positive identification of the source could not be made.
An oil spill occurred on September 19 on the St. George Branch
of Indiana Harbor Canal. The Sinclair Oil Company and
American Oil Company placed a boom across the Canal and
pumped five or six truck loads of oil and gasoline from the
Canal. Both companies are looking for leaks in their equip-
ment but have not reported the source of the oil at this time.
A Chicago Program Office field crew is sampling harbors on
Lake Superior to determine the characteristics of bottom
sediments to be dredged in 19&9 Corps of Engineers operations.
They are also simultaneously collecting Wisconsin tributary
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- 4 -
samples for water quality evaluation. Harbors studied were
Duluth, Black River, Port Wing, Cornucopia, and Ashland.
An oil slick was spotted on the Cuyahoga River September 18,
by field personnel from the Cleveland Program Office. An
investigation revealed that the oil was discharged from a
storm sewer emptying into Big Creek, a tributary of the
Cuyahoga River. The U. S. Coast Guard and local authorities
were made aware of the condition.
5. Construction Grants
Reviews of the Wisconsin and Minnesota FY 1969 Program Plans
reveal some marked weaknesses in these two State programs,
particularly in the Plan presented by the State of Minnesota.
Wisconsin was rated marginal or below in several program
elements and Minnesota was rated poor in two program elements.
All program elements relate to their bearing on the construc-
tion grants operation. There is an impressive list of projects
requiring construction in Minnesota, but Wisconsin failed to
submit any projected list of needs beyond this year. Identi-
fiable 5-year needs in Minnesota consist of 351 projects
costing $117.5 million.
With the approval of the FY 1969 Program Plan for the State of
Illinois, immediate action was undertaken to shape up any
pending projects ready for grant offers in the State of
Illinois. There are about a dozen such projects on which a
grant offer can be made in the immediate future.
The Michigan FY 1969 Program Plan was approved several days
after the Illinois Plan. However, Michigan has not yet certi-
fied for funding any new projects for FY 1969- All indications
point to the fact that funded priorities by Michigan will not
be issued until after the results of the $335 million State
matching grant bond referendum scheduled for a vote by the
electorate in November. The Executive Director of the Michigan
Water Resources Commission complained to the Construction Grants
Program about the slowness in getting the FY 1969 Michigan Pro-
gram Plan reviewed and approved by FWPCA. He stated his desire
to submit the Plan as early as possible to FWPCA in order to
receive permission to undertake the contents of the Plan by the
beginning of any particular fiscal year. Michigan's desire to
accelerate its program is encouraging.
It was discovered during our field inspection of the Federally-
assisted Melrose, Minnesota sewage treatment works project that
the contractor was bypassing raw sewage into the Sauk River
during construction of a plant expansion. The approved contract
documents and the State agency's construction permit specifically
required primary and secondary treatment throughout construction.
Notification was received during the..week of September 23-27 that
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- 5 -
the one-week bypassing was terminated. The city was re-
quested to file a report with the Construction Grants
Program outlining the actions that will be taken to
insure no reoccurrence.
Completion of the processing of ten grant offers to the
Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago was
accomplished. These ten offers, coupled with an earlier
grant increase, means that the Chicago Sanitary District
has been awarded approximately $4-2 million in Federal
grant funds for FY 1969.
Follow-up action on the status of all active Iowa, Michigan
and Minnesota projects was completed the week of September
23-27- This activity is a continuing effort to insure that
grant recipients are meeting project deadlines and that the
projects are being closed out on a timely basis. Follow-ups
in Illinois and Wisconsin will be completed the week of
September 30.
A total of 30 grant increases were made to Wisconsin communi-
ties to supplement existing grants on ongoing projects. The
grant increases amounted to approximately $2g million and
ranged in size from $3,170 to the Village of Winneconne to
$448,310 to the County of Milwaukee. This raises the Federal
grant percentage to 30 percent or 33 percent for all of these
Wisconsin projects. The communities may be eligible later
for even additional increases up to 50 or 55 percent depending
upon whether all Wisconsin projects have been funded under its
State matching program in addition to having approved water
quality standards.
The State of Minnesota has completed its construction grant
priority rankings for this fiscal year. A. total of 6l grant
applications was received requesting approximately $15i million
in Federal funds in support of total project costs of $49.6
million. There will be sufficient Federal funds to assist
some 25 projects. Eight of these will be in the Twin Cities
metropolitan area and the remainder will consist of projects
outside of that area.
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- 6 -
6. Administrative Services,
Personnel Staffing
A.
B.
C.
D.
Total Positions
Total Personnel on Board
Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
July 31,
1968
219
219
0
0
0
0
0
0
August 31 j
1968
219
219
0
0
0
0
0
0
September 30
1968
217
216
1
0
1
2
2
0
## #
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: August 1968 /^~/J' '^/V Submi>tted: September ^6, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.W. Poston /^jfad&M*^*&W'
I. Regional Activities
1. Storm Overflows Shut Down Chicago's Beaches
All Chicago beaches and those in the northern suburbs of Evanston,
Wilmette, Winnetka, Kennilworth, and Glencoe were closed on August
19 for approximately five days after the Metropolitan Sanitary
District of Greater Chicago released raw sewage into Lake Michigan
to avoid flooding conditions brought on by heavy rains. The inci-
dent highlighted a problem plaguing communities around the country
in which combined sewer systems are used to carry off both storm
water and sewage. In periods of excessive rainfall, the system
can't handle the load, necessitating its release to receiving
waters before treatment. Vinton W. Bacon, sanitary district
superintendent, had proposed a system of deep-tunnel reservoirs
for storing the overflow for later treatment, but the district's
board of trustees had rejected this $1.5 billion plan as too
costly. On September 3, Trustee Gerald Marks questioned the
necessity of releasing the overflow, and asked Bacon for a full
report on procedures used. The district kept locks open for six
hours in Wilmette Harbor and for five hours on the Chicago River
Saturday, August 18. The FWPCA's Chicago Program Office collected
chemical and bacteriological samples during the period.
2. Phosphate Removal Would Hike Construction Costs
At a reconvened- session of the Lake Erie Federal Enforcement Con-
ference in Cleveland August 26, Dr. David Stephan, acting assis-
tant commissioner for research, estimated that construction costs
for sewage treatment plants might increase by 50 per cent if the
conferees require 80 per cent removal of phosphorus from wastes.
The meeting centered on questions raised by George Eagle, the
Ohio conferee, as to the feasibility and necessity of phosphate
removal. Eagle, who had been accused of "footdragging" on the
issue in an editorial in the Cleveland Press, said that there
would be no footdragging on the part of Ohio.
3. Photograph Fish Deformed by Temperature
The National Water Quality Laboratory at Duluth, Minnesota, has
successfully photographed white sucker fish larvae deformed by
exposure to temperature ranges above and below their level of
tolerance. The photomicrographs were taken by aquatic biologists
James Tucker and Dr. Kenneth Hokanson. Included in the photos
are a normal appearing larvae hatched from eggs incubated at 15
degrees centigrade; a normal six-week-old larvae incubated and
reared at the same temperature; a formerly normal six-weekrold
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larvae deformed by exposure to 30 degrees centigrade for 10
days, and a newly hatched larvae whose curved spine and
swelling around the head was caused by exposure in eggs
incubated at six degrees centigrade. At this temperature
most fry were deformed and died soon after hatching.
4. Giant Algal Bloom Spotted in Lake Erie
A huge bloom of algae covering almost half of the western basin
of Lake Erie was first observed by boat operators from the
Detroit Program Office the week of August 19-23- They reported
it was the most choking concentration of algae they have seen in
six years of sampling the area. The bloom, off shore from
Toledo, Ohio, and Monroe, Michigan, had dissolved oxygen satura-
tions of 160 per cent at the surface while depth samples regis-
tered a 70 per cent lack of oxygen. The filamentous blue-green
algae was identified as Aphanizomenon, which is a thick 3*000
filaments per mililiter. The Regional Director- also observed
the bloom and asked the Cleveland Program Office to conduct
aerial surveys and obtain photographs. Biologists say that
this particular type of algae gives off a "pig pen" odor when
it dies.
5. Highlight Needs in Illinois Bond Issue
A committee issuing literature on the $1 billion bond issue being
submitted to Illinois voters November 5 estimates that expenditures
of at least $2.5 billion will be required in the next 12 years to
construct municipal water pollution control facilities. Of this
amount, the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago will
need over $1.3 billion, the committee thinks. The sanitary dis-
trict puts its needs even higher. In a report on construction
needs, it says $2.2 billion is called for in a 10-year cleanup
program. Such a plan would provide advanced waste treatment
capable of removing up to 99 per cent of pollutants and provide
solutions for combined sewer overflow problems, the district
maintains. The federal contribution to such a program would be
$452 million. The deputy regional director presented a statement
of the FWPCA Regional Office before the Illinois Water Pollution
and Water Resources Commission on August 12, pointing out the
advantages to municipalities in increased federal grants if the
state bond issue passes.
6. Tests Show Rochester Beaches Should Remain Closed
Results of tests conducted the week of August 19-23 by the Rochester
Program Office show that the three beaches in the Rochester, New
York, area should remain closed because of pollution. The New York
State Health Department has indicated that the beaches will not be
opened until improvements are made to correct the discharge of
combined sewer overflows to Lake Erie and until treatment is im-
proved at the Rochester sewage treatment plant.
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- 3 -
7. Meet with National Lead Company on River Pollution
The Regional Federal Activities Coordinator met the week of
August 5~9 with officials of Missouri, the Corps of Engineers,
and National Lead Company to discuss FWPCA objections to granting
of a federal permit to allow construction of an outfall sewer that
would discharge untreated industrial wastes to the Mississippi
River. The Missouri Water Pollution Control Board has approved
the firm's proposal, maintaining that the river can easily assimi-
late the wastes. The company says it has budgeted $200,000 for
building the outfall and does not intend to spend any more than
that amount. The St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District does not
want to accept the company's industrial wastes because of the
solids disposal problems that would be created. The Corps of
Engineers also opposes the plan and intends to charge the company
for any maintenance dredging that has to be done because of a
buildup of wastes. The company, located south of St. Louis,
discharges 21 million gallons per day of cooling water and paint
manufacturing wastes to the Mississippi.
8. State Program Plans Show Scope of Meeds
State Program Plans for 1969 call for construction of 772 treat-
ment facilities in Illinois costing $465 million in the next six
years, and 312 projects costing approximately $408 million in
Michigan for a comparable period. Since no state program plans
have yet been approved, the Regional Construction Grants Office
has not obligated 1969 funds to the states. The FWPCA appropria-
tion for 1969 for construction grants is $29-2 million compared
to $27.6 million available in 1968. An additional $1,099,155 has
also been made available to the Regional Construction Grants divi-
sion as a result of redistributed 1967 funds. These allocations
come from states outside the Great Lakes region which were unable
to use such funds.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Standards
Minnesota, which is in the process of drafting intrastate water
quality standards, is also considering including effluent require-
ments. The draft calls for secondary treatment for all intrastate
discharges.
2. Comprehensive Planning
The water quality work group of the Great Lakes Basin Framework
Study, one of 26 teams formed to cover various aspects of a
planning study of water and related land resources in the basin,
met for the first time August 20 and 21 in the FWPCA Regional
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Office. C. R. Ownbey, who is in charge of the regional office's
reports and planning section, chaired the meeting, which formed
five teams—one for each lake basin. The study was initiated by
the Great Lakes Basin Commission, which is coordinating the work.
3- Technical Programs
Inshore water temperatures taken by the Rochester Program Office
at bathing beaches in the Rochester vicinity were supplied to
the Buffalo District Corps of Engineers after complaints were
registered that cold water released by the Corps from a reservoir
to enhance trout fishing was having an adverse affect on swimmers.
4. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard in Toledo, Ohio, have both
requested funds to permit hooking their facilities into the muni-
cipal sewer system. The Corps has funds available to pay for the
project but the Coast Guard does not. However, Gene Casper,
Toledo's Commissioner of Engineering, said that if the Coast
Guard will issue a letter of assurance, the city will install
the sewer connection and accept payment at a later time.
Of the 2,250 federal installations in the Great Lakes Region, 1,420
are connected to municipal sewage systems; 820 provide their own
disposal facilities. The remaining handful do not produce wastes.
This information was gathered at the request of headquarters.
The Regional Federal Activities Office has requested two require-
ments prior to issuance of a Corps of Engineers' permit to Mobil
Oil Company to dredge in front of its dock site on the Chicago
Sanitary and Ship Canal. The office has asked that the dredging
be disposed of on upland property and that the barges used to
transport the dredgings be sealed to prevent leakage to the waterway.
5. Enforcement
A severe oil spill, which occurred on the Niagara River August 30,
was traced to the Ashland Oil Refinery, according to the Cleveland
Program Office. The spill is tinder investigation by the Inter-
national Joint Commission in Buffalo, New York, and prosecution
appears possible, the Cleveland Program Office thinks.
An engineer from the Cleveland Program Office met the week of
September 3-6 with Darrell Allison, district fish management
supervisor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, to try to determine
long range effects of a recent gasoline spill that decimated the
fish population in the Huron River. The kill reported the week of
August 12-16, wiped out the entire fish population, and state game
wardens say it might take 15 to 20 years to fully restore the stream.
The meeting also was helpful in improving federal-state communications
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for putting a contingency plan into operation in case of an oil
spill on Lake Erie. The Cleveland Program Office director,
representing the American section of the International Joint
Commission, also met with Canadian members on September 5 and 6
to decide how emergency equipment can be utilized in dealing
with accidental oil spills in the lake.
The Nine Mile Creek Watershed District is planning court action
against the city of Hopkins to stop it from bypassing raw sewage
to Nine Mile Creek. Hopkins, a suburb of Minneapolis, discharges
its sewage to the Minneapolis sewage system but has been bypassing
untreated wastes. This is the first time in the state's history
that a watershed district has taken such action, according to the
FWPCA. Minneapolis Program Office. Hopkins had hired a consulting
engineering firm to study its sewer system and make recommenda-
tions for improvements.
An extremely heavy oil slick was reported on the Rouge River on
August 12 by a boat operator with the Detroit Program Office. The
FWPCA oil contingency plan was put into operation, with the Coast
Guard, Corps of Engineers, and Michigan Water Resources Commission
alerted. Some of the oil was contained in a drain immediately
downstream from the Wabash Railroad bridge, the program office
reports. Source of the spill was not determined, but the Shell
Oil Company—at the request of the Coast Guard—hired the Marine
Pollution Control Dispersion Corporation to remove the trapped oil.
6. Construction Grants
A record number of Wisconsin communities have filed construction
grant applications to build or expand sewage treatment facilities
in 1969, with 93 applicants requesting over $33-5 million in
federal aid to launch projects costing in excess of $6? million.
The Fiscal Year 1969 grant allocation for Wisconsin amounts to
only $4-4 million, and the state, in a report on the federal grant
program, is sharply critical of the far smaller amount appropriated
for the program compared to the sum Congress authorized.
Michigan is considering adopting New York's approach toward use of
federal construction grants in which the state has been getting
communities to apply for federal assistance of one to two per cent
of the cost of a project, with the state supplementing this minimum
grant with its own grant funds. This is done for two reasons:
l) Funds contributed by the state are eligible for reimbursement
by the federal government when more money becomes available; 2)
depressed federal funds can be stretched further. New York is
supporting its grants program with a $1 billion bond issue passed
several years ago. If Michigan's $335 million water pollution
control bond issue is approved by voters this November, it may
use this method for financing sewage treatment plant construction.
-------
An inspection of the Hennepin, Illinois, sewage treatment plant
by a regional construction grants engineer disclosed that elec-
trical service was discontinued when the power company repaired
a line, resulting in a stoppage of treatment and the discharge
of raw sewage to the Illinois River. While the incident only
lasted for two hours, it did point up a potentially serious
problem. The construction grants office notified other state
agencies of the matter, suggesting that they discuss the
situation with utility companies to see if temporary power
facilities could be provided as they are for restaurants, hospitals
and other public institutions. Michigan and Wisconsin officials
promptly replied that steps are being taken to prevent pollution
from this unexpected situation.
The largest federal construction grant ever awarded in the state
of Minnesota—$1,607AOO—was made to the Southwest Sanitary
Sewer District Board at Hopkins on August 28. The grant will be
used in construction of approximately six miles of intercepting
sewers and represents 30 per cent of the cost of the $5^357^000
project. The sewers will serve the communities of Eden Prairie,
Minnetonka, Deephaven, Eagle Creek, and Prior Lake in the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The award specifies that no payments
are to be made until a secondary sewage treatment plant is built
to complete the system.
For the first time, Minnesota has agreed to conduct audits on
completed federal grant projects to determine a plant's per-
formance and maintenance at periodic intervals. With the
Minnesota agreement, all states served by the regional con-
struction grants office now have primary responsibility for
such audits.
A $220,170 construction grant was released to the village of
Itasca, Illinois, after the community and the Illinois Sanitary
Water Board took steps to halt the bypassing of raw sewage into
Spring Brook Creek during a treatment plant expansion project.
Des Moines, Iowa, whose grant money was withheld after it dis-
charged untreated wastes during a similar expansion program into
the Des Moines River, has notified the regional construction
grants office that another bypass of raw sewage occurred from
August 17 through August 20 following heavy rains. The plant
is now back in full operation following repairs to a portion of
the plant damaged by the storm.
7. Pollution Surveillance
A Detroit Program Office biologist investigated a duck kill in a
small canal that enters Lake St. Glair near Mt. Clemens, Michigan,
the week of August 5-9- Several ducks were observed dying or
disabled along the canal. Cause of death was not immediately
determined. The Michigan Conservation Department and the Water
Resources Commission are participating in the investigation. The
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same week high bacterial counts were reported by the Detroit
Program Office at the alternate Detroit sewage treatment plant
outfall which discharges to the Rouge River and is being used
while modifications are being made to the outfall on the Detroit
River. In another incident the same week, patches of a white
substance were observed by the FWPCA's patrol boat along a two-
mile stretch of the Detroit River upstream from Grassy Island.
The sighting was reported to the Michigan Water Resources
Commission.
An official of the Earth Resources Division of Honeywell, Inc.,
met with Minneapolis Program Office personnel the week of
August 12-16 to discuss the company's possible development of
remote multi-spectral sensing devices that could be used in
airplanes or satellites to detect pollution.
A narrow sheen of light-weight oil a half-mile long was sighted
along the eastern edge of the Trenton Channel at the south end
of Grosse lie August 20, the Detroit Program Office reports, but
dissipated in a short time. The week of September 2-6, an oil
slick was sighted on the St. Glair River extending from Sarnia,
Ontario, to Stag Island. Samples were collected, and appropriate
agencies notified. This type of discharge from the Sarnia area
has been frequently reported during the summer, the program
office says. The Rochester Program Office also reported two
minor oil spills. One occurred the week of August 26-30 on the
Barge Canal west of the Genesee River when a 100,000-gallon
barge rammed a submerged object, spilling about 1,000 gallons
into the water. The oil caused about $5,000 worth of damage
to small boats before it was dispersed. The week of August 5-9,
the Coast Guard reported a small spill in the St. Lawrence River
near Linda Island. A ship thought to be responsible for a larger
spill several weeks before is also suspected of this spill, the
Rochester Program Office reports.
A report was received on August 28 by a Regional Office Technical
Programs staff member from the Michigan Water Resources Commission
that the freighter "Francisco Morazon" was aground on a Lake
Michigan reef off South Manitou Island and was leaking its cargo
of 6,500 gallons of fuel oil. Some of the oil had caught fire.
The Coast Guard dispatched boats from Ludington, Michigan, to
investigate. An oil slick was also observed from a plane eight
miles northwest of Gary, Indiana, on the same day, but a Coast
Guard boat sent to the scene could find no trace of the spill
when it arrived in the area.
Aquatic biologists from the National Water Quality Laboratory in
Duluth, Minnesota, have been scuba diving near the Reserve Mining
Company's taconite processing plant at Silver Bay, Minnesota, in
order to conduct aquatic insect counts. An Interior Department
task force is seeking to determine if the 59,000 tons a day of
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taconite tailings the plant discharges to Lake Superior is
causing water pollution. A, first draft of its report is to be
completed by October 24. A boat operator from the Cleveland
Program Office also went scuba diving at Detroit to remove
debris that had collected around a water quality monitor
intake.
8. Research and Development
The executive office of the President has requested information
from the Rochester Program Office on the possible threat of
thermal pollution to Cayuga Lake because of a proposed nuclear
power plant to be built on its shores. The lake is noted for
trout fishing, although the state of New York does not have
its waters classified for such an endeavor.
The Rochester Program Office's biology unit has started an
investigation of the bottom fauna of Canadice Lake to study
the effects on it of natural eutrophication. The natural aging
process can be studied because the city of Rochester protects
the lake as a source of its water supply.
The Rochester Program Office director represented the FWPCA at a
meeting of the Eastern Oswego Basin Regional Water Resources
Planning and Development Board at which there was discussion as
to the best methods for treating over 100 industries' wastes by
the joint facilities of the Onodaga County Department of Public
Works. The FWPCA has awarded a $357^000 research and development
grant to determine the most feasible methods. The public works
department provides services for 17 sanitary districts, including
the city of Syracuse, and most of the effluent produced flows into
Onondaga Lake—the most polluted body of water under the program
office's jurisdiction.
8. Administrative Services
June 30, July 31, August 31,
Personnel Staffing 1968 1968 1968
A. Total Positions 224 219* 219
B. Total Personnel on Board 224 219* 219
C. Total Personnel Gains 20 0 0
1. New Hires 14 0 0
2. Transfers 600
D. Total Personnel Losses 700
1. Resignations 700
2. Transfers 000
* At Ely, Minnesota, 5 positions transferred to Northwest Region, FWPCA.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: July 1968 /"'"/" /O Submitted: August 12, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
1. Sign Pesticide Pact
Officials from the four states bordering Lake Michigan signed an
agreement Wednesday, July 31> vhich will seek to curb pesticide
pollution of the lake. The agreement calls for an inventory of
all possible sources of pesticide contamination throughout the
Lake Michigan basin, including that caused by spraying for Dutch
elm disease and mosquito control; monitoring of Lake Michigan
watercourses; stepped up enforcement of existing laws; accelerated
research; an assessment of damage to fish and wildlife, natural
resources and scenic beauty, and planning to prevent further
pollution of this sort. The regional director attended the
signing ceremonies at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago. The
document that state conservation agency heads signed said in
part: "Recent findings that DDT was the most probable cause of
death of nearly one million coho salmon fry hatched from Lake
Michigan-nurtured eggs has brought the problem into sharper focus.
We believe that unless timely steps are taken to control persistent
pesticides and other economic poisons, Lake Michigan's usefulness
will shrink to a fraction of its potential—indeed to the point of
disaster."
2. Open 'Pool* in Lake Erie
Cleveland's "swimming pool" in Lake Erie was officially opened by
Mayor. Carl Stokes in a ribbon-cutting, band-playing ceremony the
week of July 29-August 2. The "pool" is a sheet-piling-enclosed
area off White City Beach whose waters are treated with disin-
fectants. Waste discharges near the beach also receive massive
doses of chlorination to make the water fit for swimming. Portions
of the project were financed by a $325,COO I¥PCA research grant.
3. Senator Observes Trawling Operations
Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana observed alewife trawling operations
and shore disposal methods during an inspection tour July 15 at '
the southern end of Lake Michigan. Bayh was accompanied by federal,
state and local officials, including the deputy regional director.
In addition to watching the trawlers skim dead alewives from the
water, Bayh was shown the profusion of Cladophora algae growing on
sheetpiling at the Indiana Port Authority harbor under construction
at Burns Ditch. The algal growths are an indication of the lake's
degradation.
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U. Giant Lake Ontario Oil Spill
An oil slick three miles long and two miles wide was discovered
July 20 inching into the head of the St. Lawrence River from
Lake Ontario. The spill caused concern that pumping operations
by many communities which draw their water supply from the river
would have to be suspended. But by the next day the oil had
been dissipated, the Coast Guard reported. The Rochester Pro-
gram Office, which cooperated with the Coast Guard during search
operations, reported that choppy seas appeared to have dispersed
the oil. The deputy director of the program office advised against
using detergents on the oil because of the possibility of killing
marine life. In general, he said, the contingency oil spill plan
that was put into effect worked well. Source of the spill was
presumed to be a passing ship.
5. Contingency Oil Spill Plan Developed
A regional contingency plan to deal with oil spills on the Great
Lakes has been developed by the regional technical programs divi-
sion, and will be incorporated into a national plan. A regional
operations team that will operate from the regional office during
emergencies has representatives from the divisions of enforcement,
technical programs, pollution surveillance, water resources studies,
and public information. Development of the plan followed a number
of practice drills staged by the Coast Guard in which FWPCA program
office personnel took part. The simulated Torrey Canyon exercises
were held on each of the Great Lakes.
6. Alewives, Algae Mar Lake Ontario Shores
The Rochester Program Office reports that the annual die-off of
alewives was greater in Lake Ontario this year than in years past.
Northerly winds drove more numbers than usual ashore, where the
dead carcasses piled up with masses of Cladophora algae. The
stench from this unsightly scene drove recreationists away from
many of the major lakeside parks.
7- Announce Joint Thermal Study
The FWPCA's National Water Quality Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota,
and Northern States Power Company on July 31 announced the start of
a study into the effects of heated water on fish spawning. The
study will begin in September at Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, on
the St. Croix River near the company's Allen S. King generating
plant. Second phase of the study will be conducted at the firm's
nuclear electric generating plant on the Mississippi River at
Monticello, Minnesota, when the plant begins operations in 1970.
Forty-eight tanks are being installed in the King plant study to
house species of fish native to the St. Croix River, such as
walleye, northern pike, large mouth bass, small mouth bass, white
bass, channel catfish, white suckers and emerald minnows. The
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- 3 -
long-term Monticello studies on the thermal tolerance of fish
and fish food organisms vill be conducted under natural con-
ditions .
8. Release Portion of Des Moines Grant
Following an inspection of the new sewage treatment facilities
at Des Moines, Iowa, the Regional Construction Grants chief
agreed to release another $80,000 of a $380,000 construction
grant. The grant had been held up after the city bypassed raw
sewage into the Des Moines river for six weeks starting March 26
while work was conducted on the new facility. A decision on the
remaining $300,000 of the $600,000 grant will not be made until
after an inspection of the completed improvements. City offi-
cials were criticized in an editorial in the Des Moines Tribune
for not notifying the FWPCA of the sewage bypass and for not
seeking suggestions as to how the problem might be remedied.
Payments were withheld in the regional office because the project
approved by the FWPCA called for "substantially complete" plant
operations during construction.
9- Itasca Bypasses Raw Sewage
A $220,170 construction grant to the village of Itasca, Illinois,
was held up after the Illinois Sanitary Water Board notified the
regional construction grants office that the village was bypassing
raw sewage into Spring Brook Creek during a treatment plant expan-
sion project. The bypassing is in violation of its agreement with
the FWPCA, the grants office says.
19. Four Agencies Sponsor Streams Clean-up
The FWPCA Regional Office joined with three other governmental
agencies in sponsoring a clean-up program of approximately 25 miles
of streams that wind through forest preserves in south Cook County,
Illinois. One of the sponsoring agencies, the Cook County Office
of Economic Opportunity, hired 100 young men between the ages of 16
and 21 to remove fallen logs, old tires, tin cans and other trash
from Thorn, Butterfield and Tinley creeks. The work force was re-
cruited through the Neighborhood Youth Corps and the Youth Oppor-
tunity Corps. In addition, the FWPCA hired and trained 10 high
school and college student supervisors to lead teams of 10 in the
clean-up. Work began July 30 and will continue through August 23.
The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago is giving
overall direction to the project. The Cook County Forest Preserve
District is providing chain saws. The interagency program is
similar to those being undertaken in other areas of the country
this summer.
11. Award Grants in 'Northern Appalachia'
The Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission was recently formed to
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encourage economic growth in the depressed northernmost counties
of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, an area considered the
Appalachia of the North. The commission has been working with
the regional construction grants office to obtain supplemental
grants on existing FWPCA sewage treatment plant projects. The
first two supplemental grants were awarded July 1. A $60,000
grant went to Nashwauk, Minnesota, while Crystal Falls, Michigan
received $169,7^0.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Comprehensive Planning
The New York State Department of Health has agreed to join the
FWPCA in publishing a report, "Water Pollution Problems and
Improvement Needs—Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Basins."
The report is now undergoing a final review in FWPCA headquarters
in Washington, D. C. There is consensus on all but two of the 31
recommendations in the report. In these instances, the state
qualifies its backing. One recommendation calls for achieving 85
per cent removal in secondary treatment by municipalities. The
state says it defines secondary treatment as 75 to 95 Per cent
reduction in biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids, but
that it is encouraging the design of facilities which would
achieve 85 per cent removal. The second recommendation to which
it adds a qualifying note calls for 80 per cent phosphate removal
and, by 1972, 90 per cent reduction of phosphorus in waste dis-
charges for municipalities serving a population of 5>000 or more.
State officials have expressed reservations as to whether phosphate
removal is the key to curbing the accelerated aging of lakes.
2. Technical Programs
Cuyahoga County was awarded a $7^1,350 FWPCA grant the week of
July 29-August 2 to experiment with carbon filtration in an attempt
to achieve the equivalent of secondary treatment of wastes that its
plant discharges into the Rocky River.
The Metropolitan Council of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has pro-
posed development of a major recreational area in a backwater created
by a lock and dam 12 miles below the principal metropolitan sources
of pollution of the Mississippi River. One feasible way of avoiding
problems from these discharges, the council says, is to pipe the
wastes around the recreation site and empty them into the river 20
miles downstream.
3. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
Construction of a large dike in Cleveland Harbor to contain all of
the dredgings from the Cuyahoga River for the next four years is
planned and will be located next to a pilot dike that now receives
dredged materials. The dikes will be built in conjunction with the
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city of Cleveland's plans to expand Burke Lakefront Airport into
Lake Erie. The Cleveland Program Office Director attended a
meeting on the project the week of July 8-12 vith officials of
the Corps of Engineers and city. FWPCA Commissioner Joe G.
Moore Jr., in Detroit July 10 to address the 2nd Annual Con-
ference of State and Federal Water Officials, boarded the Corps
of Engineers' dredge Hoffman to observe how dredged spoils are
disposed of in a dike-enclosed area of Grassy Island on the
Detroit River.
The Minnesota Department of Conservation has complained that the
waste discharge from treatment facilities constructed at the
White Earth Indian reservation at Naytahwaush will pollute a
trout stream. The complaint was forwarded to the Missouri Basin
region where the reservation is located. The Regional Federal
Activities Coordinator is investigating further. He has also
asked for a conference with a Bureau of Indian Affairs repre-
sentative after having received information that waste treatment
facilities are being designed and built at reservations without
approval by the FWPCA.
The regional federal activities office has recommended that the
Chicago Coast Guard station use a barge as a holding tank for
disposal of wastes while weighing a decision to either relocate
the station or build a pumping unit and hook into a city sewer.
This arrangement will eliminate the discharge of partially
treated wastes to Lake Michigan.
Prior to commenting in favor of an Inland Steel Company's request
for revalidation of a Corps of Engineers' permit for a lake fill
project at the firm's East Chicago plant, the regional federal
activities office has asked: l) that a barge access opening be
located on the Indiana Harbor canal side of the fill area to
minimize a pollution threat; 2) that a barrier be provided to
prevent pollutants from reaching Lake Michigan; 3) that a sampling
program be conducted to determine the effects on the lake; 4) that
the waters in the fill area be treated if sampling indicates such
a need.
k. Enforcement
FWPCA and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency representatives met
on three occasions with officials of United States Steel Corporation
in response to a complaint by Representative John Blatnik that a
steel plant near Duluth was discharging excessive amounts of oil
into the St. Louis River. The Minneapolis Program Office Director
and the assistant to the director of the National Water Quality
Laboratory in Duluth accompanied George Koonce of the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency on an inspection July 2 and follow-up
visits July 2k and 2?. United States Steel's American Steel and
Wire Division plant was discharging large quantities of oil from a
waste treatment lagoon. Work in abating the discharge was slow,
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- 6 -
follow-up tours showed. Koonce instructed the company to keep
its oil removal pump operating around the clock and, if necessary,
place a log boom within the lagoon to hold back the oil. Con-
struction of facilities is underway to prevent future discharges.
The Chicago Program Office responded July 4 to an oil spill on the
Sheboygan River, brought about when a Reiss Coal Company dock in
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, collapsed under several hundred tons of pig
iron and crushed a 12-inch line containing bunker C fuel oil. Two
men were dispatched to the scene to determine if clean-up measures
were adequate. An American Oil Company boom and Howard Morris
Company vacuum truck were brought up from Chicago to contain and
remove the oil before it entered Lake Michigan. Straw was also
used to absorb the oil. The spill was cleaned up by the late
afternoon of July 5, and the oil-laden straw burned in the Sheboygan
city incinerator.
A Trumbell Asphalt Company storage tank exploded on July 6 and
dumped 500 gallons of asphalt into the Rouge River. Company crews
and the Marine Pollution Control Dispersion Corporation began an
immediate clean-up of the material from the river. A shore clean-up
of asphalt-covered logs and debris continued through the week. The
Detroit Program Office notified the Michigan Water Resources Commis-
sion of the spill.
5. Construction Grants
A final field inspection by regional construction grants personnel
of the East St. Louis, Illinois, primary sewage treatment plant on
July 31 revealed mechanical equipment out of service, a grit tank
that wasn't working, a wet well in the pumping station filled with
floating debris, scum, and oil, heavy scum accumulations in troughs,
and splattered sludge stains on the walls and doors of a filter room.
The city administration was advised by letter that unless conditions
were improved, there was a possibility that federal financial support
might be withdrawn.
The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago has adopted a
resolution banning combined sewers in new developments, but will
still permit their construction in built-up areas of Chicago pending
a solution to the problem. The sanitary district has been considering
the use of deep underground reservoirs for storing storm overflows
from combined sewers for future treatment to avoid polluting receiving
streams. Two large combined sewer projects in Chicago were approved
by the regional construction grants office following passage of the
resolution.
Both Houses of the Illinois legislature passed amendments to the $1
billion natural resources bond issue which will be voted on this
November, eliminating grant and loan provisions for industry for
water pollution control facilities. Grants and loans for municipali-
ties for such installations were retained in the measure.
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The Milwaukee County Board's five-year capital improvement pro-
gram envisions $29 million for sewage treatment facilities and
$8l million for sewers for a total of $110 million in planned
construction.
A grant increase of $l,l6l,703 was awarded Dubuque, Iowa, the
week of July 22 to support construction of a secondary sewage
treatment plant which will discharge to the Mississippi River.
The increase hiked the grant, already the largest ever made in
Iowa, to $2,070,420. A stipulation written into the award calls
for the city to develop a program for avoiding sewer breaks
caused by river traffic. This was because a barge recently
slammed into a sewer that extends into the river, causing the
discharge of seven million gallons of raw sewage into its waters.
A state construction grants program administered by Wisconsin has
pledged over $3 million to 26 communities during its first year
of operations. The payments on the grants will be spread over
terms ranging from five to 30 years, with the average annual pay-
ment for all projects amounting to a little over $150,000.
Roland Cornelius was hired as contract compliance and equal oppor-
tunity officer. He will work in the regional construction grants
section and is charged with seeing that grant projects provide
maximum equal opportunity in employment. He will also serve as
regional FvtfPCA equal employment opportunity officer.
6. Pollution Surveillance
The Rochester Program Office began a beach sampling program the
week of June 2^-28. Three of Rochester's closed beaches are being
sampled twice a week, and several other beaches intermittantly.
Testing for Salmonella, a group of bacteria that causes intestinal
diseases, is being conducted at two of the closed beaches, with
samples sent to the Chicago Program Office's microbiology labora-
tory for tests. A beach sampling program was also launched by
the Cleveland Program Office the week of July 8-12 in which nine
Lake Erie beaches will be sampled every two weeks for the remainder
of the summer.
Heavy, continuous rains in latter June and early July in south-
eastern Michigan caused record floods in the lower Huron River and
many tributaries, forcing a number of sewage treatment plants to
shut down because of power failures or flooding. A plant at Loch
Alpine was inundated by failure of a dam on a Huron River tributary
to hold back the rising waters. A dam on the Huron River below Ann
Arbor failed, causing excessive damage to the Ann Arbor treatment
plant. Other plants in the area that were temporarily out of service
are located at Milan, Saline, and Tecumseh, the Detroit Program
Office reports. Basements, businesses and other public businesses
were flooded with a mixture of sewage and storm water. Two Detroit
Program Office personnel investigated treatment facilities at Loch
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- 8 -
Alpine and found that primary treatment units had been restored
to service but that secondary treatment equipment would not be
functioning for some time. The floods caused unusually high
turbidity in the Detroit River, forcing suspension of the pro-
gram office's sampling runs. High winds that accompanied the
storms delayed the cruise of a 31-foot patrol boat which is
being used to assist the Cleveland Program Office in a Lake Erie
survey. The boat was docked at Erieau, Ontario, until July 3,
then brought back to the Grosse lie Naval Air Station where the
PWPCA offices are located.
Bulldozers were used the week of July 1-5 to clean Lake Huron
beaches at Michigan's Bay City State Park near the mouth of the
Saginaw River of algae and fragmented rock. The lake's shoreline
and near shore waters at Port Crescent State Park were clotted
with Cladophora algae growths, according to a Detroit Program
Office biologist.
An electronic monitor on the Mississippi River below the Twin-
Cities, one of three employed by the Minneapolis Program Office
to detect pollution, recorded a drop in dissolved oxygen from 3-5
miligrams per liter to 2.0 mg/1 in 12 hours the week of July 15-19-
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was notified and traced the
drop to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District plant which had
reduced treatment from 75 to ^-0 per cent removal of wastes because
of a mechanical breakdown. Repairs were being made.
An oil spill was reported to the Detroit Program Office by the
Ontario Water Resources Commission the week of July 29-August 2
along the Canadian side of the St. Clair River which extended for
seven miles south of Sarnia, Ontario; in some areas the slick
crossed the international boundary. The commission is investigat-
ing the spill. The week of July 22-26, the Coast Guard reported
large quantities of a white substance being discharged from the
Sarnia area to the St. Clair River. The Detroit Program Office
informed the commission of the discharges.
The Ohio State Wildlife Division says the recent deaths of some 300
ducks in Lake Erie's Put-in-Bay are due to algae toxicity. Karl
Bednarik, state waterfowl expert, told the Cleveland Press that he
gathered up some still living ducks and had them examined at the
Ohio Department of Agriculture's diagnostic laboratory at Reynolds-
burg. Lab technicians found algae in the duck's intestines. The
toxic algae was given to mice and they died immediately. The
poisoning virtually wiped out the duck population around the South
Bass Island region.
7. Research and Development
The Chicago Program Office Director and chief chemist of the radio-
logical unit attended a two-day meeting June 2k-25 of the Lake
Michigan enforcement conference committee on nuclear discharges and
thermal pollution, with the second day devoted to an inspection of
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- 9 -
the site of a new nuclear power electric generating plant being
constructed by Commonwealth Edison Company on Lake Michigan at
Zion, Illinois. Power company officials filled in federal and
state officials on the firm's pollution control plans.
A fish kill investigations team is being formed at the National
Water Quality Laboratory at Duluth, Minnesota, which will develop
standard methods for determining the causes of fish kills, em-
ploying both laboratory and field techniques.
Governor Warren Knowles of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Natural
Resources Board toured the National Water Quality Laboratory in
Duluth July 17. The governor's party was welcomed by the regional
director and briefed by the lab's director on research goals. The
regional director and Cleveland Program Office director, who were
attending a meeting of the Great Lakes Basin Commission in Duluth,
joined IT other commission members and alternates for a tour of
the facilities on July 19-
8. Administrative Services
May 31, June 30, July 31,
Personnel Staffing 1968 1968 1968
A. Total Positions 223 224 219 *
B. Total Personnel on Board 211 22k 219 *
C. Total Personnel Gains 3 20 0
1. New Hires 2 ik 0
2. Transfers 1 6 0
D. Total Personnel Losses 270
1. Resignations 170
2. Transfers 100
* At Ely, Minnesota, 5 positions transferred to Northwest Region, FWPCA.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: June 1968 — -f ^-^UBMITTED: July 2, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
1. Second Phosphorus Seminar Held
A second seminar concentrating on available techniques for
removing phosphorus from wastes to combat water pollution
was held June 26 and 27 in Chicago. Close to kQO persons
attended. Emphasis at the second parley was on methods
being used by treatment plant operators and chemical firms,
with industrial representatives making the majority of
presentations. The first seminar, held May 1 and 2 in
Chicago, featured FWPCA speakers. The FWPCA sponsored
both sessions. They grew out of the recent four-state
Lake Michigan Federal enforcement conference which recom-
mended that all municipalities achieve an 80 per cent
reduction of phosphorus in their wastes by December 1972
to arrest accelerated aging of the lake.
2. FWPCA Sanitary District Study
A four-month evaluation of the Metropolitan Sanitary District
of Greater Chicago by the FWPCA has resulted in 23 recommenda-
tions for improving operations. The study was undertaken at
the request of the district's board of trustees. While the
report credited the district with doing a good job, it urged
that its effluent be improved; that a tighter control be
exercised over industrial wastes under the administration of
a single agency, and that storm overflows from combined
sewers be brought under control. It suggested various ways
that these objectives could be achieved. The study was
undertaken by the FWPCA's Technical Advisory and Investiga-
tions Branch at Cincinnati, Ohio. Murray Stein, chief
enforcement officer of the FWPCA, presented the report to
John E. Egan, president of the board of trustees, at a June
19 press conference in the district's offices in Chicago.
3. Minnesota's Standards Approved
Standards proposed by Minnesota to improve its interstate
waters have been approved by Secretary of the Interior
Stewart L. Udall, with some exceptions. Udall was critical
of the state's failure to include the St. Louis River in
Duluth. The Secretary further asked Minnesota to adopt a
formal policy to protect existing high quality waters, a
request he has made of a number of other states. This is
the so-called "anti-degradation" clause which some states
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are resisting. Standards of 10 out of 11 states in the
Great Lakes Region have now been approved, Iowa being
the exception. Nation-wide, Udall's action on Minnesota
hikes the figure to 38 state standards approvals. John
Badalich, director of the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency, said that hearings will be held on rivers of an
interstate nature—such as the Mississippi, Minnesota,
St. Croix, Red and Rainy—as well as Lake Superior to
inform waste dischargers of what they must do to meet a
1972 compliance date. The Chicago Program Office is
preparing a report on progress in pollution control along
the St. Louis River for Rep. John A. Blatnik of Minnesota's
Eighth Congressional District. The river, which empties
into Lake Superior, is contaminated by paper and pulp and
steel processing wastes.
k. Hold Simulated Oil Spill Drill
Members of the HWPCA's regional office and Chicago Program
Office participated in a simulated emergency oil spill drill
June 20. The alert was staged by the Coast Guard at the
Indiana Harbor Ship Canal, East Chicago, Indiana. Purpose
of Exercise Torrey Canyon was to improve the readiness of
the Coast Guard and other agencies to respond to oil spill
disasters. The Chicago Program Office has developed a 7-day,
2k-hour-a-day answering service to take calls on oil spills.
The Detroit Program Office reports that a similar simulated
drill was conducted by the Coast Guard in Toledo Harbor the
week of June 3-7- A number of regional and program office
personnel attended a seminar on spills of hazardous sub-
stances June 13 and Ik in Edison, New Jersey. President
Johnson has asked Secretary Udall to submit contingency plans
covering such spills in each coastal area and other bodies of
water by July 31.
5. Close River Because of Explosion Threat
The Detroit River was closed to navigation by the Coast Guard
from 8 p.m., June 13 through the morning of June 14 because
of seepage into the waters of liquid propylene which posed
the danger of an explosion. Some 100 barrels of the substance
had escaped from an underground storage area at a Wyandotte
Chemicals Corporation plant, according to the Detroit Program
Office. The company, which reported the leak to the Coast
Guard, sealed the rupture and monitored the river. A gaseous
vapor released by the liquid hovered near the river's surface
but was dissipated by increased winds. Water pollution caused
by the substance was minimal, the program office reported.
6. Trawling Operations Begin
Trawling operations began Friday, June 21, in Wisconsin,
Illinois and Indiana to protect approximately 60 miles of
Lake Michigan beaches from an invasion of alewives. There
- 2 -
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were few alewives to skim off the lake's surface, however,
although the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries reported the
fish had started to spawn the week of June 2k, and a
larger die-off could "be expected. The skimming program
is a cooperative venture "between the Federal government
and the lake states, with the Federal branch putting up
$250,000 for the experimental program compared to $62,500
from each of the states. Twelve trawlers, working in
teams of twos, are now engaged in the cleanup. Contracts
are yet to be awarded by the Federal Water Pollution Control
Administration to hire four trawlers to patrol Michigan's
waters. The BCF reports that four and five-year-old fish
dominate the spawning stocks, although alewives usually
perish in their third year. Apparently alewives are living
longer because they have little competition for food,
according to Ernest D. Premetz, BCF's regional deputy
director. The Rochester Program Office reports a bigger
than usual alewife die-off in Lake Ontario. The alewives
are being washed onto the beaches with clumps of algae,
the office says.
7. Plan Holding Tanks on Seaway Vessels
The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation is planning
to provide waste holding tanks on all seaway vessels, the
Regional Federal Activities office reports. Shore-side
disposal and treatment facilities to serve all vessels
locking through the Snell Lock, near Massena, New York, will
also be installed.
8. Clevelander Sues to Enforce Pollution Control Laws
An attorney for Cleveland Auto Dealer David Blaushild has
discussed with George Harlow, Cleveland Program Office
Director, the possibility of his testifying in a court
hearing on Blaushildfs suit against the City of Cleveland
for failure to enforce its water pollution control laws.
Blaushild has run full-page newspaper ads with coupons
which people can mail to city officials to protect water
pollution.
9. Bacon Proposes $380 Million Clean-up
Vinton Bacon, general superintendent of the Metropolitan
Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, has proposed issuing
$380 million in bonds to finance a 10-year clean-up program
in the Chicago area. Adoption of such a proposal would
represent a significant departure from the district's
present "pay-as-you-go" method of financing. As a result
of reimbursement provisions in FWPCA's construction grants
program, the sanitary district appears to be eligible for
$10-5 million in grant money to pay part of $33 million in
construction costs for 17 projects.
- 3 -
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10. Michigan Issues Own Construction Grant Funds
For the first time in the Great Lakes Region, a state—
Michigan—has issued state construction grant funds. On
June 21, Michigan offered 11 communities $1.3 million to
build or expand waste treatment facilities. Such funds
become available in Michigan only when all Federal funds
have been exhausted. Governor George Romney on June 4
also signed a bill placing a $335 million water pollution
control bond issue before the voters in November. He
further approved an accompanying measure to provide state
matching grants in the amount of 25 per cent of the cost
of a project.
11. House Action on FWPCA Budget
The U. S. House of Representatives has approved construc-
tion grants for Fiscal Year 1969 at the same level as
1968--$203 million. The rest of the appropriation for
the FWPCA program--$88,838,000--is trimmed from last
year's $92,800,000. A House report maintains that the
new appropriation plus unobligated balances from previous
fiscal years will actually make more money available for
the program than in the 1968 fiscal year. The State of
Wisconsin has informed the regional construction grants
office that it will be making approximately 95 construction
grant applications for Fiscal Year 1969—the highest number
ever received by the regional office. Wisconsin officials
are concerned over the lack of Federal funds because they
intend to recommend increases in grant money up to the full
30 per cent permitted under the law for all projects under-
taken in the last two years before approving any new projects.
12. Predict Twin-Cities Water Shortage
Future projections by the FWPCA and the Minnesota Department
of Conservation show a water shortage in the St. Paul-
Minneapolis area by 1980. Dale Bryson, Minneapolis Program
Office Director, disclosed this information in a talk at a
June 1 conference concerned with the "urban river." Bryson
urged that a comprehensive study be made encompassing the
three main rivers and the ground water of the area. He said
the study should also determine what is needed in the way of
future reservoirs and whether available storage reservoirs
are being utilized effectively.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Construction Grants
All Fiscal Year 1968 construction grant funds for Michigan
and Wisconsin have been pledged, and the three applications
pending for Illinois will exhaust funds for that state. The
-------
last two projects in Iowa and a final one in Minnesota
have been approved by state agencies and forwarded to
the regional construction grants office. The projects
will use up all funds for these two states. According
to James 0. McDonald, Regional Construction Grants
Director, it is possible that all available funds will
be committed before the end of the fiscal year.
The City of Nauvoo, Illinois, will begin construction of
a sewage treatment works shortly after a six-month delay
brought about when the Mormon Reorganized Church of Latter
Day Saints filed for an injunction against the project.
The church maintained that the treatment works would emit
offensive odors near the grave site of its founder, Joseph
Smith. A court dismissed the suit on June 5« Nauvoo,
located along the Mississippi River in southwestern
Illinois, is the spot from where the Mormon exodus to Utah
originated. Other followers migrated to Missouri where the
Mormon Reorganized Church was established.
The City of Des Moines, Iowa, in protesting the halting of
FWPCA payments on a $600,000 construction grant, has filed
a supplemental report saying its six-week bypassing of raw
sewage from the treatment plant during construction into
the Des Moines River brought very few complaints from
downstream water users. The city made no reference to
adverse newspaper reports on the matter. Payments are
being held up in the regional office because the project
approved by the FWPCA called for "substantially complete"
plant operations during construction.
Bid figures continue to climb on projects in the metropoli-
tan Detroit area. Bids on a 38-mile interceptor sewer
project, sponsored by Oakland County just outside the City
of Detroit, have risen 70 per cent over estimates made
earlier this year. It was thought that the project would
cost $15 million, but bids submitted have hiked the figure
to $25.8 million. A protracted strike by skilled tradesmen
appears to be responsible for the higher bids.
Another construction grant recently awarded to the Milwaukee
Metropolitan Sewerage Commission for an intercepting sewer
has increased the number of grants to Milwaukee this fiscal
year to six, with total grant funds reaching $2,223,130.
A year ago, the Lincoln-Way Community High School District
at New Lenox, Illinois, applied for a construction grant to
aid in building a sewage treatment works to serve a school.
To be eligible for Federal aid, the applicant must be a
municipality. The Regional Construction Grants office asked
the state of Illinois for a legal opinion. The recently
delivered opinion is that a school district is a "municipality."
This ruling could bring a flood of applications in the future.
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A $13 million Genesee County sewage disposal system,
dedicated June 13, was supported by a $1,930,320 FWPCA
construction grant. Robert M. Buckley, chief sanitary
engineer at the Detroit Program Office, represented
the FWPCA at the dedication. The system consists of
50 miles of sanitary sewer interceptors and pumping
stations; it will serve 13 municipalities in the
metropolitan Flint, Michigan, area. The wastes will
be channeled to the Flint waste treatment plant.
Enforcement
Emphasis at a progress meeting on the 1965 Lake Erie
Federal enforcement conference centered on abatement
schedules for municipal and industrial wastes. It was
brought out that 70 Ohio municipalities and industries
are falling behind the schedule, which calls for treat-
ment facilities to be installed in most cases by 1970
and 1971- Also discussed were disposal of dredgings in
the lake; oil and gas well drilling; phosphorus control;
beach pollution, and lake surveillance. The conferees
could not agree on a percentage figure for removal of
phosphorus, such as the 80 per cent removal figure
adopted at the Lake Michigan enforcement conference.
They decided to take the matter up at a meeting in the
near future.
An FWPCA patrol boat observed an oil slick on the Detroit
the veeK gf tfun? H t y\
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A $13 million Genesee County sewage disposal system,
dedicated June 13, was supported by a $1,930,320 FWPCA
construction grant. Robert M. Buckley, chief sanitary
engineer at the Detroit Program Office, represented
the FWPCA at the dedication. The system consists of
50 miles of sanitary sewer interceptors and pumping
stations; it will serve 13 municipalities in the
metropolitan Flint, Michigan, area. The wastes will
be channeled to the Flint waste treatment plant.
Enforcement
Emphasis at a progress meeting on the 1965 Lake Erie
Federal enforcement conference centered on abatement
schedules for municipal and industrial wastes. It was
brought out that TO Ohio municipalities and industries
are falling behind the schedule, which calls for treat-
ment facilities to be installed in most cases by 1970
and 1971- Also discussed were disposal of dredgings in
the lake; oil and gas well drilling; phosphorus control;
beach pollution, and lake surveillance. The conferees
could not agree on a percentage figure for removal of
phosphorus, such as the 80 per cent removal figure
adopted at the Lake Michigan enforcement conference.
They decided to take the matter up at a meeting in the
near future.
An FtfPCA patrol boat observed an oil slick on the Detroit
River the week of June 3-7; it was traced to the car ferry,
"Manitowac," docked near the Ambassador Bridge. The
Michigan Water Resources Commission and Coast Guard were
notified and samples and pictures taken. A joint investi-
gation is underway.
Detroit Program Office field crews, collecting biological
samples from the bottom muds of Lake St. Clair, discovered
a fish kill on the lower Clinton River the week of June
17-21, apparently caused by low oxygen levels. The kill
was reported to the Michigan Water Resources Commission.
A large oil slick was discovered by two Chicago Program
Office surveillance personn
Pollution Control Agency had been informed and had taken
corrective action. The second spill was found to be due to
a leaking oil barge on the Mississippi River. The barge was
ordered to tie up and pump its contents to another barge
when repairs provided were -unsuccessful.
Coast Guard patrol aircraft spotted an oil slick on the St.
Clair River June 18, and traced the discharge to the Sarnia,
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Ontario, area. Samples taken were sent to the Detroit
Program Office, and the Ontario Water Resources Commis-
sion notified. The Coast Guard reported later that the
spill was not extensive and appeared to have been brought
under control.
3. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The Regional Federal Activities office has recommended
that a permit not be issued to fulfill the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Company's request for the dredging of ^0,000
cubic yards of material from Lorain Harbor in Ohio and
disposing of it in the open waters of Lake Erie. Labora-
tory analyses by the Cleveland Program Office show the
dredgings to be highly contaminated. The office, however,
recommended approval of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Company's plans to dredge in Maumee Bay off the Presque
Isle docks at Toledo since it intends to place the dredged
materials on its upland property.
It was recommended to the Corps of Engineers that a meeting
be arranged with the JWPCA, contractor, state of Wisconsin
and other interested parties to develop criteria suitable
for designed improvements to the Badger Army Ammunition
Plant located on the Wisconsin River. The state is holding
hearings to establish standards for this intrastate waterway
so that the Army cannot refer to interstate standards in
planning facilities to meet new requirements.
k. Research and Development
Fry of the blunt-nosed minnow, white sucker and northern pike
have been successfully reared in the National Water Quality
Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota. The laboratory has already
been successful in getting brook trout to complete their
natural spawning act in specially prepared spawning troughs.
Work is now in progress to rear the fry of the fan-tail
darter, yellow perch, and walleye.
Three representatives of the Raytheon Corporation in Utica,
New York, met with Rochester Program Office personnel the
week of June 3-6 to discuss the possible use of infrared
aerial photography to pick up pollution not visible to the
eye. The company is interested in developing techniques for
identifying pollution loads, biological growths and measuring
chemicals through the use of such photographic methods.
- 7 -
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5. Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A.
B.
C.
D.
Total Positions
Total Personnel on Board
Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2 . Transfers
Total Personnel Losses
1 . Resignations
2 . Transfers
April 30,
1968
223
210
2
0
2
0
0
0
May 31,
1968
223
211
3
2
1
2
1
1
June 30.
1968
224
224
20
14
6
7
7
0
####
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: May 1968 / /\ • f _ Submitted: June 12, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.V/. Poston
I. Regional Activities
1. Fox River Orders Require Phosphorus Removal
Forty-four pollution abatement orders were issued May 16 by the
state of Wisconsin to communities and industries on the lower
Fox River. The orders require phosphorous removal at municipal
treatment plants for the first time. This requirement resulted
from the recommendations of the Four-State Federal enforcement
conference on Lake Michigan. Eighteen orders vere issued to
paper mills requiring them to improve treatment to meet Wiscon-
sin's water quality standards, 13 were issued to municipalities,
and the remainder to other industries and one institution.
Completion of minor improvements and submission of plans for
major improvements are required by October 1, 1968.
2. Receive Bids for Alewife Cleanup
Members of the Alewife Cleanup Technical Committee, an outgrowth
of the Lake Michigan enforcement conference, met May 29 in the
regional office to open bids for trawling off the lake's beaches.
The contracts will be awarded in early June. The committee then
plans to hold an orientation course for the trawler operators to
prepare them for the job of skimming the surface of the lake of
dead alewives. Trawling operations are scheduled to begin the
week of June 17, and will protect about twenty miles of each
lake state's coastline. A Coast Guard helicopter began recon-
naissance flights May 21, to locate areas in the lake with the
heaviest concentrations of the dead fish.
3. Rebuttal from Des Moines
FWPCA's protests to Des Moines, Iowa, regarding its bypassing of
untreated sewage to the Des Moines River during treatment plant
construction have drawn a four-page reply from the city manager.
The substance of the reply was that the city, in conjunction with
the state water pollution control board, decided against using
temporary treatment facilities during construction because of the
cost—an estimated $150,000. A supplemental report has been re-
quested from the city regarding the extent of complaints by down-
stream users and water use impairment.
k. Planning Grant First for Great Lakes Region
On May 13, FWPCA Commissioner Joe G. Moore Jr., approved the first
three grants to be awarded to a planning agency, including one in
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this region. The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commis-
sion will receive $100,000 for a study of the Milwaukee River
watershed, to be completed in 1970. Approval of the grant was
recommended by the Great Lakes Regional Office. The grant, to be
administered here, represents 20 per cent of the total national
appropriation for planning grants in Fiscal Year 1968.
5. Phosphorus Workshop Held
An FWPCA-sponsored seminar focusing on available techniques for
removing phosphorus from wastewater was held May 1 and 2 in the
Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago. The seminar, suggested by Blucher
Poole, technical secretary of the Indiana Stream Pollution Control
Board, grew out of recent Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference
recommendations calling for 80 per cent phosphorous removal.
Approximately 270 state and municipal officials, consulting
engineers, and other interested persons attended the May workshop.
The sessions were moderated by Dr. David Stephan, Director of the
FWPCA1s Division of Research; Dr. Frank Middleton, Director of
the Cincinnati Water Research Laboratory; and Albert C. Printz,
Regional Water Quality Standards Coordinator. A second seminar
set for June 26 and 27 at the Sheraton-Chic ago will emphasize
methods of phosphorous removal now being used by treatment plant
operators and chemical firms.
6. Udall Commends Poston on Lake Michigan Conference
Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall has written H. W. Poston,
Great Lakes Regional Director, commending him for his part in the
Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference held in Chicago in January
and reconvened in March. The letter said:
"The recent Conference in the Matter of Pollution of
Lake Michigan and its Tributary Basins was, from my
view, very much of a success. The agreements reached
at the Conference, and in subsequent meetings, repre-
sent a long step towards assuring the preservation of
the national treasure that is represented in Lake
Michigan. I know you will continue to press diligently
for the accomplishment of these agreements and their
pollution control objectives.
"While many persons contributed to the success of this
Conference, it is my personal observation, blended with
other information brought to my attention, that your
contribution was especially notable. Consequently, I
am taking this opportunity to commend you for a job
well done."
7. Pennsylvania's Standards Approved
Secretary Udall approved interstate water quality standards for the
state of Pennsylvania May 21. An anti-degradation clause has not
yet been included in the standards, and clarification of some
wording has been requested, but with these reservations, the
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II. Individual Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
On May 22, the Ohio Water Pollution Control Board conducted a
hearing to establish intrastate water quality standards for the
Rocky, Cuyahoga, Chagrin and Grand River Basins. Reports pre-
sented, including those of the Ohio Department of Health and the
Three Rivers Watershed District, concurred with FWPCA's recom-
mendation for tertiary treatment at all major inland plants and
phosphate removal at all plants. This includes Akron, and
Cleveland's southerly plant. Objections were voiced by indus-
trial groups, particularly to temperature criteria, but the
majority of the participants demanded upgrading polluted water
and maintenance of high quality water where it now exists. The
board will announce final standards and establish compliance
schedules within three months. This will complete Ohio's Lake
Erie basin intrastate standards, except for a number of small
tributaries along the lakefront.
2. Technical Services
Carlysle Pemberton, Regional Director of Technical Programs, met
with the Corps of Engineers' Board of Consultants May 2 at Buffalo
to discuss the pilot dredging program. The board's interim report
recommended that in 1968 the program be expanded to include more
sampling and analyses on dredges, in harbors, and in spoil areas,
and design and estimated cost of treatment systems for alternate
disposal of spoils. The consultants proposed treatment of dredged
material during the non-dredging season so that the treated spoils
could either be returned to lake waters or be used in other ways.
3. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The Office of Emergency Planning requested that the FWPCA make
preliminary tornado damage estimates at Oelwein and Charles City,
Iowa, following tornados there May 15. Temporary power failures
at the sewage treatment plants, and possible damage to one sewage
lift station had occurred. It is probable that Public Law 875 will
be applied, in which case the JWPCA would be responsible for damage
assessments to sewage utilities. If a disaster were declared, the
cities would be eligible for grants up to the full cost of restoring
their waste treatment system to the level of treatment before the
disaster.
The city of Cleveland has applied to the Corps of Engineers for a
permit to reconstruct and extend an existing breakwater in order to
dump miscellaneous soil and rubbish along the lake. However, the
city does not intend to construct the breakwater until after the
fill has been completed. Dumping trash in Lake Erie violates the
Lake Erie enforcement conference, and possibly the Federal Refuse
Act of 1899. The JWPCA has recommended withholding the permit
until assurance has been given that permanent dikes would be con-
structed before any further dumping is permitted, and that only
solid, non-deleterious material be disposed of in this area.
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Enforcement
An oil spill May 2 on the Detroit River vas traced, to one of the
car ferries operating from a dock in Detroit just upstream from
the Ambassador Bridge. The spill was reported by the Michigan
Water Resources Commission.
Three technical committee meetings stemming from the Lake Michigan
enforcement conference vere held this month in the regional office.
During the first meeting of the monitoring committee May 16, a
monitoring system was proposed in which the FWPCA would monitor
Lake Michigan, and the states with tributaries near the point of
discharge to the lake. A second committee meeting to consider
this proposal is scheduled for June 20. On May 17, the first
meeting of the pesticide committee was held, chaired by Dr. Donald
Mount, director of the FWPCA's National Water Quality Laboratory
in Duluth, Minnesota. Representatives to the committee agreed on
work assignments for collecting data to be discussed at follow-up
meetings June 11 and 12, and July 9 and 10. On May 27, the com-
mittee on nuclear and thermal discharges of power plants and
reactors, chaired by Francis Kittrell of Cincinnati, met to dis-
cuss background information on these discharges and anticipated
plant construction in the Lake Michigan basin.
FWPCA patrol boats reported the following discharges after recent
rains in the Detroit area: packing house wastes were observed
being discharged to the Detroit River at the foot of St. Aubin
Street in Detroit; oil, apparently creosol, was being discharged
to the Rouge River from the Oakwood pumping station. These spills
were reported to the Michigan Water Resources Commission. Packing
house wastes were also noticed being discharged to the Detroit
River from a drain near Ouellette Street in Windsor, Ontario.
This discharge was reported to the Ontario Water Resources Com-
mission.
U. S. Coast Guard personnel at Detroit met with the staff from the
Detroit Program Office to discuss emergency operations in the event
of major spills of oil or other pollutants in the Detroit area.
Plans are being made to acquaint local industry with the problem
and to encourage the organization of a local group to handle
emergency spills.
A white foam discharge was observed extending about !§• miles from
Zug Island during a routine patrol of the Detroit River. A light
film oil slick was also seen extending half a mile from the
Ambassador Bridge. This information was reported to the Michigan
Water Resources Commission at Pointe Mouillee.
Construction Grants
For the second time a $4,090,000 bond issue for Huron Township's
Sewage Treatment Works in Wayne County has been defeated, this
time by a margin of 2-1. The project is in the Lake Erie Enforce-
ment Conference area. Continuation of federal grant participation
is being reevaluated in light of the second rejection by the voters.
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The state of Minnesota has revised its construction grants priority
system. Minnesota's system had been criticized because the
Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District, which treats half of the
state's severed wastes, has received only one construction grant
since the inception of the grant program in 1956. The new priority
system provides that the Twin Cities area shall receive funds in at
least the same ratio as its population bears to that of the state.
The state is now receiving applications for Fiscal Year 1969 grant
funds. Beginning July 26, 1968, these applications will be assessed
for priority under the new system. The state has also announced a
"get tough" policy with applicants that fail to keep deadlines for
starting construction specified in their application.
FWPCA's position on a project calling for construction of combined
sewers was discussed by the regional construction grants staff with
representatives of the Economic Development Administration and the
city of Chicago. EDA is considering making a grant on a sewer and
utilities project in the stockyards area. However, before it can
approve the project, FWPCA must certify that the combined sewers
meet local, state and federal water quality standards.
The Illinois Sanitary Water Board will have committed all Fiscal
Year 1968 construction grant funds with the submission of two more
applications in the near future. Illinois is the second state in
the Great Lakes Region to commit all its funds, following Michigan.
The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago has been awarded
construction grant increases of $39^,3^0 for six projects because the
projects conform to the comprehensive metropolitan area plan of the
Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. The 10 per cent increase
brings total federal assistance to these projects to $4,337,920.
Facilities to obtain at least 80 per cent phosphate removal are being
prepared by the city of East Tawas, Michigan. The original construc-
tion grant application for the city called for only primary treatment.
The increased cost of phosphate removal facilities will amount to only
$20,000, a 6 per cent increase in the overall cost of construction.
6. Research and Development
A two-day meeting of the taconite study group was held May 23 and 24
in Duluth, Minnesota. The meeting included an inspection trip to the
Reserve Mining Company operations in Silver Bay and Babbitt, Minnesota.
Commercial fishermen and other interested parties presented their view
on the effect of the tailing discharges. Research on taconite by the
Chicago Program Office included sampling at the Reserve Mining Company's
Silver Bay ore processing plant, and preparing an extensive file and
bibliography on the Reserve Mining Company, on other companies using
the lake, on the state of Minnesota, and federal agencies.
Louis Breimhurst, deputy director of the Minneapolis Program Office
and Albert C. Printz, Regional Water Quality Standards Coordinator,
inspected storm and combined sewer research projects at Chippewa
Falls, Wisconsin, and at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District,
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with Darwin Wright of FWPCA Headquarters. Breimhurst will replace
Wright as project officer for these two projects, the first of
several to be transferred to this region. The inspection was made
in response to requests from the grantees for partial payment of
the grant.
Two contracts have been awarded in the region for engineering studies
of waste treatment, flow augmentation, storage, and other factors
bearing on the assimilation of combined sewer overflows. $127,000
has been awarded the engineering firm of Burgess and Niple for a
study of the Sandusky River at Bucyrus, Ohio, while Heimingson,
Durham and Richardson, Inc., have been awarded a $285,000 contract
to study similar problems at Des Moines, Iowa.
Thermal pollution surveys were conducted at the Commonwealth Edison
Plant at Waukegan, Illinois on May 1, May 14, and May 22. Reports
of each study are being prepared and submitted to those interested
in thermal pollution by the Chicago Program Office.
7- Administrative Services
March 31, April 30, May 31,
Personnel Staffing 1968 1968 1968
A. Total Positions 223 223 223
B. Total Personnel on Board 208 210 211
C. Total Personnel Gains 323
1. New Hires 202
2. Transfers 121
D. Total Personnel Losses 002
1. Resignations 001
2. Transfers 001
* * *
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
Period Covered: April 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H.VV. Pnston
I. Regional Activities
1- Begin Alewife Preparations
A $500,000 operation to protect Lake Michigan's beaches from the
alewife invasion this summer got underway with a technical com-
mittee meeting in the regional office April 23. Harvesting of
the fish is scheduled to begin in mid-June. Sixteen trawlers
will operate to protect twenty miles of beaches in each of the
lake states. The catch will be pumped into trucks and disposed
of on land. Harvesting will be carried on six days of the week,
up to ^0 operation days. The Federal government is putting up
$250,000 for the operation, with the remainder to be shared
equally among the four lake states. Advance reports to the
task force from the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries show large
numbers of alewives are already being caught in the lake.
2. Spill Spurs Opposition to Oil Drilling
One of Hammermill Paper Company's deep disposal wells at its Erie,
Pennsylvania, plant ruptured April Ik because of underground pres-
sure. The plant was able to switch disposal of its wastes to a
second well, but liquids previously pumped into the broken well,
pouring out at 100 gallons per minute, are being disposed of in
Lake Erie. Most public officials are convinced Hammermill is
doing all it can to get the well resealed, but the accident is
being cited as an example of what can happen by Erie Mayor Louis
J. Tullio in his drive to prevent the Pennsylvania Department of
Forests and Waters from issuing permits for oil well drilling in
Lake Erie. Just a week before the break, Mayor Tullio filed suit
in the state capital for an injunction against state issuance of
lake drilling permits. In March, a bill was introduced in the
state legislature that would strip the Forest and Water Depart-
ment of its power to grant mineral rights in Lake Erie.
3. Hold Up Des Moines Grant Funds
FWPCA payments on a $600,000 construction grant to the city of De.s
Moines for expansion of its treatment plant have been stopped by
the Regional Construction Grants Office. During construction, the
sewage of the entire city ofA50,000 people was dumped directly into
the Des Moines River, bypassing all treatment. The regional office
has been in contact with state officials to determine whether the
discharges are still going on, and whether they can be halted before
further damage is done to the Des Moines River. The project approved
by the FWPCA called for "substantially complete" plant operations
during construction.
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4. Nomination Honors Hall
Frank Hall is the Fv/PCA's nominee for outstanding federal
professional employe in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Four
federal employes will be chosen from over 72,000 working in
the Chicago Metropolitan Area at the Twelfth Annual Federal
Employe of the Year Awards Program May 29 at the Conrad Hilton
Hotel. The program is sponsored by the Federal Executive
Board of Chicago and the Regional Office of the Civil Service
Commission. Hall, planning and program grants officer in the
Regional Office and manpower development officer for the
Cooperative Area Manpower Planning System (CAMPS) in a six-
teen-state region, was recently names regional director of
enforcement.
He replaces Grover Cook, who transferred to the Southeast
Regional Office in Charlottesvilie, Virginia, to become
enforcement chief there. Hall assumes this position in
addition to his other duties.
5. Progress in Reconvened Twin-Cities Conference
At the reconvened session of the Twin-Cities Upper Mississippi
River enforcement conference April 30> the major polluter, the
Minneapolis-St. Paul Sanitary District, dropped its opposition
to conference recommendations and will expand its plant to
achieve 90 per cent treatment of wastes. This follows a
ruling by the Minnesota Attorney General that a 1963 statute
eliminated earlier limitations on the maximum indebtedness
of the district. The district had cited this financial limi-
tation as a reason for noncompliance. A Minnesota conferee
complained that the state's efforts to control vessel pollution
in the conference area were being undermined by what he said
was the Coast Guard's failure to require suitable waste treat-
ment facilities as a condition of obtaining federal registra-
tion. There were no significant changes in the recommendations
as adopted by the conferees. While the sanitary district was
given a year's extension to June 1969 to submit preliminary
plans and specifications for plant expansion, the conferees
are holding the district to the date of June 1971 for comple-
tion of improvements.
6. Ohio Moves, Cleveland Balks at Phosphate Removal
The Ohio Department of Health has issued a directive to Lake
Erie Basin city officials and consulting engineers, stating
that all future plans for treatment plant improvements will
have to make provision for phosphate removal. John Wirts,
engineer at Cleveland's Easterly Treatment Center, said that
Cleveland could provide higher levels of phosphate removal if
the State of Ohio required it. However, he expressed the
view that phosphate removal is not justified because of its
excessive expense, and that the city is not bound to provide
it even with the new directive.
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7. Life Reporters Here
Correspondent Dick Woodbury and Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt
of Life Magazine visited the Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and
Buffalo areas to obtain material for a forthcoming Life article
on water pollution. They were accompanied by personnel from the
Regional Office, the Cleveland Program Office, and the IJC Field
Office at Buffalo.
8. Michigan Bond Issue
The extent of Michigan voters' interest in clean water will be
determined this fall. Most observers feel that a $335 million
bond issue to finance sewer and waste treatment construction
will appear on the November ballot. The bond issue was recom-
mended by Governor Romney in his annual state-of-the-State
message in January.
9- Question State Grant Funding
Bronson LaFollette, Wisconsin Attorney General, has written
Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall criticizing the
state construction grant matching program in Wisconsin.
LaFollette claimed that the state program called for funding
up to $6 million a year, but that it has received only $750,000
in federal aid.
JEI. Individual Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
Resolution of several areas of disagreement in Iowa standards
was arrived at as a result of a meeting between FWPCA officials
and members of Iowa's Water Pollution Control Commission. However,
differences still exist regarding temperature, secondary treatment,
and the anti-degradation clause recently required by Secretary
Udall in all water quality standards.
Ohio has scheduled a hearing May 22 for the purpose of receiving
testimony and establishing water quality criteria for the intra-
state waters of the Rocky River, Cuyahoga River, Chagrin River, and
Grand River basins.
2. Technical Services
The Chicago Program Office participated in the first emergency oil
spill investigation of the season in Lake Michigan. Although little
oil was found, the incident demonstrated that emergencies can be
responded to quickly. A boat and plane were at the scene of the
reported spill within two hours after the call was received on
April 29.
An industrial waste inventory of the Lake Ontario basin has been
completed by the Rochester Program Office. All known separately
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discharging industries in the basin--owar 300—are included in the
inventory, with information on products manufactured, period of
operation, water use, wastewater analysis data, and existing and
planned treatment facilities.
Four automatic water quality monitors were received by the Chicago
Program Office. They will be installed in trailers and used for
water quality studies throughout the Lake Michigan basin.
3- Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
Regional Federal Activities office personnel met with representa-
tives of the City of Chicago and the Metropolitan Sanitary District
on a proposed interceptor sewer at Monroe Street Harbor that will
be used to evacuate vessel wastes. Permanent facilities were to be
ready by May 15.
The Federal Activities staff discussed with John Pingle, Atomic
Energy Commission representative at Oak Brook, Illinois, informa-
tion to be obtained by the AEC from its contractors about waste
treatment facilities. This information will be forwarded to the
FWPCA in the future.
The National Lead Company, St. Louis, Missouri, has requested a
permit from the Corps of Engineers to construct an outfall into
the Mississippi River to discharge process wastes. These wastes
are believed to be highly contaminated. The state has approved
discharge of these wastes without treatment, if the plant's sani-
tary wastes are discharged to the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer
District. FWPCA1s information suggests the wastes would cause
pollution. The Federal Activities office has recommended that
the National Lead Company consider diversion of all wastes except
cooling water to the municipal system. A meeting with the Missouri
Water Pollution Board is planned to resolve these differences.
The E. I. duPont Corporation has asked the Wisconsin Department of
Resource Development for permission to discharge TNT red water
wastes into Chaquamegon Bay at Barksdale, Wisconsin. The company
proposes to study current, temperature and dispersion of these
wastes in deep waters of the bay to justify disposing of the
wastes by dilution.
k. Enforcement
A progress meeting of the Lake Erie enforcement conference has been
called by Murray Stein, the FWPCA1 s chief enforcement officer, for
June 4 at the Pick-Carter Hotel in Cleveland. Revised reports in-
corporating data from the 1967 sampling season are now being pre-
pared for the conference by the Detroit Program Office.
Investigation by the FWPCA and the Michigan Water Resources Commis-
sion disclosed that a foamy white substance discharged into the
Trenton Channel by Monsanto Chemical Company appeared to result
from a change in operations within the plant. Monsanto is installing
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nev pollution control facilities to meet state requirements.
5. Construction Grants
A three-day freeze on all grant offers and grant increases vas in
effect April 15 through April IT. Because of delay in headquarters
approval of new obligations of funds following the freeze, there
were no offers for a full week. However, in the following week
sixteen increases and offers in the amount of $83^,062 were made.
One of the largest single grant payments made "by the Regional
Construction Grants Program was awarded to a Genesee County,
Michigan, project. The payment of $972,000, one half of the
total grant offer, was in support of a project calling for the
construction of intercepting sewers, force mains, and pump stations.
6. Program Grants
Fourth Quarter Program Grant payment requests have been submitted
by Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan. Illinois has requested its full
allotment of $405,800; Iowa has requested $92,135 of its $119,700
allotment, and Michigan has requested its full allotment plus
additional funds made available through reallocation for a total
of $339,972. Minnesota and Wisconsin have not submitted final
payment requests as yet. Minnesota has received $89,6^0 of its
$1^9,400 allotment, and Wisconsin has received $1^9,760 of its
$198,200 allotment. A total of $1,077,309 has been certified for
payment to the five states thus far in Fiscal Year 1968. The
grants aid the states in carrying out water pollution control pro-
grams they have developed for the year.
7. Research and Development
Seven projects currently being directed from outside the region are
due for reassignment to the Great Lakes Region Research and Develop-
ment program, as manpower becomes available to handle their adminis-
tration.
The Rochester Program Office is conducting a study of pesticide
effects on East Koy Creek, a trout stream in Wyoming County, New
York. Pesticide sprays used by potato growers in the area are
thought to be responsible for fish kills which have occurred in
past years.
Arrangements between the National Water Quality Laboratory at Duluth,
Minnesota, and Northern States Power Company to conduct studies on
thermal pollution are being completed. A two-year experiment, using
effluent from the Allen S. King Power Plant on the St. Croix River
to heat water in tanks, will study the maximum permissible tempera-
ture for fresh water fish and their food chains. In the spring of
1969, construction will begin on large ponds at the Monticello
atomic plant on the Mississippi River, to study, in addition to
similar work, accumulations of radioactive materials in water.
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8. Administrative Services
February 29, March 31. April 30.
Personnel Staffing 1960 1§68 1968
A. Total Positions 215 223 223
B. Total Personnel on Board 205 208 210
C. Total Personnel Gains 032
1. New Hires 020
2. Transfers 012
D. Total Personnel Losses 200
1. Resignations 200
2. Transfers 000
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT GREAT LAKES REGION
PERIOD COVERED: February and March 1968 f\--t- SUBMITTED: April 15, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston M.l)L/J
I. Regional Activities
1. Plan Parley on Phosphate Control
A workshop on phosphate control will be held May 1 and 2 at the
Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago, with up to 500 persons expected
to attend from around the country. The meeting grew out of the
four-state Lake Michigan enforcement conference at which the
conferees recommended that municipalities and industries remove
80 percent of phosphorous from wastes to arrest the accelerated
aging of the lake. The seminar was suggested by one of the
conferees, Blucher Poole, technical secretary of the Indiana
Stream Pollution Control Board, in order to acquaint those in
the field with the latest techniques for phosphorous removal.
Murray Stein, chief enforcement officer of the FWPCA, will open
the meeting. Dr. Leon Weinberger, assistant commissioner for
research, and his staff are planning a presentation.
2. Lake Michigan Conferees Adopt 26 Recommendations
Conferees at the four-state Lake Michigan enforcement conference
reached agreement on 16 conclusions and 26 recommendations March
12. They have been submitted to Secretary of the Interior
Stewart Udall for approval. The federal conferee and conferees
from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin reached unanimous
agreement after six days of testimony and three open executive
sessions. Key recommendations, besides the requirement for
phosphate removal, focused on such problems as wastes from water-
craft, pesticides, nuclear discharges, oil pollution, dumping of
dredgings, combined sewers, and the alewife die-off. The con-
ferees agreed to support an alewife program being developed by
the Great Lakes Basin Commission with funds and personnel. The
program calls for skimming dead alewives up with trawlers before
they reach the shore.
3. Award Grant for Beach Cleanup
A $325,000 research grant has been awarded Cleveland for a crash
program to open the city's beaches this summer. Dr. Leon Wein-
berger, assistant commissioner for research, and H. W. Poston,
Great Lakes Regional Director, FWPCA, had met with Mayor Carl
Stokes and other city officials February 26 to discuss the
possibility of a demonstration grant to help finance a program
developed by city consultants. The program calls for partial
enclosure of the beach areas with sheet piling; disinfection of
beach waters, and massive chlorination of waste discharges near
the Lake Erie beaches.
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k. State Opposition to New Financing Grows
State water pollution control agencies in the Great Lakes
Basin polled by the regional construction grants office are
opposed to a reimbursement provision being eliminated under
proposed legislation that would finance construction of
waste treatment facilities a new way. Instead of direct
grants, the new measure would permit the Federal government
to make installment payments on both principal and interest
contracts with local agencies to cover the Federal share of
waste treatment plant construction. State officials feel
the new methods would slow down construction and add confu-
sion to the program. Michigan has indicated it will present
testimony on the matter before Senator Edmund Muskie's
committee during hearings on the proposed bill.
5. Wild River Hearing Held
FWPCA observers from the Minneapolis Program Office attended
a Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission meeting the
week of March 11-15 at which a spokesman for the St. Paul
District Corps of Engineers presented a statement favoring a
dam on the St. Croix River. The commission, however, went on
record as backing preservation of the waterway as a national
wild and scenic rivers system. The Corps has developed plans
for a 100-foot high dam on the upper St. Croix River near
Taylor Falls, Minnesota, whose primary objective would be
flood control. However, a reservoir which would be created
by the dam could also serve as a recreational area for the
Twin Cities area, the Corps points out. The 30-mile long,
mile-wide reservoir would inundate some 7,000 acres of what
is now mostly a wild, forested area. Opponents of the dam
proposal say flooding occurs on the average of once a century.
Northern States Power Company, a major St. Croix landowner,
supports the wild river idea and, with other advocates,
claims the dam and reservoir would be incompatible with
scenic and wilderness protection.
6. Conference Held to Start Taconite Study
A two-day conference was held March 11 and 12 at the National Water
Quality Laboratory at Dttluth, Minnesota, to plan a study of
taconite wastes discharged into Lake Superior by the Reserve
Mining Company's plant at Silver Bay, Minnesota. The study
will determine if the taconite tailings do, in fact, consti-
tute pollution. The company maintains that the wastes are
made up primarily of sand, although a few preliminary samples
tested by the Chicago Program Office indicate the presence of
phosphorus, nitrate, organic nitrogen, toxic metals and other
substances in the receiving waters. Four Department of
Interior agencies, the Coast Guard, Corps of Engineers and
state agencies in Minnesota and Wisconsin took part in the
meeting, chaired by Charles Stoddard, regional coordinator
for the Department of Interior. It is planned to have the
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study completed "by fall. The week of March 25-29, Chicago
Program Office personnel visited the plant at Silver Bay
with Bureau of Mines staff members to select sampling sites.
7. Severe Duck Kill on the Niagara River
A duck kill, described as the worst ever, took place the week
of March 25-29 on the lower Niagara River. Cause of the die-
off was attributed to a spring flushout of the heavy concen-
trations of oil that contaminate the Buffalo River. Last
year, the Penn Central Railroad was fined $1,500 by the New
York State Health Department for polluting the river with oil.
All railroad yards in the Buffalo, New York, area have been
ordered by the state to disconnect all oil discharge lines
that feed into sewers and watercourses, and to install oil
treatment equipment.
8. Fight Boils Over Nuclear Power Plant
A proposed nuclear power plant, which Northern States Power
Company wants to build on the Mississippi River at Monticello,
Minnesota, about 30 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area, has provoked a wide-spread controversy. The Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency has decided to hire consultants to
study the effects of possible radioactive contamination.
Some residents of Minneapolis-St. Paul, which takes its
drinking water from the river, have voiced alarm over a
health hazard they fear could come from the radioactive
discharge. The power company says the plant, which needs
a permit from the state pollution control agency, will
release harmless amounts of radiation to the Mississippi
that meet Atomic Energy Commission standards. Critics,
however, say the AEC limits are much more lenient than those
set by the World Health Organization. One of the recommenda-
tions of the four-state Lake Michigan enforcement conference
is appointment of a committee of Department of Interior and
state officials to meet with AEC representatives to develop
guidelines for pollution control from nuclear power plants.
9. Ohio Moves Ahead
Water quality standards were conditionally approved for Ohio
the week of March 11-15, with most of the sections which
Secretary Udall has not approved located in areas outside
the Lake Erie basin. The same week, Ohio Governor James
Rhodes signed into law a measure which creates the Ohio Water
Development Authority which will be empowered to issue revenue
bonds for construction of municipal and industrial waste treat-
ment facilities.
10. Styrene Spill Spurs Demand for Legal Action
Representative Richard D. McCarthy (D.,N.Y.) has asked Thomas
J. Kennelly, acting U. S. Attorney in Buffalo, to see if legal
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action should be taken against the Penn Central Railroad for
spillage of styrene from one of its tank cars. McCarthy says
he wants to know if the Refuse Act of 1899 was violated. A
report prepared by Herbert A. Anderson, an FWPCA public health
engineer stationed in Buffalo, traces the incident back to a
tank car which ruptured the night of February 18, dumping
10,000 gallons of styrene, a highly volatile substance, onto
the railroad's property. The styrene trickled into the drainage
ditch of the town of Cheektowaga and on through the village of
Sloan, entered Buffalo sewers, and passed on into the Buffalo
River. Sloan residents began complaining of the odor, and the
state health department, upon taking measurements of styrene in
the air, found the levels approaching a toxic limit. Anderson's
report, which was made available to Representative McCarthy,
said the railroad failed to notify state or local officials
about the spill. The health department had the railroad erect
a barrier across the drainage ditch to keep it from seeping to
the towns, but on March 10 the company inexplicably opened the
barrier and the remainder of the spilled styrene escaped, this
time taking large quantities of oil with it to the Buffalo
River. Again, complaints were heard from residents of dizziness,
eye and ear irritation, and about the odor.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
The FWPCA regional water quality standards staff began develop-
ment of revised temperature and dissolved oxygen criteria for
submission to Illinois. Acceptance by the state of these cri-
teria would complete Secretary Udall's approval of all waters
with the exception of boundary waters. Illinois, however, is
resisting proposed criteria for the Mississippi River. It
wants a parley involving the other Upper Mississippi River
states to achieve uniformity in the criteria. It has also
asked for copies of standards approved for Wisconsin and
Missouri.
2. Comprehensive Planning
The Great Lakes Regional Office has reviewed and edited the
Rochester Program Office's basin-wide report on water pollution
problems of the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River basins. A
revised draft is being prepared to send to the New York State
Department of Health, which has co-authored the report, for its
review and revisions.
3. Technical Services
A technical programs staff member attended a March 12 meeting of
Federal, state and local agencies in St. Louis where plans were
developed for a coordinated early warning system to deal with
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spills of oil, chemicals, and other hazardous material on
the Mississippi River. The early warning system, being
developed for Illinois and Missouri, would also alert
agencies to shipping accidents, dike failures, and fish
kills . A preliminary plan was developed which will be
distributed to the various agencies for official approval.
Personnel from the FWPCA Minneapolis Program Office and
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency met the week of March
25-29 with Thomas Quirk, a New York environmental science
and engineering consultant, whose firm is doing a study
to see how the St. Louis River assimilates wastes. Pro-
posed water quality standards for the river, a tributary
of Lake Superior, were also discussed. A joint Federal-
State project to enlarge the area of study of the river
may also be undertaken this summer.
Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
U. S. Steel Corporation, after objections by the FWPCA' s
Regional Federal Coordinator's Office, has located an
alternative site to dispose of dredgings from the Black
River in Lorain, Ohio. The company had planned to dump
the polluted material in Lake Erie. Herbert J. Dunsmore,
assistant to the administrative vice-president for en-
gineering, visited the regional office to present the
alternative proposal in which the dredgings will be
disposed of on a 3i"-acre plot of company property. The
regional office intends to notify the Corps of Engineers,
which issues the dredging permits, that the new plan is
acceptable to the FWPCA.
Three Congressional inquiries have been received about
the Duribar and Sullivan Dredging Company's plans to
dispose of dredgings from ih industrial mooring areas
along the Detroit River in Lake Erie. The Regional
Federal Coordinator's Office has registered its opposi-
tion to the plan with the Corps of Engineers. Seeking
information on the project were U. S. Representatives
Marvin L. Esch of Ann Arbor, and John D. Dingell of
Dearborn, Michigan, and Thomas L. Ashley of Waterville,
Ohio.
The Regional Federal Coordinator's Office has asked that
assurances be given for provision of facilities to meet
vessel pollution control required by the four-state Lake
Michigan enforcement conference in issuance of a Corps
of Engineers' permit to construct 5^ small boat slips in
Waukegan Harbor, Waukegan, Illinois.
The Marsan Corporation, a subsidiary of Powered Pipe, Inc.,
Elgin, Illinois, is submitting a proposal to the Great
Lakes Basin Commission which envisions use of a special
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high-capacity suction pump that would vacuum alewife carcasses
from the water and discharge them into a barge or other holding
facility. The company also informed the regional office that
it has installed 14 Monomatic toilet units, several holding
tanks, grease traps, and other control devices aboard Inter-
national Harvester Company's only lake vessel, the International.
The company says it is providing similar facilities for other
Great Lakes commercial vessels.
No objections were raised to a Corps of Engineers' permit appli-
cation filed by Republic Steel Company to install a scale pit,
oil skimmer and waste outfall structure to curb pollution of
the Buffalo River in Buffalo, New York. The firm has until
July 19T1 to have control facilities installed to meet recom-
mendations of the 1965 Lake Erie enforcement conference.
5. Enforcement
A progress meeting of the Upper Mississippi River enforcement
conference has been set for April 30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
at which conferees will assess what progress is being made in
carrying out the recommendations of a 1966 Federal enforcement
action. Dale S. Bryson, director of the FWPCA's Minneapolis
Program Office, met with John Badalich, director of the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the week of March k-Q on
the matter. Badalich intends to recommend that effluent
standards developed from enforcement conference recommendations
be adopted by agency members, Bryson reported. The Minneapolis-
St. Paul Sanitary District has been resisting implementation of
the recommendations.
A heavy oil slick was observed in the Trenton Channel at Grosse
lie Naval Air Station outside Detroit on March 6. The slick
passed downstream within an hour; efforts to identify the source
were unsuccessful, according to the FWPCA's Detroit Program
Office.
The Des Moines Register has been carrying a series of articles
on the effects of the city of Des Moines discharging of raw
sewage into the Des Moines River while it finishes a $6 million
enlargement of its sewage plant. The city has been bypassing
the plant for eight weeks while the new facilities are being
constructed. Reporter Otto Knauth wrote of the results in a
March 31 article:
"The valley below Des Moines has the smell of death.
It begins at the bypass sewer outfall, a large con-
crete opening in the river bank just south of the
disposal plant. The rushing water, more than a
million gallons an hour, has the pleasant sound of
a waterfall. But what it contains is sickening.
Great chunks of meat packing plant wastes cling to
the rocks below the outfall. Animal intestines
many feet long trail in the current down the river
....Dead fish litter the bars....The smell of decay
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hovers over all.
"The ruin of the river was decided at a meeting of
the city with the lova Water Pollution Control
Commission a month ago. It was, by law, a secret
meeting; the public was barred. There was no one
to say 'No.'" Even city officials from Ottumwa,
which draws its drinking water from the river
downstream from Des Moines, were not allowed to
sit in on the meeting. Knauth, in a followup
story April 7, reported that while Des Koines
officials didn't even give serious consideration
to alternative solutions, the city of Rochester,
Minnesota, was able to shut its plant down for
13 days of expansion and still provide 50 per
cent treatment by installing three pumps that
intercepted the bypassed sewage in a boxed man-
hole and sent it to the plant's final settling
tanks.
6. Construction Grants
Lametti & Sons, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota, a construction
firm, has filed a voluntary non-discrimination program
involving six construction grant projects in the state.
This is the first time such a voluntary submission has
been received, according to James 0. McDonald, regional
chief of construction grants. The contractor's 20-page
statement covers in detail the program he intends to
follow to assure minority groups of every opportunity
for work. The Associated General Contractors of Iowa
have also issued a non-discrimination notice to members
and unions with which it has collective bargaining agree-
ments. The policy, a six-month revision of its 196?
notice, covers state highway Federal-aid contracts and
other direct Federal contracts. Copies of the notice
must be posted in conspicuous places available to em-
ployes and applicants for employment.
A Michigan House of Representatives committee has reported
out a state construction grant bond issue amounting to $335
million for building waste treatment facilities. A com-
panion measure providing for a 25 per cent state construc-
tion grant matching program was also reported out of
committee. The bills now await action by the full House
membership.
Michigan has compiled a list identifying waste treatment
plants and sewers needed by 1980. It estimates the need
for 210 new plants, 126 improvements to existing plants,
and sewers for 3-5 million people. Cost of the plants
would run to $568 million, with another $64l million
figured for sewers and storm water control systems. Total
bill: $1.2 billion.
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The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago is now
investigating the possibility of obtaining construction grant
money to help finance its proposed $1.2 billion deep tunnel
project. The tunnels would be used to store rain water and
sewage coming from combined sewers. Instead of releasing
the polluted combined sewer overflow to streams to avoid
flooding, it would be retained in deep underground reservoirs
to be treated at a later time. The district has been thinking
of seeking funds through the Corps of Engineers, but now is
considering applying to the I¥PCA.
The regional construction grants section reports that in some
state water pollution control agencies a lack of manpower is
causing a growing backlog of unreviewed plans and specifica-
tions. Such plans and specifications must have state review
and approval before they can be submitted to the IWPCA.
Minnesota's required sewage treatment works1 needs over the
next 10 years will amount to $146 million, according to an
estimate prepared by the state's pollution control agency.
Over $100 million is needed in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
alone, the agency says.
A construction grant of $3-8 million has been awarded to
Oakland County, Michigan, to construct a 38-mile interceptor
sewer line—the longest ever installed in the Great Lakes
region. The line, which will pass through five townships,
•will hook into the Detroit metropolitan sewage treatment
system. The project is scheduled to start by June 30 of
this year.
A grant awarded Kankakee, Illinois, for expanding its existing
treatment facilities features a lagoon for holding combined
and storm sewer wastes prior to discharge to the Kankakee
River. The lagooning will provide for at least primary treat-
ment.
Spokesmen for the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater
Chicago informed the Illinois Water Pollution and Water Re-
sources Commission at a hearing held in March that It will
need $1.3 billion in the next 12 years to provide necessary
treatment and sewer facilities. The state legislative commis-
sion slated the session to learn of needs that might be ful-
filled if a $1 billion bond issue is passed by voters in a
fall referendum. Strong opposition to some aspects of the
natural resources and anti-pollution bond issue is coming
from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Two more construction grants were awarded to the city of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the week of March 11-18, raising to
five the number of grants going to the city during the month.
Total Federal grant funds for the five projects amount to
$1,985,360.
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7. Pollution Surveillance
Donald J. Casey, who heads the Rochester Program Office's
surveillance section, attended a meeting the week of March
11-15 concerning the Rochester Gas & Electric Company's
nuclear power plant located 20 miles east of Rochester.
The plant, when in operation, will discharge 600 cubic
feet per second of cooling water heated to 20 degrees
above Lake Ontario's normal temperature. Rather than
use an outfall, the company intends to discharge the
water through a shoreline jet which, its consultants say,
will dissipate the heat better.
8. Research and Development
The National Water Quality Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota,
has set up a mobile lab on the bank of an experimental stream
selected near Cincinnati, Ohio, to run toxicity tests on fish.
Copper has tentatively been selected as the toxicant to study
in the stream because it is such a harmful and frequent pollu-
tant.
Dr. Donald I. Mount, director of the National Water Quality
Lab at Duluth, Minnesota, says useful information has been
acquired on the effects of subacute copper exposures on
different bottom-dwelling aquatic organisms. Growth and
reproduction of invertebrate creatures were studied. Copper
accumulates in the bottom sediments of lakes in which copper
sulfate is used for algae control and exerts an influence
on aquatic life.
The Duluth lab has also been exposing yellow perch to thermal
shock tests. Yearling yellow perch were subjected to sudden
temperature changes and survived. Under natural conditions,
the fish experience similar changes in moving from deep, cold
water to warmer shallower zones.
The Rochester Program Office has drafted a proposal for a
cooperative study of phosphate removal at the City of Batavia's
activated sludge plant, where sodium aluminate is planned for
use as a coagulant. New York state and the city have expressed
a willingness to participate with the FWTCA in the research
venture. The plant, built in 1965, is presently removing about
UO per cent of its phosphates.
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MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT — GREAT LAKES REGION
PERIOD COVERED: December 1967 and January 1968 — SUBMITTED: February 23, 1968
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
I. Regional Activities
!• Ohio Postpones Off-Shore Gasand Oil Drilling
Ohio has postponed indefinitely bidding on off-shore gas and oil
drilling because of a storm of protest by agencies and citizens who
fear such activities would increase pollution of Lake Erie. Governor
James Rhodes issued a statement in which he said, "...we do not at
this time contemplate moving ahead with drilling operations. Ohio
citizens are greatly concerned with any activities which would possi-
bly contribute to the pollution of Lake Erie." George Harlow, director
of the FWPCA's Cleveland Program Office, who testified at many of the
hearings held on the subject, said Canada has 250 gas wells in Lake
Erie that cause no known pollution problems but that accidental con-
tamination from oil "is inevitable and becomes more inevitable as
drilling increases."
2. Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference Reconvenes March 7
The four-state Federal Enforcement conference called to halt pollution
of Lake Michigan will reconvene March 7 at the Sherman House in Chicago,
at which time the conferees are expected to adopt specific recommenda-
tions and a timetable of abatement. Conferees from Illinois, Indiana,
Wisconsin and Michigan and the Federal government adjourned February 7
after hearing six days of testimony. The conference began January 31.
The adjournment was agreed to in order to give them time to digest all
the evidence presented. The day before the reconvening of the con-
ference on March 6, the conferees, local officials, and civic and
conservation groups will tour United States Steel Corporation's Gary
Sheet and Tin Works to inspect four new water pollution control systems
that have been recently installed.
3. New York Comprehensive Sewer Study in Trouble
A $186,000 comprehensive sewer study — designed to set the pattern for
disposal development for the next 50 years in Erie County, New York,
which includes Buffalo, is the subject of controversy between state,
county and local officials. They are attempting to find a pre-publication
compromise for the long overdue report. At issue, according to George
Harlow, director of the FWPCA's Cleveland Program Office, is whether the
problem should be attacked on a regional, watershed basis or by the tra-
ditional go-it-alone formula. Greeley & Hansen, Chicago consultants,
have recommended consolidation of now separate districts, and construction
of large trunk sewers to intercept sewage from wide areas and carry it to
a few or perhaps only one treatment plant, which would be located on the
Niagara River.
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k. Report Completed on Taconite Wastes
The Chicago Program Office has completed a report on the taconite vastes
Reserve Mining Company discharges into Lake Superior at Silver Bay,
Minnesota. The investigation also focused on the "green water" phenome-
non observed near the waste discharges. Laboratory findings indicate
high concentrations of color, solids, phosphorus, nitrate, organic nitro-
gen, chemical oxygen demand, minerals, and toxic metals in the receiving
waters. The study includes aerial surveys and photographs.
5. Recommend Provisional Permit for Reserve Mining
Dale S. Bryson, director of the FWPCA1 s Minneapolis Program Office, and
Louis J. Breimhurst, deputy director, attended a meeting in Minneapolis
on the revalidation of a Corps of Engineers1 permit to Reserve Mining
Company. A two-year provisional permit allowing the company to continue
the dumping of taconite wastes into Lake Superior was recommended to
• allow for additional fact-finding. A meeting has been scheduled in
Minneapolis for March 11 and 12 to plan for the additional studies. The
Federal Power Commission's licensing of the Minnesota Power and Light
Company for the operation of five hydroelectric power stations along the
St. Louis River was also discussed. The power company at times diverts
the entire river flow through a canal to its Thomson Power Station. In
addition to the flow problem, the river below Cloquet is severely con-
taminated by paper mill wastes. Comments and recommendations on the
problem were requested by March 1 from the following Department of the
Interior agencies: The FWPCA, the Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wild-
life, the Bureau of Mines, the U. S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries, and the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. The Corps
of Engineers and the Minnesota Department of Conservation were also
asked for comments and recommendations.
6. Romney Asks for $335 Million for Water Pollution Control
Michigan Governor George Romney, in his annual state-of-the-State message,
recommended state bond issues for water pollution control and recreational
facilities. The bond issue would authorize the state to finance $335
million worth of sewer and waste treatment plant construction.
7. Construction Grants Hit Hew High
January saw the highest amounts of money in the history of regional con-
struction grants awarded, with hj offers and 26 increases for a total
grant commitment of $7,694,888. This represents almost one-third of the
total construction grant funds available for this fiscal year, according
to James 0. McDonald, Regional Construction Grants director.
8. Minnesota and Wisconsin Program Plans Approved
Program plans for Minnesota and Wisconsin for 1968 were approved by the
FWPCA during the first week in January. The plans show how the states
will use FWPCA grants to combat water pollution during the year. With
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the plans of Illinois, Iowa and Michigan approved in November, these
five states -will receive approximately $1.2 million in grants.
9. Minneapolis Official Raps FWPCA
Kerwin L. Mick, chief engineer and superintendent of the Minneapolis-
St. Paul Sanitary District, criticized Federal water pollution control
officials December 18 for following a policy of "pitiless publicity."
Mick was objecting to a press conference held by the FWPCA December 13
in Minneapolis. The press conference was called because the FWPCA.1 s
automatic water quality monitor on the Mississippi River had detected
a condition that could result in extensive fish kills this winter.
The monitor had registered a sudden drop in dissolved oxygen due to a
heavy freeze and a low flow caused by a lack of rainfall. Since pollu-
tion loads discharged by the Twin-Cities sewage treatment plants place
a heavy demand on oxygen in the river, the situation threatens to im—
peril fish and other aquatic forms of life that depend upon oxygen.
During the course of the press conference, Dale S. Bryson, director
of the Minneapolis Program Office, noted that a Federal-State enforce-
ment conference held in February and March of 19^7 na^- se"k water
quality requirements for this stretch of the river.
Sanitary District officials had earlier criticized the FWPCA for giving
only conditional approval to a sewer project in which Elaine, Minnesota,
would hook up to the district, leading to the Federal Housing and Urban
Development administration(HUD) holding up funds for the project. Only
conditional approval was given to the Elaine project because the sani-
tary district was resisting enforcement recommendations. Sanitary
district trustees maintained that the district couldn't meet standards
for the river because the FWPCA hadn't approved them yet. Bryson, at
the press conference, however, pointed out that the FWPCA wanted the
district to meet the enforcement requirements even though Minnesota's
water quality standards haven't been approved yet. Carlysle Pemberton,
Regional Chief of Technical Programs, also attended the conference, as
did John Badalich, director of the Minnesota Pollution Control agency.
10. No Fish Kills on Upper Mississippi Yet
Anticipated fish kills on the Mississippi River in the Twin-Cities,
Minnesota, area have not materialized as yet. Low river flows because
of a lack of rainfall and a freezing of the river would have caused
dissolved oxygen in the water to drop because of the heavy demand
placed on oxygen by pollution discharges from the Twin-Cities sewage
treatment plants. An unusually mild winter, however, has kept the
river from freezing so that the oxygen supply which fish and other
forms of aquatic life depend upon has not been depleted. In addition,
the St. Paul District of the Corps of Engineers reports it could re-
lease an additional 300 cubic feet per second to the river from head-
waters reservoirs to ease conditions. Dale Bryson, director of the
FWPCA's Minneapolis Program Office, says there is still a possibility
of a fish kill if the river freezes over.
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11. Training Program for Treatment Plant Operators
The Wisconsin water pollution control agency has announced it will
start a training program for sewage treatment plant operators early
in 1968, with assistance from the Wisconsin Board of Vocational,
Technical and Adult Education. A new state law requires that all
plant operators be certified as trained operators.
12. St. Louis Buys Land for Treatment Plant Expansion
The Metropolitan Sewer District of St. Louis, Missouri, has acquired
close to 75 acres at its Lemay treatment plant. While 60 per cent of
the land is to be used for primary sewage treatment, the remaining
acreage is being reserved for secondary sewage treatment in anticipa-
tion of the Federal government requiring such advanced treatment by
1980, according to an item in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
II. Individual Program Comments
1. Water Quality Standards
A meeting was held in Roseville, Minnesota, on January 22 to discuss
water quality standards for the St. Louis River. Attending the meet-
ing were officials of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and
representatives of waste dischargers to the river. Attending for the
FWPCA were H. W. Poston, Great Lakes Regional Director; Albert Printz,
Regional Water Quality Coordinator, and Louis Breimhurst, Deputy
Director of the Minneapolis Program Office. Thomas Quirk of Quirk,
Lawler, and Matusky, consulting engineers from New York City, pre-
sented a report commissioned by paper companies discharging to the
St. Louis River. Quirk said the pollution load upstream from the
paper companies caused depletion of dissolved oxygen in the water
when the river experienced low flows. The study is being reviewed by
the Minneapolis Program Office. Discussions were also held with the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on a proposed sampling program for
the river.
2. Comprehensive Planning
The Cleveland City Council approved a lease the week of January 29-
February 2 to permit work to proceed on creation of an island in Lake
Erie to serve as the site of the city's new Westerly Sewage Treatment
Plant. Construction of the V?-acre island is a year behind schedule.
3. Technical Services
Information being compiled by the Regional Technical Programs Office
shows that the industrial rate of increase in the Lake Erie watershed
exceeds the national rate while it approximates the national average
in the Lake Michigan basin. This information is based on 19^5 figures.
Trends in industrial growth and activity are being summarized and
analyzed in all major watersheds in the Great Lakes region.
A report by a joint study committee appointed by Governor Harold LeVander
of Minnesota and Governor Nils Boe of South Dakota to find ways of coping
with the overfertilization of Big Stone Lake was made public the week of
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December ^-8. Immediate corrective measures recommended by the com-
mittee include: l) control of runoff from livestock feedlots; 2)
improved municipal sewage systems; 3) fencing of streams and water-
courses to keep livestock out; k-) improved aquatic weed control
programs; 5) a stepped-up program to remove rough fish. The committee
also recommended diverting more water into the lake from upstream to
flush the lake, and expansion of soil conservation programs. Two
recommended long range goals are: l) development of complete water-
shed treatment of runoff into the lake; 2) a three-year, $1.2 million
research project to find ways of cutting down the load of nutrients
that encourage aquatic weed and algal growths.
The technical advisory committee of the Northeastern Illinois Planning
Commission,, which takes in six counties in and around metropolitan
Chicago, met December 11 to formulate recommendations for qualifying
for assistance under the Federal Model Cities and Urban Development
Act. In this regard, the committee recommended that a board of con-
sultants be hired to review existing water and sewer planning in the
six-county area to determine what studies remain to be done. Carlysle
Pemberton, Regional Chief of Technical Programs, represented the FWPCA
at the meeting.
The Indiana State Board of Health has been kept informed of a sampling
program conducted by the Chicago Program Office to guard against pollu-
tion of Lake Michigan by disposing of dredging from Indiana Harbor Ship
Canal in a diked-in area of the lake where Inland Steel Company wants
to expand its East Chicago, Indiana, plant. The sampling indicates
that no dredgings escaped from the enclosed area. The Army Corps of
Engineers' dredging of the canal ended December 15.
k. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The Regional Federal Activities Coordination Office has joined the
state of Ohio in recommending that a water intake of the Village of
Kelley's Island in Lake Erie be moved to avoid contamination of its
water supply by watercraft that would dock near it after completion
of a bulkhead by the Detroit District Corps of Engineers. The regional
office also recommended that installation of holding tanks on the ves-
sels and evacuation equipment on shore be made a condition for issuing
the permit for bulkhead construction.
The U. S. Forest Service has been requested by the regional office to
make monthly reports on progress made to correct deficiencies in waste
treatment facilities at the Ojibway Job Corps Conservation Center at
Marenisco, Michigan.
Tentative plans that emerged from a meeting held in the regional office
with representatives of agencies concerned with vessel pollution are to
have Federal vessels and the Naval Training Armory discharge wastes
into a sewer that will be connected with a Chicago city sewer. The
Coast Guard, because of uncertainty over retaining its Chicago station,
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is planning to install detention tanks on its vessels which can be
periodically evacuated. The meeting was held the week of January 8-12.
Attending were representatives of the U. S. Wavy, Coast Guard, Corps of
Engineers, City of Chicago, Illinois Sanitary Water Board, and Metro-
politan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago.
The Eegional Activities Office has recommended against extending a Corps
of Engineers' permit to allow the Union Carbide Corporation in Erie,
Pennsylvania, to continue to dispose of refuse slag and fly ash in Lake
Erie and its tributaries. The office cited recommendations of the Lake
Erie Enforcement Conference as a basis for its decision.
Merrill B. Garnet, Eegional Federal Activities Coordinator, has recom-
mended to headquarters that the Coast Guard consult with the FWPCA to
work out a method for issuing mooring permits with a certification that
water craft have adequate waste holding tanks on board, as required by
a new Chicago ordinance. At present, the Coast Guard has sole responsi-
bility for issuing permits, but cannot deny them on the basis of inade-
quate sanitary facilities.
Regional FWPCA officials also met earlier in December on vessel pollu-
tion at the Chicago city hall with Richard Pavia, assistant city water
commissioner, and representatives from the Navy, Coast Guard, and state
of Illinois to see if a joint project could be developed for sewering
Navy Pier. The project would cost between $75,000 to $90,000, and would
provide waste treatment facilities for the Naval Armory and ships and
pleasure boats that dock there. An application for a research and develop-
ment grant to aid the project will be submitted by Chicago, according to
Ralph G. Christensen, Regional Research and Development director.
The Federal Department of Transportation has informed the FWPCA that the
St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation intends to purchase an oil
boom for use at Massena, New York, to contain and recover oil from
spills of passing vessels.
The Buffalo District Corps of Engineers has asked for more information
regarding the FWPCA1 s objections to disposal of dredgings from Ohio's
Ashtabula River in Lake Erie. The Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company
has taken exception to these objections. The Cleveland Program Office
plans to collect samples from the river to show that the dredgings are
polluted. The Cleveland office reports that the Southeast Water Labora-
tory at Athens, Georgia, has requested information on dredging studies,
as it is faced with similar political and technical problems of harbor
dredging on the Atlantic Coast.
Enforcement
The FWPCA's Rochester Program Office reports that New York's new effluent
registration law goes into effect in June of this year. It requires the
registration with the state of every waste outlet with a capacity of more
than 1,000 gallons per day. After June, those municipalities and indus-
tries granted a registration permit to discharge to a waterway will be
required to provide the state with an analysis of their wastes at pre-
scribed intervals.
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An oil spill was reported on the St. Clair River in the vicinity of
Marysville, Michigan, the weekend of December 9-10. Field crews from
the FWPCA's Detroit Program Office collected samples on the Michigan
shore while the U. S. Coast Guard gathered samples on the Canadian
side near Sarnia, Ontario. It has not been determined if samples on
either side of the river match. The Ontario Water Resources Commission
has been notified and will investigate discharges on the Canadian side.
6. Construction Grants
As a result of negotiations between the city of Milwaukee, the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources and the Regional Construction Grants
Office, Milwaukee will have secondary treatment facilities in its South
Shore Treatment Plant in operation by 1971—three years earlier than it
had originally planned. While negotiations on moving up the installation
date were held, no action was taken on three Milwaukee construction grant
applications.
A moratorium on Fiscal Year 1967 construction grant funds was lifted the
week of December 12 after being in effect since mid-October. The action
freed almost $1.3 million for Wisconsin and Minnesota. A moratorium on
Fiscal Year 1968 funds continues, however. The regional FWPCA office
has asked all states whether they would be interested in securing re-
allotted Fiscal Year 1967 funds from those states that have not used all
such funds. Withdrawal of support from five out of seven Iowa construc-
tion grants was taken because of failure to precede with the projects,
resulting in the recovery of about $110,000. Three Michigan projects,
bogged down because of uncertainty of local financing, have also been
warned of the possibility of grant withdrawals.
Former FWPCA Commissioner James M. Quigley disapproved an appeal by the
Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago that he reconsider
its construction grant application for a district-wide waterway moni-
toring and telemetering system. The Commissioner again turned down the
project because it does not constitute a treatment works as defined in
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Storm Lake and Lakeside, two adjoining Iowa communities, are ironing out
details for building a joint sewage treatment facility rather than con-
structing two plants. Both communities had received construction grants
to erect their own facilities, but the FWPCA1s Regional Construction
Grants office had been attempting to persuade them that the only practi-
cal approach would be a single facility. The communities apparently
have been persuaded.
7. Pollution Surveillance
The first winter mid-lake surveillance cruise of Lake Erie was undertaken
by the Coast Guard Ice Breaker Tupelo, beginning January 6. This was the
first time sampling was undertaken under the ice of the lake, whose en-
tire western basin as well as other portions were frozen over.
R. P. Hartley, chief of field operations for the Cleveland Program Office,
and C. Potos, chief of laboratories, accompanied James B. Kneale of the
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- 8 -
Ohio Department of Health, on visits to 17 water treatment plants
around Lake Erie. Purpose of the trip was to acquaint water works
personnel with a proposed cooperative FWPCA-State surveillance
sampling program. Arrangements were made to collect bi-weekly and
"bi-monthly raw water samples for analysis by state and Federal
laboratories.
The annual working draft of an industrial waste inventory for the
Lake Ontario basin is being prepared by the Rochester Program Office.
New features of the 1968 edition include: inclusion of up to six sets
of data on each industry when available; data on raw and finished
products and services of each firm; a summary on the status of abate-
ment taken or planned by each industry. Copies of the inventory will
be provided to the New York state health department.
8. Research and Development
An FWPCA research grant has been awarded a private firm, Havens and
Emerson, to determine the feasibility of constructing a large waste
water holding and treatment reservoir in Lake Erie to contain combined
sewer overflows. If the concept proves economically feasible, con-
sideration will also be given to using the lagoon for further treatment
of wastes from Cleveland's Easterly secondary treatment plant and flows
from storm sewers in the eastern section of the city.
Illinois Rep. Carl L. KLein has made two informal proposals for research
grants, according to Ralph Christensen, Regional Chief of Research and
Development. One would be applied to developing a large, codified map
identifying critical pollution problems in Illinois, which Klein says
would aid legislators in drafting control laws. His second proposal
would be to determine the extent of pollution from strip mining opera-
tions in the state.
The FWPCA1s Detroit Program Office and the Michigan Conservation Depart-
ment have undertaken a study of how pollution affects ducks wintering on
the Detroit River. Ducks wintering on the river and from an unpolluted
upstate area will be compared, with tests by the state game pathologist,
and an analysis of oil content in feathers. The Detroit Program Office
is making daily oil and grease measurements in the river. Sampling of
the Trenton Channel was also started the week of January 1-5.
Dr. Donald I. Mount, director of the National Water Quality Laboratory
in Duluth, Minnesota, reports significant progress has been made in
reproducing several important fish-food organisms in the lab. "This
will permit additional species to be tested in prolonged tests to deter-
mine safe concentrations of pollutants and water quality requirements,"
Mount says. In addition, lake herring and brook trout eggs have hatched.
Temperatures above 9° Centigrade during the first days of incubation of
herring eggs result in severe abnormalities or death, Mount reports.
Food consumption is also a useful indicator of ideal temperatures for
cold-blooded animals, he adds. Tests the lab has run on stoneflies show
that their food consumption is highest at intermediate temperature ranges,
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- 9 -
The FWPCA's Rochester Program Office reports that the New York
State Health Department's comments on the office's proposed Oneida
Lake restoration project were for the most part negative. The
state, according to the program office, even rejects the premise
that a reduction in phosphates going into the lake will bring about
a decrease in algal growth.
Representatives of Reserve Mining Company met with Dr. Donald I.
Mount, director of the National Water Quality Laboratory in Duluth,
Minnesota, and Mount's assistant, Michael D. Lubratovich, to discuss
the possibility of a research program that would examine the effects
of taconite wastes discharged to Lake Superior. The mining company
dumps nearly 59,000 tons a day of taconite tailings into the lake at
Silver Bay. The firm has been under fire for polluting the lake,
although it maintains that the tailings are made up primarily of sand.
9- Administrative Services
Personnel Staffing
A. Total Positions
B. Total Personnel on Board
C. Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2 . Transfers
D. Total Personnel Losses
1 . Resignations
2. Transfers
Personnel Staffing
A. Total Positions
B. Total Personnel on Board
C. Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
D. Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
October 31,
1967
212
202
10
2
8
3
2
1
November 30,
1967
212
208
1
0
1
2
2
0
November 30,
1967
212
208
1
0
1
2
2
0
December 31,
1967
212
208
1
0
1
1
1
0
December 31>
1967
212
208
1
0
1
1
1
0
January 31,
1968
212
207
0
0
0
1
1
0
-------
-------
MONTHLY REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT
PERIOD COVERING: November 1967
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: H. W. Poston
GREAT LAKES REGION
December 22, 196?
I. Regional Activities
1. Lake Michigan Enforcement Conference Called
Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall has set the opening
of a four-state Federal enforcement conference to halt pollu-
tion of Lake Michigan for January 31 in Chicago. The conference,
involving Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, will begin
at 11 a.m. in the Bal Tabarin Room at the Sherman House. Secre-
tary Udall will serve as chairman of the conference, which
involves Lake Michigan and its entire tributary basin of 67,900
square miles. The conference will include areas covered by two
previous enforcement conferences: the 1963 one on the Menominee
River between Michigan and Wisconsin, and the one initiated in
1965 to abate pollution at the southern end of the lake. Udall,
in responding to the request of Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois
for a four-state conference, said: "No resource problem in the
country is more important than the saving of Lake Michigan."
Governor Kerner wired the Secretary on November 22 to request
the conference. Kerner made the request after an earlier effort
on his part to get the governors of the other three states to-
gether to discuss the problem failed.
2. Experimental Dredging Sites Visited
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration officials accom-
panied U. S. Army Corps of Engineers1 representatives on a tour
of experimental disposal sites for harbor and channel dredgings
the week of November 13-17. James M. Quigley, FWPCA Commissioner,
and Brig. General H. G. Woodbury headed the inspection party,
which visited six locations around the Great Lakes where dredgings
are being disposed of behind diked-in areas to avoid dumping them
into Lakes Erie and Michigan. The party visited projects in
Buffalo, Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and East Chicago,
Indiana. The Corps reported that it cost $6.60 a yard to dispose
of dredgings behind a diked area at the mouth of the Buffalo River
compared to only ^0 cents a yard at Toledo. The reduced costs are
attributable to a hopper dredge used in Toledo which has a pump on
board that permits it to pump dredgings from the bottom and then
behind dikes, rather than having to barge in the material. Other
officials making the tour included: H. W. Poston, Great Lakes
Regional Director, FWPCA; Stanley Cain, Assistant Secretary for
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and Brig. General Robert Tarbox,
division engineer of the North Central Division of the Corps.
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- 2 -
3. Minnesota Attacks Federal "Intervention"
The Minnesota Resources Commission, while discussing expansion
of its role in water pollution control at a meeting November 17,
attacked the Federal government for "unwarranted Federal inter-
vention in state matters without regard to the state's needs" in
connection with establishment of water quality standards for in-
terstate streams. John P. Badalich, the commission's director,
requested legislation covering a state grants program for
construction of sewage treatment plants; regulations controlling
watercraft wastes, and substantial budget and manpower increases
to contend with pollution control problems. Bobert J. Schneider,
Deputy Regional Director, discussed the FWPCA's program and how
it relates to Minnesota with the commission.
k. $500 Million Clean-Up in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board has started setting priori-
ties for projects to be funded with a $500 million bond issue to
clean up the state's waterways. One of the state's policies will
be the awarding of grants on the basis of a comprehensive water-
shed clean-up as opposed to paying for scattered treatment facility
projects. The state has also adopted a schedule for holding hear-
ings to establish intrastate stream standards.
5. Grants Personnel Assigned by Sanitary District
An engineer and an assistant have been assigned full-time by the
Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago to obtaining
the maximum amount of Federal and state grants possible for con-
struction projects. The two men, Jacob D. Dumelle, Assistant
Chief of Maintenance and Operation, and Richard Murphy, met with
Regional FWPCA construction grants personnel to discuss a number
of pending grant projects.
6. Dredging in 1968
A Great Lakes dredging program for 1968 was discussed November 6
in the FWPCA Regional Office with the North Central Division Corps
of Engineers, led by Brig. General Robert Tarbox, division engineer,
and Regional Technical Programs personnel. Although agreement was
not reached on a 1968 dredging schedule, the Regional Office agreed
to review the Corps' list of proposed projects and indicate the ones
where objections would be made to disposal of the dredgings in open
lake waters.
7. Big Stone Lake Program Report Completed
Minnesota and South Dakota officials have completed a joint report
which recommends a program to combat pollution of Big Stone Lake,
a boundary waterway plagued by excessive growths of algae. The
governors of the two states have received copies of the report.
-------
The Rochester Program Office, in making plans for the coming
years, says most comprehensive program plans will be completed
by the end of Fiscal Year 1968. Major tasks for Fiscal Year
1969 are listed by the office as: pollution surveillance,
technical assistance in beach surveys, vaste surveys, indus-
trial inventories, oceanographic evaluations, and the Oneida
Lake restoration project. The lake is plagued by excessive
growths of algae which are over-fertilized by pollutants. In
Fiscal Year 1969, the program office expects to start studies
on nutrient control, combined sewers, and pollution caused by
urban and rural runoffs.
3. Technical Services
Information is being analyzed by the Regional Technical Programs
Office on how efficiently industry in the Upper Mississippi River
Basin uses this water supply. Between 1959 and 1964, major
Illinois industries showed considerable improvement in the effi-
cient, economical use of water, the office reports.
Personnel from the Regional Technical Programs Office and Chicago
Program Office continue to sample water in and around Inland
Steel Company's lake fill project on Lake Michigan, where dredg-
ings from Indiana Harbor Ship Canal are being disposed of behind
bulkheads. The dredging operations are part of the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers' channel projects. The Chicago Program
Office's chemistry laboratory received 21 water samples and five
bottom sediment samples taken from this area, near East Chicago,
Indiana, during the week of November 6-9. The sampling is to
guard against seepage of the polluted dredgings to Lake Michigan.
Arrangements have been made to report test results to the State
of Indiana.
The Regional Technical Programs Office is compiling information
on fertilizers consumed by Great Lakes states. A recent report
by the U. S. Department of Agriculture shows that the use of
phosphorous fertilizers increased 68 per cent in Illinois and 76
per cent in Iowa between 1959 and 1964. Much larger increases
took place in the use of nitrogen as fertilizer. These fertilizers,
when washed from the land into water, speed the growth of algae and
the aging of lakes.
k. Control of Pollution from Federal Activities
The Minneapolis Office of the Bureau of Sports Fisheries and
Wildlife has requested information on pending application for
revalidation of a Corps of Engineers dumping permit for Reserve
Mining Company at Beaver Bay, Minnesota. The mining firm, which
dumps taconite tailings into Lake Superior, has been under fire
from the state of Wisconsin, which has strenuously objected to
revalidation of the permit. The Bureau of Sports Fisheries and
Wildlife has asked for results of a sampling program conducted by
the Chicago Program Office in an area where the tailings are dumped.
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- 5 -
The Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company has applied to the U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to dredge a harbor docking
area at Ashtabula, Ohio, and dispose of the dredgings in an
authorized dumping area of Lake Erie. The Cleveland Program
Office says these bottom materials are grossly polluted. The
Regional Federal Activities Office has recommended that an
alternative disposal site for the dredgings be found.
The Wisconsin Electric Power Company has also asked the Corps'
Chicago District to revalidate a permit issued for improvements
to the harbor at Port Washington, Wisconsin. Information has
been requested by the Regional Office as to whether the initial
permit allows dumping of dredgings into Lake Michigan. If it
does, an FWPCA investigation will be required to determine if
the bottom sediments in the harbor are polluted.
The St. Paul Port Authority has applied for a permit to dredge
four million cubic yards of material from the Mississippi River
near South St. Paul, Minnesota, to permit docking of barges and
to fill in a flood plain near Pigs Eye Lake at South St. Paul.
The Minneapolis Program Office reports the only problems would
be the resuspension of nutrients and possible odors resulting
from dredging and fill operations. No objections were made to
the Corps of Engineers over granting of the permit.
A representative of the American Ship Building Company in Lorain,
Ohio, visited the Regional Federal Activities Office to discuss
an extended aeration package treatment plant which has been
designed for installation on ore boats and other cargo vessels
the company builds. In this regard, the Regional Federal
Activities Office also recommended to the Corps of Engineers
that dockside facilities for taking wastes off vessels be in-
cluded in improvements proposed for Dunkirk Harbor, New York.
The Corps is disposing of dredgings behind retaining dikes in
the harbor, and wants to provide facilities for pleasure craft.
The Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago wants to
install a sewer tunnel under and across the Cal-Sag channel,
and has applied to the Corps of Engineers for a permit. The
Regional Federal Activities Office has asked for information
as to whether or not combined sewage would be carried in this
sewer in violation of state of Illinois prohibitions against
any new combined sewers being built. The project also includes
an emergency outfall which runs directly to the channel; this
would mean discharge to the channel of raw combined sewage
during heavy rains.
Plans for additions to the waste treatment facilities at the
Joliet Army Ammunition Plant have been approved by Regional
Federal Activities Office. The additions will provide a higher
degree of treatment at the main treatment plant. The State of
Illinois has not yet commented on the plans.
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- 6 -
Enforcement
A barge loaded with 600,000 gallons of asphalt was damaged in
heavy seas off Harbor Beach, Michigan, November 1^. The barge
was towed to the Harbor Beach Refuge Harbor for repairs to its
hull. None of the asphalt escaped into the water from the
damaged hull, the Detroit Program Office reports. The U. S.
Coast Guard is investigating the incident.
Construction Grants
A grant application from Genoa, Wisconsin, was returned to the
state's water pollution control agency because it fails to con-
form with the State Program Plan, which calls for secondary
treatment for the community's sewage wastes. The state agency
says the application will be resubmitted shortly, with plans
for secondary treatment of wastes.
Six Iowa communities, which have encountered financial diffi-
culties in meeting starting construction dates for building
sewage treatment projects backed by Federal grants, have been
sent withdrawal notices by the Regional FWPCA Construction
Grants Office. The grant funds involved in the projects total
$131,160. Other projects in the Great Lakes Region that have
failed to meet starting dates are also being investigated.
A recent bid tabulation on the DeKalb, Illinois, Sanitary Dis-
trict sewage treatment works project disclosed that project
costs show hardly any increase as a result of Federal construc-
tion grant requirements. The bidders were invited to include
a specific line item cost for any project increases due to
Federal requirements. Of seven bids received, the line item
bid entries for cost increases attributable to Federal re-
quirements varied from no increase to a three percent hike.
The average was less than one percent. The actual low bid
selected by the applicant showed a cost increase of one-quarter
of one percent for compliance with Federal requirements.
The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Office recently
recommended to its headquarters that HUD not award a grant for
sewer construction in Elaine, Minnesota. The action was taken
after the FWPCA Regional Office certified the project on a con-
ditional basis because of lack of agreement with Minneapolis-
St. Paul on meeting enforcement conference recommendations.
Wastes from the proposed Blaine project would be sent to the
Twin-Cities' sewage treatment plant. Vice President Humphrey's
office recently made an inquiry about the project.
The first grant application of $4.7 million by the city of
Detroit to provide sewage treatment facilities to meet Federal
enforcement conference recommendations has been received and
is being reviewed by the Regional Construction Grants Office.
The application is a part of a proposed $110 million construc-
tion program.
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- 7 -
The city of Westlake, a Cleveland suburb—and the largest city
in Ohio without a sewer system—has decided to abandon plans
for a county financed sewer system because of legal stumbling
blocks it has encountered. The city now intends to place a
bond issue before the voters this spring to obtain the neces-
sary financing.
7. Pollution Surveillance
Fourteen of the 17 current-metering stations set in Lake Superior
to determine water current movements have been recovered. Twelve
were taken aboard by the Telson Queen and two by the Coast Guard
Cutter Woodrush. The Woodrush intends to retrieve more stations
in the near future, the Rochester Program Office reports. One
station near Michipicoten Island lost its anemometer buoy, and
bad weather has delayed a search for it. Arrangements have been
made with the University of Toronto to have the ship, Porte Dauphine,
attempt to recover the buoy later in the month.
8. Research and Development
Officials of the National Water Quality Laboratory at Duluth,
Minnesota, have selected a stream site near Cincinnati, Ohio, for
experiments. According to Dr. Donald I. Mount, lab director:
"The objective is to test the applicability of laboratory-derived
results to a natural stream. After one year of study, a toxic
material will be added at a concentration at which we think we
can predict the damage to be expected (to the aquatic environment)."
Dr. Mount and his assistant also met with directors of Potlatch
Forrests, Inc., and its subsidiary, Northwest Paper Company,
located in Cloquet, Minnesota, and agreed to gather samples for
a joint research project, investigating such paper and pulp
wastes as pine kraft, aspen kraft and aspen sulphite.
The Rochester Program Office director attended a meeting in Albany,
New York, to discuss studies progressing on Oneida Lake, which is
plagued by excessive growths of algae caused by pollution. The
United States Geological Survey is performing a geochemical study
to identify the environmental relationships involved in eutrophi-
cation, the premature aging process of lakes. This five-year,
$1^0,000 study is financed by the Geological Survey and the New
York Conservation Department on a 50-50 basis. Townsend reports
that FWPCA recommendations for taking certain remedial steps now
are being resisted by Geological Survey officials. The Rochester
Program Office has prepared a restoration plan for Oneida Lake,
which urges certain measures now to arrest the lake's algal pro-
duction .
In addition, the Rochester Program Office has completed a second
status report on phosphate removal at six primary and IT secondary
sewage treatment plants in the Lake Ontario area. Phosphorous is a
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- 8 -
nutrient that spurs algal grovrth. Plants with primary treatment
are averaging less than 15 per cent phosphorous removal; trickling
filter plants about 25 per cent; and activated sludge plant 50 per
cent; and extended aeration plants 10 per cent. No significant
reduction in soluble phosphorous has been found, the report states.
9. Administrative Services
Personnel activity has been minimal because of the hiring "freeze."
Personnel Staffing
A. Total Positions
B. Total Personnel on Board
C. Total Personnel Gains
1. New Hires
2. Transfers
D. Total Personnel Losses
1. Resignations
2. Transfers
September 30,
1967
212
202
1
k
3
3
3
0
October 31,
1967
212
209
10
2
8
3
2
1
November 30,
1967
212
208
1
0
1
2
2
0
------- |