Great Lakes
National Program Office
905R87106
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ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR PERIOD-ENDING
NOVEMBER 10, 1987
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905R87106
DIRECTOR'S OFFICE
CAROL FINCH, ACTING DIRECTOR
Society of Military Engineers Focusses on the Great Lakes
At the Great Lakes Regional Conference of the Society of Military
Engineers (SAME) meeting in Buffalo, NY on October 21-23rd, Carol
Finch, GLNPO Acting Director, spoke of "Federal Perspectives" at the
session on "Revitalization of the Great Lakes/Lakefronts: Water Quality
Iirpacts." The formal talk included reference to past problems and
situations and the laws and scientific efforts needed to control them,
and on the current concern with toxics and loadings from multi-media
sources. Future cooperative endeavors were discussed with the Corps of
Engineers audience concerning requirements of the Clean Water Act of
1987.
Banquet speaker, the Honorable Henry J. Nowak of the 31st District, N.Y.,
Congress of the United States, directed his remarks to the 1986 Water
Resources Development Act, but took time to speak of GLNPO. He has been
a major supporter for Great Lakes and the National Program Office,
especially during recent Congressional appropriation hearings.
Contact Person: Carol Finch 353-2117
The GLNPO Newsletter
is produced at:
USEPA, GLNPO, 5GL
230 S. Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL 60604
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RESEARCH AND SURVEILLANCE STAFF
WAYNE WILLFORD, CHIEF
Great Lakes Fishery Commission/Habitat Advisory Board
On October 27-28, 1987 Wayne Willford attended a meeting the Great Lakes
Fishery Commission's Habitat Advisory Board in Windsor, Ontario where
the major topics of discussion were artificial reefs and the review of
Remedial Action Plans. A Task Force has been formed and assigned the
responsibility of developing a policy statement on the construction of
artificial reefs in the Great Lakes. A management structure was
established and responsibility assigned for handling the anticipated
surge of Remedial Action Plans that will be coming to the Fishery
Commission for review.
Contact Person: Wayne Willford 353-1369
Atmospheric Deposition of Toxics to the Great Lakes
Two talks were given by Wayne Willford on atmospheric deposition. The
first was at the Air Toxics Conference in Grand Rapids, MI on October
8th and the second was at the Atmospheric Conference in Chicago on
November 4th. The subject of each presentation was a summary of
existing knowledge about the relationship of atmospheric deposition to
total loadings of toxics to the Great Lakes. GLNPO's planned sampling
network was presented as an improved way of measuring the toxic inputs
that come from atmospheric deposition.
Contact Person: Wayne Willford 353-1369
International Joint Commission's Surveillance Work Group
On October 1-2, 1987 Wayne Willford attended a meeting of the
surveillance Work Group that had as the major agenda a self-review of
work group performance. With Surveillance Plans currently in place for
each of the Great Lakes, except Lake Superior, considerable concern
exists regarding the rate of implementation of the Plans by the
responsible Agencies and the effectiveness of reporting on those portions
of the Plans that have been implemented. It was decided that the Work
Group will emphasize to the Water Quality Board of the IJC the tracking
of implementation. Current Work Group and Subcommittee/Task Force
structures will also be reviewed with the goal of streamlining the
structure and the effectiveness of report preparation.
Contact Person: Wayne Willford 353-1369
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Lake Ontario Toxics Management Plan
As a follow-up to the Niagara River Action Plan, the four principal
parties, led by Region II, are in the process of preparing a Toxics
Management Plan for Lake Ontario. Participation in this activity was
requested by GLNPO, and Wayne Willford is representing this Office on the
Lake Ontario Toxics Committee which has the responsibility for drafting
the plan.
Meetings were attended on October 7-9 in Toronto and October 22-23 in
Albany, N.Y. as part of the drafting process. As presently structured,
the Plan calls for a phased process employing existing standards for the
immediate action phase; development and application of more stringent
criteria and standards for the second, midterm phase; and ultimately an
ecosystem approach with integrity indicators and objectives as the long-
term phase. Use of a mass balance approach in estimating loadings to the
lake is also called for, similar to that being applied under the Lake
Michigan Toxics Strategy.
Contact Person: Wayne Willford 353-1369
National Atmospheric Deposition Program Technical Committee Meets
The National Atmospheric Deposition Program's (NADP) Technical Committee
met in Minneapolis, MN on November 2-5, 1987. While attending the
Conference, Ed Klappenbach attended subcommittee No. 2 (on QA/QC).
Discussion of combining with the Siting Subcommittee led to a vote to
merge the two committees. A new Scope of Responsibility will be
drafted and mailed to members for comments before the end of 1987.
Dr. Lennart Granat of the University of Stockholm presented a talk on
"Results of Atmospheric Deposition Measurements in Europe," with special
reference to Sweden. Sweden operates a dense network of 35 units (18 wet
only, and 17 bulk sample collectors). The use of paired units was
suggested as a QA/QC check.
Patricia Irving of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program
(NAPAP) described the developing Global Trend Network.
Contact Person: Ed Klappenbach 353-1378
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Pesticide Exposure Assessment Workshop
Sarah Pavlovic attended a workshop on the subject of "Pesticide Exposure
Asssessroent in Surface Waters" organized by the Water Quality Laboratory
at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, October 28-29. The workshop was
intended as an agency/university/industry research communication and
planning conference. Attendees respresented Federal and State pesticide
regulation, water quality management and agricultural agencies, pesticide
manufacturers, and five universities, many from Ohio and the Lake Erie
Basin, but including attendees from as far away as EPA's Office of
Pesticide Programs in Washington, D.C., USDA's Agricultural Research
Service in Tifton, GA, and Ontario's Ministry of Agriculture and Food in
Guelph.
Presentations focused on modeling and monitoring efforts to evaluate
pesticide exposure via surface waters. These included reports on four
projects funded by GLNPO:
1) Heidelberg College (D. Baker) monitoring of pesticide
concentrations and loads in Lake Erie tributaries,
2) ODNR (D. Rush, E. Crawford) development and implementation of
tillage tracking methods to asses the extent of conservation tillage
adoption,
3) OSU (A. Waldron) detailed survey of pesticide use patterns, land
use characteristics and cropping practices, and
4) OSU (T. Logan) experimental plot study of pesticide transport into
tile drainage systems and ground water.
Topics of discussion included the potential for use and misuse of models
in exposure assessment, the availability and accessibility of input data,
the role of monitoring data and the importance of sound analytical
programs. A summary of the workshop presentations and subsequent
discussions is being prepared by Heidelberg College, and will be
available in the near future.
Contact person: Sarah Pavlovic 353-0123
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ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING STAFF
ROBERT D. TOLPA/ ACTING CHIEF
Six-Party Meeting with St. Lawrence River Indian Tribe
On October 14, 1987 Robert Beltran travelled to the St. Regis Mohawk
Reservation near Massena, New York to attend a meeting of U.S.EPA-GLNPO,
Environment Canada, the Akwesasne Tribal Council, New York State's
Department of Environmental Conservation, Ontario Ministry of the
Environment, and Quebec Ministry of the Environment. The meeting was
convened by the Tribal Council to establish the respective roles and
responsibilities of the various jurisdictions in preparing the Remedial
Action Plan (RAP) for the St. Lawrence River Area of Concern (AOC).
Because this AOC sits at the border of the United States and Canada, and
because jurisdiction is shared by the St. Regis Mohawks, New York State
and the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, this promises to be an
exceptionally interesting and unique RAP development process.
The position taken by GLNPO and New York State is that the lead, on the
U.S. side, must be taken by the State of New York. Canada and Ontario
have assumed a similar position for the Canadian side, with Ontario
sharing its lead with Environment Canada. The Akwesasne Tribal Council
contends that it, having international jurisdiction overlapping that of
all other parties, should have the lead on a single RAP for the AOC. The
Canadians invited New York to join them in preparing a single RAP. New
York prefers to develop a separate plan for the U. S. side, however, the
Tribal Council presented a formal position paper that went on to ask a
number of questions of each of the Governments. We are presently
drafting a formal response to the Tribal Council. The meeting was
recessed to reconvene on December 1, 1987.
A detailed trip report is available.
Contact Person: Robert Beltran 353-0826
EPA/NACD Nonpoint Source Conference Meets
Ralph Christensen participated in the joint EPA/NACD Nonpoint Source
Conference held October 6-7, 1987 at the Quality Inn Motel in Chicago.
He presented a discussion on Great Lakes National Program Office
Initiatives and Annex III of the U.S./Canada Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement. The discussion included a brief description of the
demonstration projects, the U.S. Phosphorus Level Reduction Plan, Area
of Concern Remedial Action Plans and tracking initiatives undertaken by
GLNPO.
Contact Person: Ralph Christensen 353-3545
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Tri-State Water Quality Workshop Steering Committee Meets
A Tri-State water quality workshop steering committee meeting was held
October 15, 1987 in Defiance, Ohio. Ralph Christensen attended this
meeting/ along with U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil and Water
Conservation District, University Extension and Conservation Technology
Information Center representatives. The group sought to set up a one-day
training workshop for managers of agricultural agencies and farm
managers. The title of the workshop will be, "Continuing Challenges in
Water Quality." The workshop will be held in Perrysburg, Ohio on March
8, 1988.
Contact Person: Ralph Christensen 353-3545
British Visit to GLNPO
Mr. Frank Kendall, Regional Director of the Department of the
Environment, and Mr. John Tavore, Chairman of the Mersey Basin Campaign
of Great Britain, visited the GLNPO October 22, 1987 to be briefed on
activities of this Office. Presentations were made on agricultural
nonpoint sources, surveillance and monitoring, areas of concern remedial
action plans, and the relationship of GLNPO to Canada under the U.S./
Canadian Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. These two gentlemen
discussed their water quality program for the Mersey River Basin clean-up
campaign, and left a brochure regarding their efforts.
Contact Person: Ralph Christensen 353-3545
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REMEDIAL PROGRAMS STAFF
VACYS SAULYS, CHIEF
Water Quality Board's Program Committee Meets
Meeting in Windsor, Ontario on October 27-28, the Water Quality Program
Committee began scoping the future of the Water Quality Board. Vacys
Saulys represented Carol Finch as EPA Co-Chair of the Committee as
discussion centered on potential commitments that arise out of the
amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Types of activities and
future foci of activities were projected.
Copies of the Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) for the Manistique River,
Torch Lake, Muskegon Lake, and the Raisen River were presented. Deer
Lake and White River RAPs are expected momentarily. Public participation
was reviewed for the areas concerned.
Contact Person: Vacys Saulys 353-3544
U.S. / U.S.S.R. Scientific Exchange Symposium
From October 19-21, 1987, Larry Fink attended the 15th U.S. / O.S.S.R.
Scientific Exchange Symposium in Athens, GA and presented a paper
entitled, "A Screening Model for Tributyl Tin Criteria." The purpose of
the paper was to analyze U.S.EPA's proposed restrictions on the use of
tributyl tin (TBT) compounds in paint formulations applied to boat hulls
to prevent the growth of encrusting organisms such as barnacles and
algae. The focus of this analysis was Lake St. Clair, where there are
enough boat slips on the Michigan side alone to accommodate 14,334
recreational vessels.
Mr. Fink concluded that the proposal to virtually eliminate the use of
TBT anti-foulant paints on recreational vessels was sound. The proposed
limit on the rate of release of TBT from commercial vessels, of 4 ug/cm2-
day also appears well founded, but the 168 ug/cm2-day initial release
rate needs to be further evaluated over the next two years, along with
additional toxicity and bioaccumulation studies. The presentation was
simultaneously translated into Russian for the benefit of the attendees
from the Soviet Union. Excellent questions followed the presentation.
Contact Person: Larry Fink 353-0117
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Thirteenth Meeting of U.S./Japanese Experts On Sediment Management
Anthony Kizlauskas was an official U.S. delegate to the 13th Meeting of
U.S./Japanese Experts on Management of Bottom Sediments Containing Toxic
Substances. The meeting was held in Baltimore, Maryland on November 3-5,
1987. This series of meetings is convened under an official government-
sponsored scientific exchange program between the two countries. Mr.
Kizlauskas presented a paper on how the U.S. and Canada were dealing with
the contaminated sediment problem through the UC. Two dozen technical
papers were given, equally split between the delegates of the two
countries.
The Japanese are clearly ahead of the U.S. in the active remediation of
contaminated bottom sediment problems. Their government has undertaken a
number of large scale remedial efforts, including the infamous Minamata
Bay, which was severely contaminated by mercury. They are also actively
reclaiming degraded areas to make them into wildlife or recreation areas.
There are a number of reasons for this leadership role, the most
important one being institutional in the Japanese approach to pollution
control, which is different than the U.S. approach. Industry is very
strong politically in Japan. Therefore, the Japanese environment
agencies are not able to enforce stringent point-source control measures.
Instead, the government funds clean-ups of the impacts of the point-
source discharges, i.e., the contaminated sediments in the rivers,
harbors, and bays. The U.S. papers more often dealt with navigational
dredging and side-benefits to remediation of contaminated sediments,
although there were a few U.S. papers, including Mr. Kizlauskas1, on
contaminated sediment initiatives outside the context of navigational
dredging.
The U.S. is clearly ahead in the concern over and understanding of toxic
substances. This is in part because the Japanese still have such gross
sediment pollution with conventional pollutants (COD, total volatile
solids, nutrients) to deal with that they have not yet addressed the more
subtle impacts of toxics. The highest level of sewage treatment in Japan
is typically secondary (sand filtration). Therefore, most of their
monitoring efforts are on conventional pollutants. The remedial efforts
that address the conventional pollutants, of course, also remediate
toxics, but there was little evidence of emphasis on research or
monitoring on toxics.
These differences made the scientific exchange that resulted from this
conference mutually very beneficial, since both countries had something
to both learn from and contribute to the other. A proceedings of the
conference will be published in early 1988.
Contact Person: Anthony Kizlauskas, 353-3576
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U.S./U.S.S.R. Planning and Review Group Meets
The annual Program Planning and Review Meeting of the U.S./U.S.S.R.
Working Group 02.02.10 on Cooperation in the Areas of Water Pollution
Prevention was held on October 14-19, 1987 in Athens, Georgia, it was
hosted by Dr. Rose Russo, the Director of the U.S. EPA Athens
Environmental Research Laboratory and Project 02.02.12 Leader. Mr.
Valdas Adamkus, the United States Chairman of the Workgroup, and Vacys J.
Saulys, our Project 02.02.11 Leader, participated in the session. Dr.
David Beasley of Purdue University assisted in reaching agreement of an
agricultural surface runoff experimental program designed to support
improvement in the ANSWERS model.
The three Soviet scientists from Project 02.02.11 visited USDA's Southern
Piedmont Conservation Resource Center in Watkinsville, GA where they
investigated the surface runoff sampling instrumentation at two test
watersheds. Information was exchanged on ongoing activities within the
three projects. The U.S.S.R. appears to be planning a major
reorganization of its environmental agencies,more along the lines of
U.S. EPA - within the constraints of its political/economic systems. The
next meeting of the workgroup was tentatively scheduled for August, 1988
in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Contact Person: Vacys Saulys 353-3544
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