A UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM
THE GREAT LAKES: OUR FRESHWATER SEAS
The Great Lakes are an international treasure, spanning over 750 miles across the eight
States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and Wisconsin and the province of Ontario. They contain about 95 percent of the
United States' fresh water. They provide drinking water, energy, recreation, and
transportation, and are used for agricultural and industrial purposes by more than 46
million Americans and Canadians, including 29 Native American tribes. Thousands
of industries and millions of jobs are dependent upon water from the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes basin ecosystem—the interaction of air, land, water and living
things, including people—is remarkably diverse and holds a unique place in the
global ecology. The Great Lakes coastline supports hundreds of species of aquatic
life, wildlife and plants and boasts six National Parks and Lakeshores, six National
Forests, seven National Wildlife Refuges, and hundreds of State parks, forests, and
sanctuaries.
THE NEED FOR ACTION: PROTECTING WATER QUALITY
The presence of environmental pollutants in the Great Lakes basin is a significant concern.
Much has already been done to reduce the amount of pollutants entering the Great
Lakes' basin. The water looks and is much cleaner than in the 1970's when Lake
Erie was declared "dead." However, there is still progress to be made.
Despite their great depth and size, the Great Lakes are particularly vulnerable to
persistent bioaccumulative pollutants because the water and the pollutants remain
in the system for many years. Many of these pollutants are a serious threat, even in
small amounts, because they are harmful to humans, animals and plants, they are
long-lasting, and they can bioaccumulate. That is, they can become more concen-
trated as they move through the food chain from plants, to fish, to people, and
wildlife.
Effects of some of the toxic pollutants on humans and wildlife can include
increased risk of cancers, birth defects, kidney disorders, reproductive system and
developmental damage. Studies show that women of child-bearing age may store
these pollutants in their bodies, and nursing mothers may then pass them on to their
children. Researchers believe that animals that depend on fish for food, like mink,
gulls, and bald eagles, can experience birth
defects and loss in numbers due to consuming rg^X ffiSSS^StaTnkonpaperthat
these long-lasting pollutants Stored in the fish. ^ contains at least S0% recycled fiber
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POLLUTION AT THE SOURCE
PROMOTING POLLUTION PREVENTION
The Great Lakes Water Quality Guidance promotes the use of pollutant minimization
plans to stop pollution before it enters the environment. Reducing pollution at
its source is the most effective way of protecting public health and the environ-
ment, and it is often cheaper than cleaning them up after they are released.
FINISHING THE JOB: FINDING ALL SOURCES OF POLLUTION
The water quality criteria in the Guidance apply to all of the waters in the Great Lakes
system, regardless of where pollution comes from. Pollutants enter the Great
Lakes from the air, from stirred-up bottom sediments, from urban and agricul-
tural runoff, hazardous waste and Superfund sites, spills, and from industrial and
municipal wastewater. Although the implementation procedures of the
Guidance apply mostly to industrial and municipal water discharges, a State or
Tribe may choose to improve water quality by reducing air emissions or clean-
ing up contaminated sediments, and then may not need to impose additional
requirements on wastewater dischargers.
Under the 1992 Great Lakes Five Year Strategy, EPA, the Great Lakes States,
Tribes, and other federal agencies are pursuing a program to identify, prevent,
and to further reduce all dischargers of toxic pollutants. A parallel, on-going
project, called the Great Lakes Toxic Reduction Effort, will give EPA, the
States, and Tribes more tools to use to prevent arid reduce the toxic pollutants
from diffuse sources.
Atmospheric
Deposition
Storm Water/
Combined
Sewer
Overflows
Industrial/
Municipal
Discharge
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Urban and
Agricultural
Runoff
Leachate
from Waste
Disposal
Sites
Desorption
from
Sediments
Shipping/
Transportation Spills
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tOSTS AND BENEFITS
IMPLEMENTING
THE GREAT
LAKES WATER
QUALITY
INITIATIVE
WATER: THE FOUNDATION OF THE GREAT LAKES ECONOMY
The Great Lakes basin is a major industrial and agricultural region. The basin repre-
sents nearly 11% of total employment and 15% of manufacturing employment
for the United States and Canada.
With more than 94,000 square miles of navigable water and over 10,000 miles
of shoreline, the basin supports a robust recreation industry. About 1 million
boats operate each year with a direct spending impact of more than $2 billion.
Surveys estimate over 2.5 million anglers fished in the Great Lakes in 1991,
with total expenditures of $1.3 billion.
CASE STUDIES OF BENEFITS AND COSTS
Implementing the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative will move the Great Lakes
toward improved human health and environment protection. Yet, it is hard to
quantify in dollar values clean water and public health.
The EPA used three communities in different parts of the basin as case studies to
estimate benefits that the Guidance would have on the basin's economy. The
benefits realized in these communities included: improvements in human health,
especially for sport anglers and those who eat fish due to economic need;
improvements in recreational fishing; improvements in the quality of water-
based recreation; and an increase in the commercial fishery harvest. Economic
benefits to these three communities range from an average of $0.3 million to
$5.9 million each year, with a midpoint of $2.8 million.
Costs will not be incurred
by the States and Tribes
until they actually imple-
ment the Guidance.
Average annual costs for
the three case study com-
munities are in the range
of approximately $2.8 mil-
lion. EPA estimates that
the annual cost of imple-
$600 M —I
STATES IMPLEMENTATION
FLEXIBILITY
$60 M
Range of State Implementation
menting the Guidance will be between $60 and $380 million for the whole
basin. Because of the flexibility that the Guidance provides to States, Tribes,
and municipalities, EPA believes that implementation costs for the final
Guidance will be under $100 million for the basin as a whole.
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PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION
THE
ORGANIZATION
AND PROCESS
OFTHE GREAT
LAKES WATER
QUALITY
INITIATIVE
A MODEL PROCESS
The Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative began when the States of the Great Lakes
region recognized they needed to address growing concerns about the effects of
pollution in the basin. Building on a history of successful cooperation, the eight
Great Lakes States and EPA set out to assemble the best, up-to-date scientific
information to better protect public health and the environment. Data were col-
lected and analyzed, procedures were compared, health risks were assessed,
ideas to stem the flow of toxic pollutants were collected, and people represent-
ing all sides of many important issues were brought to the table.
The Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative is a premier example of innovative,
collaborative efforts that will protect the people and the environment of the
Great Lakes region well into the future.
LISTENING TO THE PUBLIC
The proposed Guidance resulted in over 26,500 pages of comments from more than
6,000 commenters and many hearings and public meetings throughout the
region. All of the ideas were considered, and many of the suggestions were
incorporated into the final Guidance. Tremendous effort was spent to actively
engage all interested parties - far beyond what is required or usual. As a result,
EPA has built in more flexibility for States, Tribes, and municipalities, and has
revised the costs and benefits analyses based on additional information provided
during the public comment period.
TIMELINE OF KEY STEPS
Governors sign Great Lakes Water
Great Lakes Toxic Quality Initiative
Substances Control begun
Agreement
Congress enacts Proposed Guidance
Great Lakes published
Critical Programs
Act
First public
hearing
EPA. States, Tribes,
and stakeholders
discuss remaining
issues
Final Guidance
published
States and Tribes
adopt final
Guidance
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ATER QUALITY GUIDANCE FORTHE GREAT LAKES SYSTEM
WHAT IS IT?
FAIRNESS AND CONSISTENCY: LEVELING THE ECONOMIC
PLAYING FIELDS
Current law does not require States that border a common body of water (like a river or
lake) to have the same water quality standards in place for that body of water.
Inconsistent standards mean that a discharger may be required to meet different
standards in one state than its competitors in another state. As a result, one dis-
charger may have an economic advantage over another and water quality suf-
fers. Once implemented, the Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes
System will change this. The Guidance is designed to assure all dischargers that
discharge to the same body of water meet consistent water quality standards
based on scientific data.
ECOSYSTEM-BASED WATER QUALITY CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES
Water quality criteria tell how much of a specific pollutant can be in the water and yet
be safe for humans, aquatic life, and wildlife. States and Tribes use these crite-
ria and other information to set enforceable water quality standards in rivers,
lakes, and streams. Using the methodology and procedures in the Water Quality
Guidance for the Great Lakes States, States and Tribes will have consistent
; human health and environmental protection across the whole Great Lakes basin.
SOUND SCIENCE AND PEER REVIEW
The Guidance received rigorous review by impartial scientists, and incorporates the
best available scientific information. There are five protective elements of the
Guidance:
1. Criteria to protect human life
2. Criteria to protect wildlife
3. Criteria to protect aquatic life
4. Antidegradation requirements to assure that current water quality
will not be diminished
5. Procedures to ensure consistent implementation, with appropriate flexibility.
FLEXIBILITY: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
EPA has built flexibility into its requirements so that the States, Tribes, and municipali-
1 ties can adapt the Guidance to special characteristics of individual communities.
This flexibility will help reduce the costs of implementation, without sacrificing
environmental protection.
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?HUMAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT
PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH
The criteria set to protect human health in the Water Quality Guidance for the Great
Lakes System are based on fish consumption rates that more accurately reflect
the fish consumption rates of people who live in the Great Lakes basin. The fish
consumption rate, and procedures to adjust the rate on a case-by-case basis, will
better protect the health of sport anglers and those who, because of cultural or
economic reasons, consume fish from the Great Lakes.
PROTECTING AQUATIC LIFE
Fish and other aquatic life are protected by criteria that describe the maximum allow-
able concentrations for short-term and long-term exposures from 15 pollutants.
For other pollutants, the Guidance has methodologies the States and Tribes may
use to set standards.
PROTECTING WILDLIFE
Levels of protection for wildlife were developed based upon field studies of Great
Lakes animals and four well-known pollutants that are a threat to wildlife: mer-
cury, PCBs, DDT and dioxin. The criteria are set to protect Great Lakes mam-
mals and birds from long-term exposure to these pollutants. To address other
toxic pollutants, the Guidance includes procedures the States and Tribes should
use to set additional levels of protection.
PROTECTING CURRENT WATER QUALITY
The Guidance sets forth minimum procedures that a State or Tribe must follow when
considering an action that may lessen water quality in an area where water qual-
ity standards are already met. The Guidance assures that there is a careful eval-
uation of the environmental impact of such proposed actions, with full public
participation. Also, for a small but important set of waters designated "out-
standing," the Guidance reinforces current national policy that no permanent
degradation is allowed.
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BIOACCUMULATIVE CHEMICALS OF CONCERN (BCCs)
CHEMICALS THAT
PRESENT AN
INCREASED RISK OF
CANCER, BIRTH
DEFECTS, GENETIC
MUTATIONS, AND
REPRODUCTIVE
IMPACTS
THROUGH
LONG-TERM
EXPOSURE
The final Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System focuses on chemicals of
most concern in the Great Lakes System: persistent, bioaccumulative pollutants
termed Bioaceumulative Chemicals of Concern (BCCs). Bioaccumulative pol-
lutants are chemicals that concentrate at higher levels in the food chain. These
pollutants are long lasting throughout the Great Lakes ecosystem and are most
likely to bioaccumulate in the food chain. They have also been associated with
serious and systemwide impacts.
Chlordane
4,4'-DDD
4,4'-DDE !
4,4'-DDT
Dieldrin
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)
Hexachlorobutadiene
Hexachlorocyclohexane (BHC)
alpha-Hexachlorocyclohexane (Alpha-BHC)
beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane(5eta-B#C)
delta-HexachlorocyclohexanefDe/ta-B/fCJ
Lindane
Mercury
Mirex
Octachlorostyrene
Pentachlorobenzene
Photomirex
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
2,3,7,8-TCDD (Dioxin)
1,2,3,4-Tetrachlorobenzene
1,2,4,5-Tetrachlorobenzene
Toxaphene
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