Great
Lakes
National
Program
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office
Significant Activities Report
On the Web at:
www.epa.gov/glnpo
December 2002
IN THIS ISSUE:
• Presque Isle On the Mend
• Winning the Battle in Lake
Michigan
• Tannery Bay Cleanup High-
lighted
• Carp News
• Here they Come, From All Over
the World
• Dental Waste In Its Place
• Toxics Linkages
• International Coastal Wetlands
Effort Nears Half-Way Mark
• What Have They Done to the
Bay?
• Weighing the Evidence
• New Sediment Cleanup Tool
Presque Isle On the Mend
Significant improvements in the environ-
mental health of the Presque Isle Bay, Penn-
sylvania Area of Concern (AOC) on Lake
Erie has prompted the USEPA to upgrade
the bay to an "AOC in recovery stage" from
the previous designation of simply "AOC."
The re-designation recognizes the improve-
ments made over the 11 years since Presque
Isle Bay was designated as an AOC.
Presque Isle Bay is located in the northwest-
ern corner of Pennsylvania on the southern
shore of Lake Erie. Most of the watershed is
comprised of urban and industrial areas
within the City of Erie and Millcreek Town-
ship.
The request for a change in status was for-
mally submitted to EPA on Oct. 2nd by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection. This is the first AOC in the na-
tion to be upgraded to recovery status.
In 1988, local citizens from Erie County,
Pa. petitioned the International Joint Com-
mission Science Advisory Board to recom-
mend that the Bay be an AOC. In 1991, the
Commission requested that the U.S. Gov-
ernment make this designation after re-
search concluded fish tumors and restric-
tions of dredging activities indicated sub-
stantial sediment contamination. The U.S.
Department of State officially made the des-
ignation on January 30, 1991.
Several studies indicate improvements in
the bay - the incidence offish tumors has
dropped dramatically and sediments have
proven less toxic than originally believed.
Under EPA guidelines, the new status calls
Presque Isle Bay on Lake Erie at Erie, Pennsylvania
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December 2002
Significant Activities Report
for a pollution prevention plan, and a moni-
toring program to reduce the risk of future
degradation and ensure that recovery con-
tinues.
(Contacts: Mark Elster, 312-886-3857, el;
ster.mark@epa.gov, or Larry Merrill, 215-
814-5452, merrill.larry@epa.gov)
Winning the Battle
in Lake Michigan
A recently published scientific paper shows
the benefits of reducing phosphorus load-
ings to Lake Michigan. High phosphorus
loads in the 1960's and 70's spurred the
Springtime population growth of diatoms,
one of the most common types of phyto-
plankton (tiny floating plants) in the lake.
This explosive diatom growth each
Spring used up all the silica in the
water, preventing further diatom
growth in the Summer. Since only
diatoms require silica for growth,
Summer communities shifted to
other types of phytoplankton, a de-
parture from the historical condition
of year-round dominance by diatoms.
Public concern over the eutrophica-
tion (premature aging) of the Great
Lakes resulted in signing of the Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement in
1972 between the United States and Can-
ada. As part of the effort to reverse the deg-
radation of the lakes, phosphorus reduction
programs were undertaken under the Agree-
ment.
The restoration of Lake Erie dramatically
showed the success of the phosphorus con-
trols. Evidence of recovery in Lake Michi-
gan has been more elusive. But now, the pa-
per "Evidence of Recovery from Phospho-
rus Enrichment in Lake Michigan," pub-
lished in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries
and Aquatic Sciences, shows for the first
time the benefits of phosphorus load reduc-
tions to the Lake Michigan ecosystem. The
paper uses 18 years of data, collected as part
of the Great Lakes National Program Of-
fice's annual open-lake monitoring program,
to track a complex chain of interactions
from phosphorus to silica to diatoms. The
authors found that reductions in phosphorus
loads, the main driver of diatom growth,
have resulted in a steady increase in Spring
soluble silica concentrations between 1983
and 2000 as smaller annual diatom popula-
tions have taken less silica with them as
they die and settle to the bottom of the lake.
With a smaller annual loss of silica, concen-
trations of this element have been able to
build up steadily over the past twenty years.
The reduction in Spring diatom populations,
resulting from decreases in phosphorus
Stephanodiscus pan/us Cyclotella ocellata
Some common Lake Michigan diatoms
loading, has also meant more silica 'left
over' for Summer diatom growth, bringing
about a return of substantial Summer dia-
tom populations in the lake for the first time
in over thirty years. Therefore, while annual
diatom production has decreased, it has also
become more 'spread out' over the year, as
was the case in the lake before it was im-
pacted by excessive phosphorus loading.
The Summer diatom response to increased
silica was particularly apparent beginning in
the early 1990s. It thus appears that the
phytoplankton community has begun to
shift back towards its historical condition of
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December 2002
year-round diatom dominance. These re-
sults provide the first conclusive evidence
that phosphorus load reductions are having
a positive impact on the Lake Michigan
ecosystem.
The authors of the paper were Rick Bar-
biero of DynCorp; and Marc Tuchman,
Glenn Warren and David Rockwell from
GLNPO. The paper is in the October 2002
(Volume 59, Number 10) of the Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
on pages 1639 to 1647.
(Contacts: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov; Glenn Warren,
312-886-2405, warren.glenn@epa.gov: or
David Rockwell, 312-353-1373, rockwell.
david@epa.gov)
Tannery Bay Cleanup Highlighted
On November 7th, a press conference was
held in Whitehall, Michigan to highlight the
sediment cleanup activities at the White
Lake, Tannery Bay site. This project is a
joint effort between the Michigan Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
and USEPA. When completed, about
75,000 cubic yards of tannery waste con-
taminated with chromium, arsenic and mer-
cury will be removed.
Suction dredge removing Tannery Bay sediments
The sediment contamination was the result
of some 30 years of discharges from the
tannery (1944 through 1976). A settlement
reached between MDEQ and Genesco, Inc,
provided $3.3 million towards the project.
The remaining funds were supplied by a
grant for $500,000 from GLNPO to MDEQ
and from Michigan Clean Michigan Initia-
tive Funds.
The press conference was attended by Tom
Skinner, USEPA Region 5 Administrator
and Great Lakes National Program Man-
ager; Russell J. Harding, Department of En-
vironmental Quality Director; Dennis L.
Schornack, International Joint Commission
U.S. Section Chairman; Norm Ullman,
Mayor of Whitehall, and other local offi-
cials.
Another cleanup in White Lake, at the Occi-
dental Chemical site is slated for the sum-
mer of 2003.
Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov).
Carp News
USEPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
and the State Department worked in part-
nership to provide emergency funding to
buy and install a backup power system for
the existing aquatic nuisance species disper-
sal barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship
Canal near Lockport, Illinois. The backup
power will ensure operation of the barrier in
the event of a failure with the primary
power system. USEPA's Office of Water
provided $150,000 for the purchase. The
Army Corps constructed the barrier under
the authority of the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of
1990 as a demonstration of an innovative
technology for preventing the migration of
aquatic nuisance species between the Great
Lakes and Illinois River basins. The Corps
is continuing the operation of the barrier as
the only line of defense against the immi-
nent threat of Asian carp migrating into the
Great Lakes from the Illinois River. Two
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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December 2002
Significant Activities Report
Dispersal Barrier Control Room
(Photo courtesy of Phil Moy, Wisconsin Sea Grant)
species of asian carp are advancing their
way up the Illinois from the Mississippi
River toward the Great Lakes and have the
potential to severely impact the biological
integrity of the Great Lakes. (See related
stories in the May and September-October
2002 issues of the Significant Activities Re-
port).
(Contact: Scott Cieniawski, 312-353-9184,
cieniawski.scott@epa.gov)
In related news, on November 25th, U.S.
Congresswoman Judy Biggert convened a
roundtable discussion at the Romeoville, Il-
linois Village Hall on the Asian Carp and
the dispersal barrier project. The dispersal
barrier and a large segment of the Chicago
Sanitary and Ship Canal resides in her dis-
trict. In attendance were representatives
from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the
International Joint Commission; the Great
Lakes Fisheries Commission; the Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Mississippi Interstate
Cooperative Resource Association
(MICRA); and the Illinois Natural History
Survey.
Short presentations were made by Con-
gresswoman Biggert, IJC Commissioner
Dennis Schornack (IJC); and the Corps of
Engineers on the status of the barrier; and
Jerry Rasmussen from MICRA on the Asian
Carp threat. After the presentations, Con-
gresswoman Biggert led a discussion and
inquired as to the kinds of monitoring un-
derway to determine the effectiveness of the
barrier and plans to construct a second bar-
rier. She voiced her support for the effort,
including the continued operation of the ex-
isting barrier. Following the briefing a visit
to the site was conducted by the Army
Corps of Engineers.
(Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov)
Here they Come,
From All Over the World
After EPA Headquarters, EPA Region 5 and
the Great Lakes National Program Office
receive the greatest number of foreign visi-
tors to EPA. Fiscal year 2002 (ending Sep-
tember 30, 2002) saw a total of 223 foreign
visitors to Region 5. Over one-third of the
visitors met with GLNPO staff. The coun-
tries represented included Argentina, Arme-
nia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Estonia,
Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Korea, Lat-
via, Lithuania, Japan, and Poland. Most of
the visitors wanted to learn how EPA han-
dles the kinds of issues that these countries
are facing or will soon be confronting.
GLNPO receives visitors from all over the globe
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There are several reasons for the visitors'
keen interest in the Great Lakes:
• Many of the visitors' countries now
have the kinds of problems that the
Great Lakes faced 20 to 30 years ago
and the visitors want to learn how the
Great Lakes were restored.
• Since many of their countries have
trans-boundary pollution issues (their
waters are being impacted by other
countries), they are eager to learn how
about the binational efforts to protect
and restore Great Lakes, which are seen
as a model for international cooperation
to protect a shared resource.
• Finally, many of them are interested in
how the ecosystem approach is used to
attack problems holistically instead of
piecemeal like the traditional media by
media approaches.
(Contacts: Tony Kizlauskas, 312-353-8773,
kizlauskas.anthony@epa.gov or Sirtaj Ah-
med, 312-886-4445, ahmed.sirtaj(giepa.gov)
Dental Waste In Its Place
A symposium was held on December 2nd, in
Chicago, Illinois entitled "Dental Mercury:
Reducing the Environmental Impact." The
meeting was sponsored by the Great Lakes
Binational Toxics Strategy (mercury is one
of the chemicals targeted for reductions by
that program). Over 70 people attended, in-
cluding members of the dental community,
academia and government from both the
United States and Canada. Presentations in-
cluded:
• Assessing the Fate and Impact of Dental
Amalgam, three separate presentations
by Philip Watson, University of To-
ronto; Jay Vandeven, Environ Corpora-
tion; and Peter Berglund, Metropolitan
Council Environmental Services,
• Amalgam Recycling Potential, presented
by James Drummond, University of Illi-
nois-Chicago,
Waste Management Strategies and Op-
portunities, presented by Linda Samek,
Ontario Dental Association,
Evaluation of Amalgam Separation
Equipment, presented by P.L. Fan,
Practical Considerations in Managing
Dental Wastes and Amalgam Separa-
tors, presented by Kevin McManus, EBI
Consultants, and
The Proper Place for Dental Waste:
Dental School Curriculum Develop-
ment, presented by Nancy Larson, Kan-
sas State University.
Dental amalgam can be a significant source
of mercury to wastewater
Later, several case studies were presented to
show the impacts of mercury amalgam and
the practical applications of the mercury re-
duction techniques presented earlier:
• Duluth, Minnesota, presented by Tim
Tuominen, Western Lake Superior Sani-
tary District,
• Toronto, Ontario Canada Sewer Use
By-Law, presented by Robert Krauel,
Environment Canada,
• King County, Washington, presented by
Gail Savina, King County Hazardous
Waste, and
• Northeast Ohio, presented by Keith
Linn, Northeast Ohio Regional Sanitary
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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Significant Activities Report
District.
Finally, a closing panel discussion: Charting
a Path Forward was led by Navy Com-
mander Dr. John Kuehne, DDS from the
Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical
Research and Dr. Keith W. Suchy, DDS, the
Secretary of the Chicago Dental Society.
Proceeds of this Symposium should be pub-
lished in January 2003.
(Contact: Alexis Cain, 312-886-7018, cain.
alexis@epa.gov)
Toxics Linkages
Over 80 people attended the Semiannual
Stakeholder Forum of the Great Lakes Bi-
national Toxics Strategy (GLBTS) in Chi-
cago on December 3rd. The theme of the
gathering was "Linkages." Invited speakers
showed how the toxics reduction activities
of the GLBTS were related to other such re-
duction efforts at various scales from local
to global. Greg Filyk, the Acting Chief of
the Hazardous Air Pollutants Group at En-
vironment Canada in Ottawa spoke about
global toxic reductions efforts. Victor Shan-
tora, the Acting Executive Director of the
North American Commission for Environ-
mental Cooperation on the Commission for
Environmental Cooperation spoke about
that organization's coordinated toxics re-
duction efforts between the U.S., Canada,
and Mexico. Finally, Kevin Schnoes of the
Chicago Department of Environment, de-
scribed the City of Chicago's efforts to help
industry reduce the use and releases of toxic
substances through its "Industrial Outreach
Program."
As in past GLBTS Stakeholder Forums, the
GLBTS Workgroup Chairpersons provided
updates on their groups efforts to reduce
specific toxics, including PCBs, dioxins and
furans, mercury, benzo(a)pyrene, hexa-
Toxics can be transported around the globe by air,
so coordinated cooperative control efforts are needed
chlorobenzene, pesticides, alkyl-lead, and
octachlorostyrene. The annual summary of
progress under the Great Lakes Binational
Toxics Strategy will be available in Febru-
ary 2003. For more information on the
Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy, and
its toxics reduction activities, visit their
Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/bns
(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571, smith.
edwin@epa.gov)
International Coastal Wetlands
Effort Nears Half-Way Mark
In September 2002, USEPAs Great Lakes
National Program Office awarded the third
and final Cooperative Agreement to the
Great Lakes Commission to support the
work of the Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands
Consortium. All three Cooperative Agree-
ments have been funded at $400,000, with
another $200,000 in match from the Con-
sortium members.
There are 41 member organizations, includ-
ing scientific and policy experts drawn from
key U.S. and Canadian federal agencies,
state and provincial agencies, non-
governmental organizations, and other inter-
est groups with responsibility for coastal
wetlands monitoring. This is an unprece-
dented assembly of coastal wetlands exper-
tise. In addition, other members are brought
in as small project teams are formed to ad-
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Coastal wetlands around Search Bay
in northern Lake Huron
(Photo by Ted Cline, 1996)
dress discrete project elements and pilot
studies. The Consortium is coordinated by
staff at the Great Lakes Commission in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. The Consortium is just
finishing its second year of a 4-5 year pro-
ject. The ultimate goal of the Consortium is
to design an implementable, long-term
monitoring program for Great Lakes coastal
wetlands. This will allow the United States
and Canada to better fulfill the reporting re-
quirements under the Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement. The biennial State of
Lakes Ecosystem Conference is the report-
ing platform utilized by the two countries.
For more information on this project, go to
www.glc.org/wetlands.
(Contacts: DuaneHeaton, 312-886-6399,
heaton.duane@epa.gov: Karen Rodriguez,
312-353-2690, rodriguez.karen@epa.gov:
or John Schneider, 312-886-0880, schnei-
der .j ohn@epa. gov)
What Have They Done to the Bay?
The zebra mussel invasion of Bay has
changed the Saginaw Bay ecosystem. It has
caused a shift of energy flow from pelagic
(open water) to the benthic (bottom) com-
ponents, potentially impacting every com-
ponent of the food web. To help understand
this phenomenon, working under a grant
from GLNPO, the State University of New
York - Buffalo developed a "coupled ben-
thic-pelagic ecosystem model" for Saginaw
Bay.
The model helps quantify how primary pro-
duction is partitioned between pelagic and
benthic communities and how the distribu-
tion varies with zebra mussel densities and
nutrient loadings. The Final Report for the
grant describes the overall modeling ap-
proach and the linkage of different models
to synthesize the physical, chemical, and
biological processes of Saginaw Bay as it
undergoes invasion by zebra mussels. The
integration of eutrophication and toxic
chemical models with a benthic-pelagic
coupling represents an ecosystem modeling
approach. The principle outcomes of this
work are the better understanding of the
ecosystem stress-response relationships and
the benthic-pelagic coupling in the Saginaw
Bay ecosystem, and the use of the model to
forecast the possible future states of the bay
as a result of changes in external stressors
such as nutrient loadings and zebra mussel
densities.
(Contact: DuaneHeaton, 312-886-6399,
heaton. duane@epa. gov)
Saginaw Bay from NASA Image Collection
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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Significant Activities Report
Weighing the Evidence
On November 22nd, GLNPO's
Scott Cieniawski was in
Saginaw, Michigan to deliver a
presentation entitled Using the
Weight of Evidence Approach
for Making Sediment Manage-
ment Decisions at the confer-
ence for the Michigan State-
wide Public Advisory Council
sponsored by the Great Lakes
Commission. The presentation
focused on the use of multiple
lines of evidence (sediment
chemistry, whole sediment tox-
icity testing, benthic commu-
nity assessments, and bioac-
cumulation studies) to monitor
the impact of contaminated
sediments on beneficial uses in the Great
Lakes Areas of Concern. The talk also
touched on the expected completion of the
Sustainable
Fisheries Foun-
rdation's Guid-
ance Manual to
Support the As-
sessment of
Contaminated
Sediments in
Freshwater Eco-
systems, sched-
uled for publica-
tion in early
2003. The guidance manual provides an in-
depth discussion of the "weight-of-
evidence" approach and identifies the
strengths and weaknesses of each line of
evidence.
(Contact: Scott Cieniawski, 312-353-9184,
cieniawski.scott@epa.gov)
Balance scale
Great Lakes Areas of Concern in the U. S. and those shared with Can-
New Sediment Cleanup Tool
On November 27th, President Bush signed
the Great Lakes Legacy Act into law. The
Act authorizes the expenditure of up to $50
million per year for 5 years, starting in Oc-
tober 2003 to help cleaning up contami-
nated sediment sites at Great Lakes Areas of
Concern. It also authorizes up to $3 million
per year for research and development on
innovative treatment technologies and $1
million per year for education/outreach ac-
tivities. Congress would still have to appro-
priate the funds for the program in order for
it to go forward. Information on Areas of
Concern can be found at: http://www.epa.
gov/glnpo/aoc.
(Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov)
We welcome your questions, comments or
suggestions about this month's Significant
Activities Report. To be added to or re-
moved from the Email distribution of the
Significant Activities Report, please contact
Tony Kizlauskas, 312-353-8773,
kizlauskas.anthony@epa.gov.
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