Great
Lakes
National
Program
On the Web at:
www.epa.gov/glnpo
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  Great Lakes National Program Office
Significant Activities Report

 July 2002
 IN THIS ISSUE:
 • Lake Erie Checkup Continues
 • Detroit River PCB Contamination Sub-
   ject of Workshop
 • 2001  Sediment Remediation Statistics
 • Mudpuppy Probes Sediments
 • Plant Invader Controls Tested
 • Invasive Species Issue Gets High-Level
   Attention
 • St. Joseph Watershed Conference
 • GLNPO Tests Remote Meetings Tech-
   nology
 Lake Erie Checkup Continues
 The U.S. and Canadian special study of
 Lake Erie, the "Lake Erie Supplemental
 Study of Trophic Status" continued with a
 five-day scientific cruise of the lake.  The
 180-foot USEPA research ship, the R/V
 Lake Guardian departed Cleveland, Ohio
 on July 17th with a full complement of sci-
 entists aboard. In addition to scientists from
  EPA Scientist Prepares Rosette Water Sampler for
       Deployment from R/V Lake Guardian
                the USEPA's Great Lakes National Program
                Office, teams of scientists from Case West-
                ern Reserve University, Michigan State
                University, Ohio State University, Penn
                State University, University of Waterloo,
                and the U.S. Geological Survey also partici-
                pated. They measured biological and
                chemical processes which will begin to give
                us an understanding of the changes happen-
                ing in Lake Erie, particularly its central ba-
                sin. USEPA scientists also measured dis-
                solved oxygen concentrations in the lake,
                and observed what they believe is the begin-
                ning of loss of oxygen from portions of the
                central basin. The cruise ended in Cleveland
                on July 21st.

                Some of the experiments that were con-
                ducted during the cruise included:
                •  Measuring phytoplankton production
                   and respiration in the epilimnion (upper
                   layer of warmer, less dense water),
                   hypolimnion (lower layer of colder,
                   more dense water) and thermocline (the
                   boundary between the epilimnion and
                   hypolimnion) using incubation cham-
                   bers suspended in the water.
                •  Measuring production in incubators
                   aboard ship.
                Two fairly unique instruments were used
                during the cruise:
                •  The Self-Contained Autonomous Micro-
                   Profiler or SCAMP, which looks at mi-
                   cro temperature and dissolved oxygen
                   profiles to determine mixing of
                   hypolimnion and thermocline water, and
                •  A multiple sensor in situ fluorometer to
                   look at the composition of the phyto-
                   plankton based on their pigments
                   (colors).

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July 2002
                   Significant Activities Report
            The sun sets on another long day of sampling
                 aboard the R/V Lake Guardian
         Samples were also taken to be used in
         measuring sediment oxygen demand back in
         the U.S. Geological Survey laboratory in
         Ann Arbor.

         Two more scientific cruises will take place
         aboard the Lake Guardian this year. The
         next cruise is scheduled for mid-August.
         (Contact: Glenn Warren, 312-886-2405,
         warren.glenn@epa.gov)

         For more information about the Great Lakes
         National Program Office's monitoring pro-
         gram, visit: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/
         monitor.html.

         For more information about the R/V Lake
         Guardian, visit: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/
         guard/ship.html.

         Detroit River PCB Contamination
         Subject of Workshop
         On June 18th and 19th in Windsor, a work-
         shop was convened entitled "Evaluating
         Ecosystem Results of PCB Control Meas-
         ures Within the Detroit River-Western Lake
         Erie Basin." The goal of the workshop was
         to assess recent trends in PCB loads and as-
         sociated ecosystem changes within the De-
         troit River system, and to develop recom-
 mendations for future monitoring, research,
 modeling and management. On June 18th, a
 series of presentations were made on the
 various research, monitoring and remedial
 activities that have taken place in the system
 over the past few years. On June 19th, three
 breakout sessions were convened focusing
 on: research and modeling; sediment man-
 agement; and monitoring. One of the more
 interesting observations noted is that PCB
 concentrations in biota while declining
 through the mid 1990's seem to have leveled
 off since then. It also appears that the Tren-
 ton Channel area is still the most contami-
 nated zone in the Detroit River system. Ad-
 ditionally, more work needs to be done
 looking at disposal options for contaminated
 sediments. Proceedings and recommenda-
 tions from the workshop should be available
 in a report by later this fall. This workshop
 was convened by Wayne State University
 through a grant awarded by GLNPO in
 2001. EPA personnel who participated in-
 cluded: Laura Lodisio; Rose Ellison; De-
 maree Collier and Marc Tuchman. (Contact:
 Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369, tuchman.
 marc@epa.gov)
         Detroit River Looking Upstream
   (Grosse lie is the island in the middle of the river.
 The Trenton Channel is on the left side of the island.)
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U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

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Significant Activities Report
                                                                       July 2002
        2001 Sediment Remediation Statistics
        Over 400,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were remediated in the Great Lakes
        during 2001. Of this, 393,000 cubic yards were remediated at five U.S. sites, and 14,400 cu-
        bic yards at a site in Canada.

                     Great Lakes Sediment Remediations in 2001
                                                         • Action taken in 2001
                                                         • Sites remediated or natural
                                                           recovery decided
                                                           Sites where some remediation
                                                           has occurred
                                                         • Sites awaiting remediation
                                                           decision
                                                         m.500 cv
         1. HARP-OU1 - Source Abatement
        6.000 cy
11.800 cy
 (935 kilograms
  PCBs)
                                2. Fields Brook Superfimd Site
                                             42.000 cv
                                11,000 cy
                                                          4. Saginaw River & Bay
                                                                  ,205.000 cy
                                                                               5. Pine River
                                                                               (50JOO pounds
                                                                               DDT)
                                                                               120.000 cy
                                                                                        1-10.000 cy
                                                                                2 JO .000 cy
                                                                               (Plusel ami Phase 2)
                                                                              6. Thunder Bay-
                                                                              Noithern Wood Preservers
                                                                                         28'000cm
                              3. Reynolds Metals/Alcoa East
                               4JOOcy
                                                                             11.000 cm
                                                     Sl.'OOcy
                                                     (20.000 pounds PCBs)
I  I  Volume remediated in 2001
|  |  Volume remediated prior to 2001
^|  Volume capped
^|  Volume undergoing natural
^^  recoveiy
^1  Volume awaiting remediation
        Full details about sediment remediation projects carried out in 2001, as well as in other years
        can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/glindicators/sediments/remediateb.html (Contact:
        Demaree Collier, 312-886-0214, collier.demaree@epa.gov)
        Mudpuppy Probes Sediments
        The USEPA Great Lakes National Program
        Office's specially-outfitted sediment sam-
        pling boat, the R/VMudpuppy was once
        again busy sampling sediments around the
        Great Lakes.
        From June 2n  to 6  the R/V Mudpuppy was
        in Duluth, Minnesota helping the U.S.
        Army Corps of Engineers in collect sedi-
        ment core samples in Duluth/Superior Har-
                               bor, Minnesota/Wisconsin. The Corps was
                               collecting sediment data to determine the
                               quality of the sediments they plan to dredge
                               to support navigation in the harbors. A total
                               of 28 stations were sampled during the four-
                               day effort. Of the stations sampled, sedi-
                               ment cores (vertical sections of mud) were
                               collected at 19 locations and surface sam-
                               ples of sediment were collected at nine loca-
                               tions using a Ponar grab sampler.
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
                                                                          Page3

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July 2002
                   Significant Activities Report
         Later in the month, the Mudpuppy traveled to
         Milwaukee to help the Corps sample the navi-
         gation channel in the Milwaukee River and
         Harbor. From June 24th to 26th, the Mudpuppy
         sampled a total of 20 stations. Sediment core
         samples were collected at 14 locations, while
         surface samples of the sediments were col-
         lected at the remaining six stations. The sam-
         pling was part of the  Corps' routine sampling
         to support its navigational dredging responsi-
         bilities. The Corps usually samples the Mil-
         waukee River and Harbor about every five
         years.

         The analyses of the core and surface sediment
         samples from both Duluth/Superior Harbor and
         Milwaukee River and Harbor will be shared
         with GLNPO to increase our understanding of
         sediment contamination in these Areas of Concern. (Contact: Scott Cieniawski, 312-353-
         9184, cieniawski.scott@epa.gov).

         Plant Invader Controls Tested
         On June 14th, GLNPO's Mike Makdisi, Mike Russ, and Duane Heaton visited Indian Ridge
         Marsh in Chicago's Calumet area (south of the city, near the Indiana border). Work being
         conducted  at the site  is funded by a GLNPO grant to the Chicago Department of Environ-
         ment. With technical assistance from the Illinois Natural History Survey, the City is compar-
         ing methods of controlling purple loosestrife, an invasive species of many wetlands. A num-
         ber of plots have been established to test alternative treatment methods including manual re-
         moval, herbicide treatment, and biological control with loosestrife-eating beetles. Prior to in-
          Milwaukee River and Harbor
                                   Purple loosestrife taking over a wetland.
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U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

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Significant Activities Report
                                      July 2002
        troduction, the beetles had undergone exten-
        sive study at Cornell University to be sure
        the beetles would not themselves become an
        invasive species. During the visit, the City
        and the Illinois Natural History Survey con-
        ducted their Spring monitoring of species
        present in each plot, percent cover of each
        species, height of the five tallest purple
        loosestrife plants, abundance and impacts of
        leaf-eating beetles. Similar measurements
        were noted along a 10-meter transect from
        one corner of each plot. The City is plan-
        ning to build an Environmental Center in
        the area, and the work will also form the ba-
        sis for an education exhibit at the Center.
        (Contact: DuaneHeaton, 312-886-6399,
        heaton.duane@epa.gov)

        Invasive Species Issue Gets High-
        Level Attention
        The Binational Executive Committee —
        senior-level executives from U.S.  and Cana-
        dian Federal, State, and Provincial agencies
        who oversee the implementation of the
        Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement —
        highlighted the issue of invasive species at
        their meeting in Toronto, Canada on June
        20th and 21st. To raise awareness and en-
        courage agency involvement, speakers gave
        overviews of several ongoing Great Lakes
        invasive species initiatives:
        •   Commander Mike Gardener of the U.S.
           Coast Guard and Steve Peck of the Ca-
           nadian Coast Guard presented an over-
           view of the existing Great Lakes ballast
           water program.
        •   Allegra Cangelosi of the Northeast Mid-
           west Institute gave an update on the
           status of the reauthorization of the Non-
           Indigenous Species Act.
        •   Mark Hovorka of Environment Canada's
           Canadian Wildlife Service described
           Canada's National Plan on Invasive
           Alien Species.
        •   Tom Johengen from the National Oce-
   anic and Atmospheric Administration
   described research being conducted on
   what invasive organisms may be carried
   in ships which officially are considered
   to have no ballast onboard.
•  Hugh Maclssac of the University of
   Windsor-Great Lakes Institute for Envi-
   ronmental Research described new de-
   velopments in invasive species.

A compendium of these presentations will
be available this Summer. (Contact: James
Schardt, 312-353-5085, schardt.james@epa.
gov)

St. Joseph Watershed Conference
The Lake Michigan LaMP and Forum in co-
operation with the Great Lakes Commis-
sion, Western Michigan University and
Friends of the St. Joe held a St. Joseph
River Watershed Conference June 10th and
11th at Century Center, South Bend, Indiana.
     HEADTtRS dF ThE
     SAIN!  JOSEPH  RIVER
   Sign Marking Headwaters of St. Joseph River.
(Made by Dorla Null, donated to the Friends of the St.
          Joe River Association, Inc.)

The 100 participants were drawn from both
the Indiana and Michigan portions of the
watershed. The conference was opened by
Al Smith, President of the Friends of the St.
Joe River Association and Lori Kaplan,
Commissioner of the Indiana Department of
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
                                         Paged

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July 2002
                   Significant Activities Report
  Lake Michigan LaMP
      graphic

ment Plan (LaMP).
                            Environmental Man-
                            agement. Presenta-
                            tions were given on
                            the region's unique
                            geology, the modeling
                            results of the Lake
                            Michigan Mass Bal-
                            ance models, ground-
                            water/surface water
                            interaction, and the
                            Lake Michigan
                            Lakewide Manage-
         The conference provided the opportunity for
         announcement of a Sediment Transport and
         Watershed Modeling project in the basin
         planned by the US Army Corps of Engi-
         neers, a Clean Water Act Section 319 wa-
         tershed planning project to develop an ap-
         provable watershed management plan for
         the St. Joseph basin uniting interest and data
         from both Indiana and Michigan. The din-
         ner keynote speaker was David Dempsey,
         Policy Advisor for the Michigan Environ-
         mental  Council and author of "Ruin and Re-
         covery, Michigan's Rise as a Conservation
         Leader."

         This conference launched the Lake Michi-
         gan Watershed Academy, a project of the
         Lake Michigan LaMP 2002. (Contact: Judy
         Beck, 312-353-3849, beck.judy@epa.gov)

         For more information on the Lake Michigan
         LaMP and the 2002 LaMP Update, visit:
         http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/lakemich/index.
         html.

         GLNPO Tests Remote Meetings
         Technology
         Use of Raindance web conferencing service
         in the Great Lakes program began in June
         and increased in July. Web conferencing al-
         lows "content-rich" meetings to take place
 without travel. Users can participate in
 meetings from anywhere using only their
 computers' connection to the Internet and a
 telephone. Participants join into various
 web conferencing events by visiting a web
 site, http://glnpo.raindance.com and select-
 ing a conference ID given them by the indi-
 vidual that initiated the conference. Ten
 conference moderators from USEPA and
 Environment Canada have been trained to
 host conferences. Participants require no
 training,    	
 since the
 Raindance
 web con-
 ferencing
 product is
 character-
 ized by its
 ease of
 use.
 GLNPO
 intends to      Web conference underway
 use this technology to support binational
 projects in which USEPA and Environment
 Canada participate, including the State of
 the Lakes Ecosystem Conference, the Great
 Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy, the bina-
 tional. net web site, and others. A total often
 "seats" have been acquired that allow ten
 simultaneous users to participate in one
 conference or several  smaller conferences.
 Use of the system in conference rooms ex-
 pands the number of participants that can
 join into such a meeting. (Contact: Pranas
 Pranckevicius, 312-353-3437, prancke-
 vicius.pranas@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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U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

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