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
November-December 2003
IN THIS ISSUE:
Consider Conservation Easements
Scientists Plan Lake Erie Work
Mudpuppy Probes Saginaw River
International Education
R/VLake Guardian Draft Schedule
Asian Carp Rapid Response Plans
Seeing the Forest and the Trees
Tracking Toxics Reductions
Public Lands Waste Cleanup
Getting Mercury Out in Minnesota
Consider Conservation Easements
With funding from GLNPO, USEPA's
Cleveland Office assisted Lake Erie basin
partners in producing a new brochure,
"Consider Conservation Easements." The
partners involved in developing the bro-
chure are the Cuyahoga River Remedial Ac-
tion Plan, Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conser-
vation District, Natural Resources Conser-
vation Service, Northeast Ohio Areawide
Coordinating Agency, and the Ohio Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. The brochure
is intended for Southern Lake Erie water-
shed property owners. It defines the differ-
ent easements, lays out reasons why this is a
valid option for homeowners, and lists the
53 land trusts, Soil and Water Conservation
Districts, and conservancies, and agencies
that are able to hold or obtain conservation
easements in the Michigan, Indiana, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and New York portions of the
Lake Erie basin. Copies of the brochure
may be obtained by calling the EPA Cleve-
land Office at 440-250-170, or e-mailing
CONSERVATION
EASEMENTS
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Consider Conservation Easements Brochure Cover
Larry Brail at brail.lawrence@epa.gov.
(Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
Scientists Plan Lake Erie Work
A series of meetings were held from No-
vember 10th to 14th at Windsor, Ontario, to
discuss past and future science efforts on
Lake Erie. The Lake Erie Trophic Structure
Study, funded largely by GLNPO, was the
subject of the November 10 meeting. Study
participants and others, discussed results of
measurements made in Lake Erie during
2002 and 2003. Among the topics of dis-
cussion were whether phosphorus is now
less limiting than other factors in control-
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November-December 2003
Significant Activities Report
ling primary production, whether we are
able to determine the bioavailability of
phosphorus that enters the lake from the
main watersheds vs. that entering from the
Detroit River, and how important the near-
shore: off shore connection is in determining
production in the central basin. The second
and third days of the meeting focused on the
most serious questions that required addi-
tional research during the upcoming years.
Zebra/quagga mussel densities and their
overall affect on the nutrients and plankton
in the nearshore and offshore were viewed
as a key issue, as were the topics discussed
on the first day of meetings.
A meeting of Canadian and U.S. federal,
state and provincial agencies was held in
Windsor, Ontario, on November 13th to
identify potential supplemental monitoring
or research to be conducted on the Lake
Erie basin during 2004. Several informa-
tion needs related to the Lake Erie LaMP
and managerial decision-making were dis-
cussed. Final consensus for project ele-
ments that might be implemented by EPA/
GLNPO and Environment Canada centered
on 1) a comprehensive survey for the distri-
bution and abundance of dreissinid mussels
on the lake bottom, both nearshore and off-
shore, 2) quantitative loading estimates of
phosphorus from all sources, plus the rela-
tive proportions that are bioavailable.
(Contact: Glenn Warren, 312-886-2405,
warren.glenn@epa.gov or Paul Bertram,
312-353-0153, bertram.paul@epa.gov)
Mudpuppy Probes Saginaw River
On November 21st, the R/V Mudpuppy was
in Bay City, Michigan to assist the Michi-
gan Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) with assessing the nature and ex-
tent of PCB and dioxin contamination pre-
sent in the sediments on the Saginaw River.
Two surficial ponars and four cores were
Ship Makes Its Way Up Saginaw River
collected to follow up with a post-
remediation sediment assessment, led by
MDEQ, which occurred in September of
this year. This concluded the sampling sea-
son for the Mudpuppy, over which time a
total of 11 surveys were conducted to better
characterize sediment contamination in the
Great Lakes basin. The Mudpuppy based
out of Bay City, Michigan will recommence
sampling operations next April.
(Contact: Mary Beth G. Ross, 312-886-
2253, giancarlo.marybeth@epa.gov)
International Education
Narayan Desai, the organizer of the Society
for Ecological Restoration (SER) in India,
visited GLNPO offices December 1st and
2nd, to gather materials from EPA to add to
his library of resources used by tribal
schools and more than 400 students.
GLNPO provided two boxes full of bro-
chures and books two years ago which are
in constant use by school children. Two or
three boxes of books and materials were
gathered from GLNPO, Public Affairs, Of-
fice of International Activities and the Wa-
ter Division and will be shipped to Mr.
Desai. In addition, Mr. Desai spoke to Jon
Grand and Janette Marsh about potential
collaboration based on the Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between EPA and
the Government of India. Mr. Desai had the
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U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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Significant Activities Report
November-December 2003
opportunity to meet Deputy Regional Ad-
ministrator Bharat Mathur, who has traveled
extensively in India for EPA and was one of
the authors of the MOU.
(Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
Lake Guardian Draft Schedule
The draft 2004 schedule for GLNPO's 180-
foot research vessel, the R/VLake Guard-
ian, is posted at: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/
guard/schedule_2004.html. This schedule
includes only the basic monitoring program
surveys. Other surveys and research cruises
may be added to this schedule in the future
as demand and budget permit.
(Contact: George Ison, 312-353-1669, ison.
george@epa.gov or Glenn Warren, 312-
USEPA GLNPO's R/V Lake Guardian
886-2405, warren.glenn@epa.gov)
Asian Carp Rapid Response Plans
Two species of Asian carp that are nearing
Lake Michigan have the potential to harm
sport and commercial fishing in the Great
Lakes. The bighead and silver carp, native
to Asia, were brought to the United States in
the 1970s for use in aquaculture. These fish
escaped from ponds during flood events and
have spread into the Missouri, Mississippi,
and Illinois rivers. Working cooperatively
with GLNPO, the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources and others, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers installed an elec-
tric dispersal barrier on the Chicago Sani-
tary and Ship Canal designed to prevent mi-
gration from the Illinois River into Lake
Michigan. A monitoring program is in
place to test the barrier's effectiveness.
An Asian Carp Rapid Response Team was
formed to evaluate alternatives for what to
do in case the electric barrier should fail to
do its job. The Team met on December 4th
to update its members on the current status
of monitoring, toxicity testing results, the
response plan trigger, outreach strategy, and
barrier developments. Among the alterna-
tives being evaluated is the temporary use
of non-persistent toxic chemicals. Studies
are underway to test the relative effective-
ness of different toxic chemicals. The Corps
of Engineers updated the group on barrier
developments including: implementation of
improvements in the monitoring program,
and preliminary results of a study on how
canal traffic affects the barrier's electrical
field.
For more information on the Chicago Sani-
tary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier see
the May 2002 and February 2003 issues of
the Significant Activities Report.
(Contact: Elizabeth Murphy, 312-353-4227,
murphy.elizabeth@epa.gov)
Seeing the Forest and the Trees
On December 16th and 17th, U.S. and Cana-
dian foresters met in Chicago to review a
list of indicators for the health of Great
Lakes forests. Canadian and U.S. foresters
from federal, State/Provincial agencies and
industry were in attendance. The unprece-
dented meeting was the first time these
groups representing diverse conservation
and commerce interests sat down around a
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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November-December 2003
Significant Activities Report
table to discuss their common interests and
to share their expertise. The meeting high-
lighted differences in how different meas-
ures of forest ecosystem health were inter-
preted.
The participants agreed to work together to
develop an indicator suite for forests for the
upcoming 2004 State of the Lakes Ecosys-
tem Conference (SOLEC). They will con-
tinue the discussions via e-mail and produce
a white paper for SOLEC that will outline
discussion points and assess the state of
Great Lakes forests based on just one cate-
gory of indicators, Conservation of Biologi-
cal Diversity, for which data exists. Data
availability will also be determined over
the coming months.
(Contacts: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov; or Paul Bertram,
312-353-0153, bertram.paul@epa.gov)
Tracking Toxics Reductions
The semi-annual Great Lakes Binational
Toxics Strategy (GLBTS) Stakeholder Fo-
rum was held December 16th in Chicago to
learn of progress in implementing the
GLBTS. (The GLBTS set a number of
toxics reduction challenge goals for the
United States and Canada). Over 100 stake-
holders from government, industry, and
non-governmental organizations were in at-
tendance. Two keynote speakers were fea-
tured:
Dr. Paul Whylie, United Nations Envi-
ronment Programme, presented their ef-
forts to address persistent toxic sub-
stances world-wide through regionally
based assessment and prioritization
Dr. Philip Cook from USEPA' s Duluth,
Minnesota research laboratory presented
findings of his study of how dioxin con-
tamination affected Lake Ontario trout
populations.
These presentations will soon be posted on
the GLBTS web site at http://www.epa.gov/
glnpo/bns/index.html.
(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571, smith.
edwin@epa.gov)
Public Lands Waste Cleanup
In a project primarily funded by USEPA,
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
(MFC A) ) and Minnesota Office of Envi-
ronmental Assistance have taken the lead on
a project to collect household wastes
dumped on public lands. This project is part
of the state's commitment to the Lake Supe-
rior Binational Program and its Zero Dis-
charge Demonstration. The MPCA offered
$5,000 contracts to counties in the Lake Su-
perior watershed to carry out abandoned
waste collections on public lands. The link
to abandoned waste and the critical chemi-
cals from the Lake Superior Lakewide Man-
agement Plan (LaMP) can be made through
a variety of products. There was special in-
terest in white goods (large household ap-
pliances like refrigerators and washers)
since some models contain mercury
switches or PCB ballasts or capacitors.
Other critical chemicals associated with
abandoned waste include lead and other
heavy metals as well as some of the organic
chemicals in LaMP Stage 2.
An abandoned waste site in St. Louis County
(photo courtesy of Terry Soderberg)
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Significant Activities Report
November-December 2003
Lake and St. Louis Counties participated in
the project. Between the two counties,
about 55 tons of trash were removed from
28 sites on public lands and properly dis-
posed or recycled. The collections included
277 tires, 35 white goods (mostly refrigera-
tors and ranges), 8 lead acid batteries, 150
pounds of hazardous waste, 13 TVs and
computer monitors, 90 fluorescent lamps, a
meth lab and an assortment of solid waste
and demolition waste. A report is being
prepared by the MPCA
(Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 353-2694,
laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov; or Carri Lohse-
Hanson, 651-296-9134, carri.lohse-
hanson@pca. state.mn.us)
Getting Mercury Out in Minnesota
Using grants of up to $5,000 from the Min-
nesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA),
seven cities in the Minnesota portion of the
Lake Superior basin completed projects to
reduce mercury use and release. Projects
included purchasing and installing 22 amal-
gam separators to separate mercury-
containing amalgam from dental offices,
and running fever thermometer swaps
which allowed consumers to trade-in their
mercury thermometers for non-mercury
models. A home heating thermostat swap
in the small town of Floodwood took in 113
mercury thermostats. Another city chose to
change out mercury vapor security lights
with low mercury sodium vapor lights.
Most distributed mercury awareness materi-
als as part of their projects.
Inspired by these projects, the MPCA pur-
chased and distributed 18 additional amal-
gam separators. At this point, MPCA be-
lieves all dentists in the Minnesota portion
of the basin that want separators have them
due to the efforts of the Western Lake Supe-
rior Sanitary District, other cities, the Min-
nesota Dental Association and the MPCA.
Amalgam used for dental fillings can be a source of
mercury contamination of lakes and streams
The MPCA has also purchased digital pro-
grammable thermostats for a future thermo-
stat swap.
(Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 353-2694,
laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov; or Carri Lohse-
Hanson, 651-296-9134, carri.lohse-
hanson@pca. state.mn.us)
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.
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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