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
April 2004
IN THIS ISSUE:
• Lake Guardian Springs Into Action
• Weather or Not
• Passage to India
• Marking World Water Day
• Celebrating Earth Day
• This Landscaping is a Natural
• From Flower to Seed
• Photo Collection Updated
• Rotary Talk
• Canadian P2 Roundtable
• Black Lagoon Sediment Cleanup Pro-
posed
• Baltic Sea-Great Lakes Workshop
• Quality First
Lake Guardian Springs Into Action
In its first cruise of the year, the Great
Lakes National Program Office's 180-foot
research ship, the R/VLake Guardian, de-
parted its berth in Milwaukee Harbor, Wis-
consin on April 3rd for the Spring Water
Quality Survey of the Great Lakes. EPA
scientists took samples for water chemistry
and biology at 72 sites throughout the Great
Lakes. These samples continue a long-term
monitoring effort begun in 1983 to assess
the condition of the Great Lakes and pro-
vide information on chemical and biological
trends in each of the lakes. While the Lake
Guardian sampled all the regular locations
in all of the lakes, only the basic long-term
monitoring samples were collected and ship
time could not be provided for any outside
GLNPO's Dr. Glenn Warren (left) answers questions
on the R/V Lake Guardian's mission
from WGN Superstation's Tom Skilling.
investigators due to budget constraints. The
financial crunch which will limit the Lake
Guardian'?, use this year and next is caused
by a costly mandatory dry dock inspection
and repairs that the ship will have to un-
dergo in the Fall of 2005. Despite occa-
sional delays due to springtime gales on the
lakes, the survey was completed ahead of
schedule on April 23rd.
Learn more about the R/V Lake Guardian is
available on the Internet at: http://www.epa.
gov/glnpo/guard/ship. html
(Contact: Glenn Warren, 312-886-2405,
warren.glenn@epa.gov)
Weather or Not
As gale force winds blew on Lake Michi-
gan, GLNPO's R/V Lake Guardian was vis-
ited in Chicago on April 29th by meteorolo-
gist Tom Skilling of WGN television.
(WGN is carried nationwide as a cable and
satellite TV "superstation.") Mr. Skilling
was given a tour of the ship and was an en-
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April 2004
Significant Activities Report
thusiastic guest, asking many questions
about the lakes, the ship and the personnel
performing the Lake Guardian's work. Be-
ing on the lee shore (nautical-speak for the
side that's not so windy) for the gales al-
lowed us to steam a short distance into the
lake, where scientists and crew demon-
strated sampling equipment and discussed
the uses of the equipment and the environ-
mental samples collected.
Video footage was taken of all these activi-
ties, as well as interviews that Mr. Skilling
conducted with Paul Horvatin, Glenn War-
ren, Judy Beck and Dr. Matt Simcik of the
University of Minnesota. Dr. Simcik was
aboard the Lake Guardian taking water
samples for analysis of toxic contaminants,
including PCB's, mercury, pesticides, bro-
minated flame retardants and other chemi-
cals. The resulting story was aired on May
18th in Mr. Skilling's "Ask Tom" segment
on WON. A transcript of the story is avail-
able on WGN's Web Site at: http://wgntv.
trb. com/wgntv-news-
051804asktom,0,3542112.story?
coll=wgntv-home-1
(Contacts: Paul Horvatin, 312-353-3612,
horvatin.paul@epa.gov; or Glenn Warren,
312-886-2405, warren.glenn@epa.gov)
Passage to India
During mid-April, GLNPO's Frank
Anscombe joined Arthur Dungan and Bill
Rankin of the Chlorine Institute as U.S.
contributors to a meeting hosted by the Al-
kali Manufacturers' Association of India
(AMAI). They shared their own perspec-
tives on reducing consumption of mercury
at U.S. chlor-alkali factories. (Since 1997,
U.S. factories have gone beyond compli-
ance with existing regulations and reduced
consumption of mercury by 70 %.) Their
purpose was to promote dissemination of
AMAI workshop attendees at the Taj Mahal
world-class environmental management
practices within this global industrial sector.
Anscombe and Rankin had previously par-
ticipated in a similar meeting held by the
chlor-alkali association of Latin America in
September 2003. Among the 60 attendees at
the AMAI meeting were representatives
from 16 factories in India that use a produc-
tion process that employs flowing liquid
mercury in the electrolytic manufacture of
chlorine and caustic soda from brine. Also
participating were two experts from the
European chlor-alkali industry and another
from Brazil. A field trip to a factory located
in the city of Kota rounded out AMAI's
meeting.
Some of Frank's impressions from the
AMAI meeting:
• AMAI's recent progress and clear com-
mitment to improvement are encourag-
ing. Indian factories have reduced re-
plenishment mercury by 50 percent dur-
ing the past four years. More progress is
possible, because consumption is four
times higher than factories in the United
States.
• India has more mercury cell factories
than any other nation, though these are
smaller scale than ones typical of the
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April 2004
United States and Europe.
• The government of India has strongly
urged Indian firms that operate mercury
cell factories to build new ones that do
not rely on mercury. Some AMAI com-
panies indeed plan capital investments
in new factories. However, experience
from many other nations suggests that
some other AMAI firms may not have
the financial resources to build new fac-
tories and discard existing ones. This
being so, the aim of our visit was to pro-
mote best practices at operating facto-
ries for as long as these continue to
serve the economy of India.
• There are low cost ways for factories to
reduce mercury consumption. For in-
stance, adoption of ultraviolet-spectrum
lights can reveal mercury vapor leaks
not visible under normal lighting. Such
inexpensive lights can empower work-
ers to find and plug vapor leaks.
While in India, Anscombe also met with
two environmental groups in Delhi, as well
as with members of the Indian govern-
ment's Ministry of Environment and For-
ests.
(Contact: Frank Anscombe, 312-353-0201,
anscombe.frank@epa.gov)
Marking World Water Day
On March 22nd, Gary Gulezian, GLNPO Di-
rector, and Roy Angelow from Environment
Canada spoke at a luncheon at the Canadian
Embassy in Washington, DC. The luncheon
event was co-sponsored by Federal Water
Quality Association, an affiliate of the Wa-
ter Environment Federation and the Cana-
dian Embassy as part of celebrating World
Water Day. Gary's presentation on "The
Great Lakes Program" provided the history
of Great Lakes environmental issues and ac-
tions from the 1960s to the present. Roy
Angelow from Environment Canada then
followed with details about Canada's efforts
in Great Lakes protection.
(Contact: Gary Gulezian, 312-886-4040,
gulezian.gary@epa.gov)
Celebrating Earth Day
GLNPO staff participated in a number of
Earth Day events this year. Some highlights
include:
On Earth Day, April 22nd, the final session
of the 2003-04 Great Lakes Seminar Series
at the School of Natural Resources and En-
vironment was held in Ann Arbor, Michi-
gan. This was the final event in what has
been a year-long examination of various
Great Lakes restoration issues. Dave Cow-
gill participated on a panel of representa-
tives from a variety of agencies and organi-
zations with a role in Great Lakes restora-
tion. Panelists explained their agency/
organization's role in restoration
and identified their restoration priorities.
EPA's role with the U.S. Policy Committee
and the Great Lakes Strategy 2002 was pre-
Spaceship Earth as seen from Apollo 10.
(photo courtesy of NASA)
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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April 2004
Significant Activities Report
sented, along with a summary of the LAMP
and RAP/AOC activities. The need for util-
izing our programs at basin-wide, lake-wide
and local levels was emphasized. Other pan-
elists explored the implications of proposed
Great Lakes legislation, and the likelihood
of a comprehensive Great Lakes restoration
bill being passed by Congress.
(Contact: Dave Cowgill, 312-353-3576,
cowgill.david@epa.gov).
Also on Earth Day, Jacqueline Fisher spoke
to an audience in USEPA's Chicago re-
gional office on Environmental Health Is-
sues in the Great Lakes Basin as part of an
Earth Day environmental topics panel.
(Contact: Jacqueline Fisher, 312-353-1481,
fisher.jacqueline@epa.gov)
On April 23rd, Danielle Green served as an
EPA Ambassador in giving an educational
presentation at Burley School, a Chicago
Public School. She spoke about pollution
and the Great Lakes to 2 classes of first
graders, and then told an eighth grader class
about the health effects of pollution and
strategies to prevent pollution. Each class-
room's teacher received a tool box with en-
vironmental educational materials, as well
as coloring books, seed packets, posters and
pencils made of recycled money. Finally,
Danielle spoke to the school about Earth
Day in marking the one-year anniversary
celebration for the school's prairie garden.
On April 24th, Danielle Green helped staff
USEPA's outreach booth at the Chicago
Park District and Friends of the Park day-
long Earth Day celebration at Humboldt
Park in Chicago. The event included
schools, environmental groups and others in
cleanup activities, tree planting, birdhouse
building and a variety of entertainment.
(Contact: Danielle Green, 312-886-7594,
green.danielle@epa.gov)
This Landscaping is a Natural
The deep roots of native plants mean they need little
or no irrigation.
If you ever wondered what "natural land-
scaping" was or how to get started,
GLNPO's Web Site contains a new
"Natural Landscaping Tool Kit" that can
provide you the answers. Native plants pro-
vide a beautiful, hardy, drought resistant,
low maintenance landscape while benefiting
the environment. The Tool Kit contains 50
slides defining natural landscaping, explain-
ing its benefits, illustrating natural land-
scaping applications, and demonstrating in-
stallation and management techniques. The
Tool Kit can be found at: http://www.epa.
gov/glnpo/greenacres/tooltestkit/index.html
(Contact: Danielle Green, 312-886-7594,
green.danielle@epa.gov)
From Flower to Seed
The North Branch Restoration Project is a
volunteer organization working to restore
and manage the few remaining savannas,
woodlands, forests and prairies along the
North Branch of the Chicago River in the
Cook County Forest Preserves. The volun-
teers assist the Forest Preserve District of
Cook County and other agencies in protect-
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April 2004
ing and restoring native Illinois ecosystems.
Through their hands-on work, the North
Branch Restoration Project volunteers have
developed a fabulous Seed Photo Project,
tracking a variety of native plants from first
flower to seed. Information on each plant
includes details on when to pick the seeds.
This is intended to guide seed harvesting
efforts for restoration, but can also be used
in your own yard. Remember to never pick
seeds from the wild without permission
from the landowner. We thank the North
Branch Restoration Project for their gener-
osity in sharing this work with us. See the
Seed Photo Project online at: http://www.
epa.gov/glnpo/greenacres/plants/index.html
(Contact: Danielle Green, 312-886-7594,
green.danielle@epa.gov)
Visualizing
Great Lak
Jack-in-the-Pulpit, one of the plants included in the
"North Branch Restoration Project Native Plant and
Seed Collection."
Updated Visualizing the Great Lakes
photo collection is online now
Photo Collection Updated
GLNPO's image collection on the Web has
been updated. It contains the six original
categories (Natural Resources, Scenic, Rec-
reation around the Great Lakes, Issues af-
fecting the Great Lakes, Management of the
Great Lakes, and Commerce and Develop-
ment) with plans to add a Lake Guardian
Category and a Native Landscaping cate-
gory. Interesting plankton photos have been
added to the collection as well.
A section explaining how these photos may
be used by the general public is included.
High resolution copies of the photos may be
downloaded. See the collection at: http://
www.epa.gov/glnpo/image/
(Contact: Deborah Lamberty, 312-886-
6691, lamberty.deborah@epa.gov)
Rotary Talk
GLNPO's Lake Michigan Team Manager,
Judy Beck, made a presentation to the Ro-
tary International lunch group in Glenview,
Illinois on March 30th. She gave an over-
view of the status of the Lake Michigan
ecosystem and the Great Lakes. The major-
ity of the follow up questions focused on
aquatic nuisance species and the state of
ground water in the Lake Michigan basin.
(Contact: Judy Beck, 312-353-3849, beck.
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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judy@epa.gov)
Canadian P2 Roundtable
Ted Smith participated in the Canadian Pol-
lution Prevention Roundtable in Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada on April 28th and 29th
where he presented "A Binational Toxics
Strategy Perspective on Emerging Chemi-
cals." Other speakers/presentations in-
cluded, Jennifer Hounsell of the RiverSides
Stewardship Alliance who presented Eco-
System Hypertension Prevention - Getting
Our Rivers Off Salt, and Nick De Carlo of
the Canadian Auto Workers, who presented
on Emerging Chemicals from the "Front
Line," an occupational perspective on the
hazards of emerging pollutants.
(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571, smith.
edwin@epa.gov)
Black Lagoon Sediment Cleanup
Proposed
On April 29th, a public meeting was held in
Trenton, Michigan to inform the local com-
munity about the plans for the proposed
Black Lagoon, Trenton Channel sediment
remediation project. Marc Tuchman made a
presentation on the Great Lakes Legacy
Act, and the Michigan DEQ and the Corps
of Engineers provided details on the pro-
posed project plan. Michigan DEQ has sub-
mitted an application to GLNPO for reme-
diation of this site under the Great Lakes
Legacy Act. Following remediation, the
City of Trenton is planning to redevelop the
site as a marina. Assistance for planning the
meeting was also provided by Rose Ellison
of GLNPO, and Don de Blasio of USEPA
Region 5's Office of Public Affairs. Over-
all, the proposed project was well received
by the local community. It is anticipated
that if all goes according to schedule, the
proposed remediation project could com-
mence by this Fall.
(Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov)
Baltic Sea-Great Lakes Workshop
A Baltic Sea-Great Lakes Workshop on
Aquatic Invasive Species workshop was
held in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 27th
to 29th. The main purpose of the workshop
was to bring together researchers and man-
agers form both sides of the Atlantic to be-
gin discussion on areas of cooperation and
collaboration. Specific areas raised for mu-
tual support included: early detection and
monitoring; rapid response; methods to
raise the profile of invasive species issues
for the public and legislators; and looking at
creative funding mechanisms to get research
accomplished. The meeting was well at-
tended by representatives of North America
as well as Baltic, Scandinavian and other
European countries. The workshop was
funded by Region 5 Office of International
Activities via a grant to the Great Lakes
Commission. Vacys Saulys from USEPA
Region 5's Office of International Activities
provided opening remarks to the workshop,
--
The Baltic Sea shares many of the same problems,
including invasive species.
(photo courtesy of NASA)
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April 2004
while GLNPO's Dr. Marc Tuchman moder-
ated a session on opportunities for Baltic
Sea-Great Lakes collaboration.
(Contact: Marc Tuchman, 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov)
Quality First
GLNPO's Quality Assurance Manager, Lou
Blume continues to share his insights and
enthusiasm on the implementation of Qual-
ity Assurance procedures to ensure the in-
tegrity of environmental monitoring and
modeling efforts. This time Lou traveled to
Tampa, Florida on April 15th to speak about
"Measures of Quality System Implementa-
tion" at the 23rd Annual Conference on
Managing Environmental Quality Systems.
Lou's presentation was extremely well re-
ceived. The new head of USEPA's national
quality program told Lou that he plans to
use the information developed in this pres-
entation as guidance for his staff and has
asked him to give a similar presentation to
USEPA's Science Policy Board meeting in
July.
(Contact: Lou Blume, 312-353-2317,
blume.louis@epa.gov)
Upcoming Events
June 17
October 6-8
November 30
2004
Great Lakes Binational
Toxics Strategy Stake-
holder Forum: Toronto,
Canada
State of the Lakes Ecosys-
tem Conference: Toronto,
Canada
2005
Great Lakes Binational
Toxics Strategy Stake-
holder Forum: Chicago,
IL
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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