Great
Lakes
National
Program
On the Web at:
www.epa.gov/greatlakes
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Significant Activities Report
January 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
Great Lakes Conservation
Blueprint
Pollution Prevention Pays
Chicago Mayor Encourages
Boating/Fishing Dialogue
Binational AOC Progress
Invasive Species Exhibit Opens
Lake Guardian "Summer School"
Finding Beach Pollution Sources
Great Lakes Conservation
Blueprint
The Nature Conservancy has just released
the "Conservation Blueprint for the Great
Lakes". Jointly funded by GLNPO, the On-
tario Ministry of Natural Resources, the
Gund Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott
Foundation, the Richard Ivey Foundation,
and the Living Legacy Trust, the blueprint
was a binational, collaborative effort to
identify areas of biodiversity significance
throughout the Great Lakes basin.
A total of 501 places were identified,
mapped, and inventoried, and an analysis of
threats to each place conducted by more
than 200 scientists from federal and state/
provincial agencies and private organiza-
tions. The results are impressive: the basin
contains 46 species found nowhere else in
the world and 279 globally rare plants, ani-
mals and natural communities in a region of
boreal, mixed and deciduous forests, tall-
grass prairies, wetlands, sand dunes, alvars
Conservation Blueprint for the Great Lakes cover
(photo courtesy of The Nature Conservancy)
and islands. The areas are critical to the pres-
ervation of biodiversity and represent the
best opportunities to preserve species, natural
communities and ecological systems. For
each area, the blueprint contains information
about Great Lakes species, natural communi-
ties and ecological systems; maps of where
conservation is underway; summaries of cur-
rent projects and strategies; information on
threats to biodiversity; and, detailed descrip-
tions of plans. The blueprint also offers ac-
tions that can be taken to protect these areas.
The Nature Conservancy is making this in-
formation available to the Great Lakes Re-
gional Collaboration for use in Great Lakes
indicator and habitat protection and restora-
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January 2006
Significant Activities Report
tion work. The Conservation Blueprint is
available online at: http://nature.org/
wherewework/northamerica/greatlakes/
files/conservati on_blprnt_final.pdf.
(Contact: Karen Rodriguez, 312-353-2690,
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov)
Pollution Prevention Pays
The results of the work carried out under a
GLNPO grant to the University of Illinois
Waste Management & Research Center
(WMRC) are in and they are a concrete ex-
ample of how pollution prevention can pay
off in both environmental and monetary
benefits. The purpose of the project was to
identify, evaluate, and implement pollution
prevention opportunities in the Koppers'
Phthalic Anhydride Plant located at 3900
South Laramie Avenue in Stickney, Illinois.
Between June 2004 and March 2005, engi-
neers from Koppers and WMRC worked
collaboratively to identify opportunities that
simultaneously reduced operating costs,
waste generation and emissions in the
phthalic anhydride manufacturing process.
Additional emphasis was placed on pollu-
tion prevention opportunities that reduced
persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT)
compounds.
During the project, eleven pollution preven-
tion opportunities were identified, evaluated
and prioritized. In March 2005, Koppers
successfully implemented a high priority
opportunity. They began reducing the com-
pressed air feed to the phthalic anhydride
reactors during low production periods.
This change in operations has resulted in a
reduction of phthalic anhydride emissions
of 1,400 Ibs per year while also reducing
energy consumption by 4,200 kWhr per
year yielding a total annual savings of
$263,000.
(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571, smith.
edwin@epa.gov)
Chicago Mayor Encourages Boat-
ing/Fishing Dialogue
Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley held a
meeting with leaders of the boating and
fishing community on January 12th at Chi-
cago's McCormick Place, to coincide with
the start of the annual Boating, Fishing, and
RV trade show. The Mayor urged the com-
munity leaders to get involved with issues
currently facing the Great Lakes. The ses-
sion was moderated by David Ullrich, Ex-
ecutive Director of the Great Lakes and St.
Lawrence Cities Initiative. Speakers at the
event included Thomas Dammrich
(National Marine Manufacturers Associa-
tion); Bill Cullerton (radio sports an-
nouncer); and Sonny Lisowski (of the boat-
ing community). Most of the meeting's
"question and answer" session focused on
the timeliness of construction and federal
funding for the Carp Barrier on the Chicago
Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville,
Illinois. The potential spread of the Asian
Great Lakes boaters had back to port at end of day
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Significant Activities Report
January 2006
Carp from the Mississippi/Illinois River sys-
tem to the Great Lakes is of paramount con-
cern to Great Lakes fishermen and boaters.
Participants at the session were informed that
the Carp Barrier was addressed as a high pri-
ority issue in the Great Lakes Regional Col-
laboration's Strategy to Protect and Restore
the Great Lakes (http://glrc.us/strategy.html)
For more information about the Asian Carp
and its potential impacts, see: http://www.
epa.gov/greatlakes/invasive/asiancarp/.
(Contact: Judy Beck, 312-353-3849, beck.
judy@epa.gov)
Binational AOC Progress
GLNPO hosted a Four Agency (USEPA /
Michigan Department of Environmenal
Quality / Environment Canada / Ontario
Ministry of the Environment) working group
meeting at the Large Lakes Research Lab in
Grosse He, Michigan on January 9th. The bi-
national working group drafted principles
and processes for setting delisting criteria, for
re-designating Beneficial Use Impairments
(BUIs), and for delisting the binational Areas
of Concern (AOCs). There are three AOCs
where binational Remedial Action Plans are
being implemented: Detroit River, St. Clair
River, and St. Marys River. This effort, and
the resulting document, is the first step in as-
sisting local Public Advisory Committees in
the United States and Canada to consider the
performance measures and requirements to
restore BUIs and to delist a binational AOC.
As its basis, the working group considered
and applied the principles set forth in the
Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality's recently released "Guidance for
Delisting Michigan's Great Lakes Areas of
Concern," (http://www.deq.state.mi.us/
documents/deq-wb-aoc-delistguide.pdf). In
March, the working group will present a final
draft of the principles and processes to the
Four Agency managers for approval and
adoption.
(Contact: Rosanne Ellison, 734-692-7689,
ellison.rosanne@epa.gov)
Invasive Species Exhibit Opens
Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium opened
its new "Invasive Species in the Great
Lakes" display on January 5th. The exhibit
highlights the threats invasive species pose
to the Great Lakes ecosystem. The display
also shows what a healthy Great Lakes eco-
system would look like. Funding for the dis-
play included contributions from U.S. Fish
and Wildlife, Illinois/Indiana Sea Grant, and
GLNPO. Additional information about the
Shedd Aquarium's Great Lakes-related ac-
tivities can be found at: http://www.
sheddaquarium.org/con_greatlakesforever.
cfm.
(Contact: Judy Beck, 312-353-3849, beck.
judy@epa.gov)
Visitors view Shedd Aquarium's new exhibit on inva-
sive species in the Great Lakes
(photo courtesy of Shedd Aquarium)
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
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January 2006
Significant Activities Report
GLNPO scientist demonstrates use of plankton sam-
pling net aboard R/V Lake Guardian
Lake Guardian "Summer School"
The new Great Lakes Center for Ocean Sci-
ence Education Excellence (COSEE) re-
cently announced a summer workshop made
possible by GLNPO. The one-week cruise
on Lake Erie aboard GLNPO's Research
Vessel, R/V Lake Guardian, will provide
teachers and informal educators interdisci-
plinary learning opportunities for Great
Lakes and ocean systems research. The
"Shipboard and Shoreline Science on Lake
Erie" course is scheduled to run from June
18th to 24th, 2006. Up to 15 teachers of
grades 4 thru 10 or informal educators from
around the Great Lakes basin will be se-
lected for participation. Scientists accompa-
nying the teachers include Bill Edwards
(Niagara University); and GLNPO's Eliza-
beth Hinchey Malloy, Susan Boehme, and
Jacqueline Adams.
The course is designed to promote Great
Lakes and ocean sciences in formal and in-
formal education and forge lasting relation-
ships between science researchers and edu-
cators. Participants will be involved in field
exercises, work with scientists, examine
curricula and resources, and explore class-
room activities relating to the Great Lakes
and ocean resources. It will offer first-hand
explorations of Lake Erie geography, re-
sources, processes and issues, and demon-
strate how Great Lakes science parallels the
science of the world ocean. Days are spent
on the water aboard the Lake Guardian col-
lecting samples of plankton and benthic or-
ganisms. Participants will be involved in
data collection and analysis, and in discus-
sions of how the Great Lakes and oceans
change with human activity, geographic lo-
cation, geology, biology and weather. Eve-
nings will be spent at anchor in ports along
the U.S. shore, with chances to visit special
habitats and informal learning sites. For
more information about COSEE, as well as
the Lake Erie course and an application for
the course, see: http://coseegreatlakes.net/
events/shipboardscience_erie on the Inter-
net.
(Contacts: Beth Hinchey Malloy, 312-886-
3451, hinchey.elizabeth@epa.gov; or Paul
Horvatin, 312-353-3612, horvatin.
paul@epa.gov)
Finding Beach Pollution Sources
USEPA's Office of Water is responding to
the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great
Lakes recommendation to identify sources
of contamination at Great Lakes beaches as
a top priority. The eight Great Lakes States
reported on 825 beaches in the 2004 Great
Lake Beach survey, generally citing the rea-
sons for beach closures as pollution from
"unknown" sources at the beaches with the
most frequent problems. USEPA has estab-
lished a federal (USEPA Headquarters, Re-
gions 2, 3, and 5), city, and state work
group that proposes to develop a beach sani-
tary survey form acceptable to the eight
Great Lake States during 2006. During
2007, USEPA expects to issue beach sani-
tary survey grants for pilot projects in each
of the Great Lake states. During 2008,
USEPA will evaluate the pilot projects to
determine if the sanitary surveys have iden-
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Significant Activities Report
January 2006
tified sources that affect beaches and pro-
vided a basis for determination of an opti-
mal beach monitoring program based on
beach contamination sources.
(Contact: David Rockwell, 312-353-1373,
rockwell.david@epa.gov)
Upcoming Events
2006
March 16 Great Lakes Day,
Washington, DC
May 17-18 Great Lakes Binational
Toxics Strategy Stake-
holders Meeting,
Toronto, Ontario Canada
May 22-26 IAGLR 49th Annual Confer-
ence on Great Lakes Re-
search, Windsor, Ontario
Canada
October 11-13 Second International Sym-
posium on the Lake Huron
Ecosystem, Honey Harbor,
Ontario Canada
November 1-3
State of the Lakes Ecosys-
tem Conference
(SOLEC) 2006
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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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