Great
 Lakes
 National
 Program
&EPA
 On the Web at:
 www.epa.gov/greatlakes
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
 Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Significant Activities Report

       July 2007
 IN THIS ISSUE:
 LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLANS
 • Lake Superior Day Celebration
 • Lake Superior Day Awards
 • Lake Superior Placemats
 • Lake Superior Watershed Signs
 • Making Lake Michigan Great 2007 Boat
  Tours
 CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS
 • Kinnickinnic River Great Lakes Legacy
  Act Project Agreement Signed
 • Lower Buffalo River Sediments
  Sampled
 POLLUTION PREVENTION
 • AWRA Conference on Emerging
  Chemicals
 • Burn Barrel and Pharmaceutical
  Resource Kits Online
LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT
PLANS
Lake Superior Day Celebration
The third annual Lake Superior Day was cele-
brated around the basin on Sunday, July 15,
2007. The Lake Superior Binational Forum
distributed educational materials and helped
support approximately 20 events in 12 com-
munities in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
and Ontario. The Binational Forum is funded
in the U.S. by a GLNPO grant from the U.S.
EPA and in Canada by Environment Canada.
The purpose of the day is to educate people
about lake issues, special places, and recrea-
tional opportunities by highlighting the im-
                        • Indiana Rivers Rally at Purdue
                        • Unwanted Medications Collection
                         Workshop in Indiana
                        • Report on Lindane in China
                        AREAS OF CONCERN
                        • Achieving Restoration Targets and Sus-
                         taining Stewardship in Areas of
                         Concern
                        • Buffalo River Mini-Summit
                        OUTREACH/EDUCA TION
                        • Peace and Water Conference Features
                         Lake Michigan
                        • EPA is Gain' Green at Taste of Chicago
                        RESEARCH AND MONITORING
                        • Spill of National Significance
                        • Lake Erie Dissolved Oxygen Survey
                        • GLNPO Scientists Present at Great
                         Lakes Research Conference
                             Along the North Shore of Lake Superior
                        portance of the world's largest freshwater
                        lake to the region's economy, environment,
                        and quality of life.

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July 2007
                  Significant Activities Report
             The Cascade River enters Lake Superior

        The city of Superior, Wisconsin has held an
        annual event since 2003. The day included a
        Native American drum circle and songs, a
        beach clean up contest with prizes, poetry
        about Lake Superior read by members of the
        Lake Superior Writers organization, essay
        contest winners from grades K-6, a free pic-
        nic, and live music by the Superior-based
        band Arcadia. The event also hosted displays
        by the Great Lakes Aquarium, Maritime Mu-
        seum, U.S. Coast Guard, University of Wis-
        consin-Superior and the Great Lakes Fleet.
        Other events included a concert in the park in
        Marquette, Michigan organized by U.S. Fo-
        rum members Rev. Jon Magnuson of the Ce-
        dar Tree Institute in Marquette, and Carl
        Lindquist, director of the Superior Watershed
        Partnership. This included the Boreal Cham-
        ber Symphony playing  classical and new mu-
        sic at a local restaurant. Iron County native
        Evan Premo was commissioned to create a
        new work for the concert.

        Another new event this year was celebrated in
        Marathon, Ontario, with a barbeque, a com-
        munity clean up, children's art activities
        about the lake, and a series of displays.
        A full list of events can be found on the Fo-
        rum 's web  site at www.superiorforum.info.
        Over the last three years, almost 40 gover-
        nors, mayors, and other community leaders
        have signed proclamations designating the
third Sunday in July as Lake Superior Day.

Lake Superior Day Awards
At a ceremony in Superior, Wisconsin, the
Lake Superior Binational Forum made awards
to several U.S. and Canadian groups for their
environmental achievements from the past
year. This year's winners in each category
were:

U.S.
Individual (a tie):
•  Bob Olsgard worked as the Lake Supe-
   rior Alliance coordinator for about 10
   years, which included writing and editing
   its journal, Superior Vision. The Alliance
   was formed to monitor and promote the
   goals of the Lake Superior Binational Pro-
   gram, and to coordinate an active voice
   for over 30 groups around the lake.
•  Jill Jacoby came to Duluth in 1992 to
   develop a citizen-based outreach, educa-
   tion, and water-monitoring program called
   the St. Louis River Watch. She pioneered
   projects that brought together artists and
   scientists to discuss water quality prob-
   lems of the St. Louis River and Lake Su-
   perior. The artists transformed those dis-
   cussions into their artwork, which was
   displayed at Earth Day events; she also
   organized a similar trip to China with art-
   ists there. She founded Sweetwater Alli-
   ance in  2002 with a mission that includes
   ecological restoration of riparian areas
   through a fusion of art, science, education,
   and community involvement.

Business: No. 2 Septic owners Josh and
Brenda Rowley bought their sewage and
waste collection business in 2005 with a goal
of making it more environmentally friendly
and sustainable. Josh says, "We wanted to be
as conscientious as possible about the impacts
of our business on the environment." In 2006,
the Rowleys began making biodiesel fuel to
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                                       July 2007
       eventually power their collection vehicles out
       of used vegetable cooking grease picked up
       from area businesses. In their own garage, the
       couple makes numerous 40-gallon batches of
       biodiesel fuel per month after collecting it
       from about 15 to 20 businesses in Ashland,
       Mason, Drummond, Bayfield, and other com-
       munities.

       Industry: Bretting Manufacturing volun-
       tarily replaced almost 720 fixtures of mainly
       high-intensity discharge (HID) conventional
       fluorescents and with high-intensity fluores-
       cent fixtures in their facility in 2006. This
       lighting change reduced lighting power by the
       equivalent of 102,068 gallons of gasoline per
       year, resulting in a 47 percent saving of
       1,236,428 hours. This equals savings, in a
       typical year, of 1,205 tons of carbon dioxide,
       329 tons of carbon, 5.2 tons of sulfur dioxide,
       and 2.5 tons of nitrogen oxides from entering
       the atmosphere.

       Organization: Lake Superior Streams.org
       Team addressed the need to protect Lake Su-
       perior Basin streams, and the coastal zone of
       Lake Superior from stormwater impacts by
       enhancing public understanding of streams
       and their connections to watershed land use.
       The focus is on making environmental data,
       in particular real-time data from "flashy"
       streams typical of coastal  tributaries to Lake
       Superior, readily accessible and easily inter-
       pretable to managers and the public for use in
       decision-making and for education and
       awareness.

       Canada
       Organization: Friends of Chippewa Park.
       Friends of Chippewa Park have been success-
       ful in restoring this long-time popular swim-
       ming area on Lake Superior. The initiative
       involved rehabilitating the beach and swim-
       ming bay at Chippewa Park. Project goals
       included improving the water quality and en-
  Raspberry Island, Apostle Islands of Lake Superior

suring the long-term safety of the swimming
area. Clean-up of the public beach entailed
dredging and grading, and the addition of new
sand and rip-rap (anchored rocks). Plans also
included constructing a wooden retaining wall
and a gravel walkway along the beach to pre-
vent land-based runoff into the water. Vegeta-
tion was planted to further reinforce stability
and contain runoff.

Honorable Mentions:
Youth:  The Anishinabek of the Gitchi
Garni (AGG) is an emerging grassroots,
youth-driven organization that facilitates
community engagement, empowers young
people,  and catalyzes action. The major pro-
ject has been a youth-led exploration of envi-
ronmental health issues on their reserve. A
group of young people set out to identify,
photograph and map their community's envi-
ronmental concerns including illegal dump-
sites, hazardous waste, and garbage burning.
The group identified 250 illegal 'backyard'
dump sites in the community the Fort Wil-
liam First Nation reservation.

Individual:  Karin Grundt cleaned up the
garbage left  in the ditches and roadways in
Wawa.  She began with two other volunteers
in 1992 forming a "Garbologist's  Coalition"
to promote anti-littering, but Karin has con-
tinued solo since about  1993. She has picked
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                   Significant Activities Report
        up garbage every spring without fail since
        1992. Each year the garbage is collected at
        the Municipal Garage, photographed and pub-
        lished in local media to promote local knowl-
        edge of this problem. She also writes a sea-
        sonal column to educate readers about this
        issue. Karin has also written to a number of
        politicians about this issue.

        (Contacts: E. Marie Wines,  312-886-6034,
        wines.emarie@epa.gov: or Elizabeth La-
        Plante, 312-353-2694, hv
        plante.elizabeth@epa.gov)

        Lake Superior Placemats
        The Lake Superior Binational Forum and Su-
        perior Work Group recently distributed
        85,000 placemats in the Minnesota, Wiscon-
        sin, Michigan and Ontario parts of the Lake
        Superior watershed, 60,000 more than were
        printed last year. The placemats are made
        from recycled paper and soy-based ink. Most
        of the placements went to restaurants but li-
        braries, visitor centers and camps were also
        recipients. The simple design includes some
        word games for children, interesting facts
        about Lake Superior and a list of 12 Ways
        You Can Protect the Lake Every Day. Ac-
        cording to one of the volunteer distributors
        "... restaurants were enthusiastic and one res-
        taurant owner who came back for more said
        that she could not believe how well received
        they were - not just by kids, but whole fami-
        lies that poured over them, particularly people
        who had not been to the area before." This is
        the second year that the Minnesota Pollution
        Control Agency, which receives funding from
        GLNPO, has printed the placemats.
        The 12 Ways You Can Protect the Lake
        Every Day:
        1.  Create an energy-efficient home.
        2.  Install water-saving devices.
        3.  Never burn garb age.
        4.  Try to reduce, reuse, recycle and repair.
5.  Take household hazardous materials to
   hazardous waste collections.
6.  Never pour oil or other used liquids into a
   storm drain.
7.  Put your lawn on a chemical-free diet.
8.  Inspect your boar and trailer and removes
   any plants and animals before leaving a
   boat access.
9.  Landscape with plant that are native to the
   region.
10. Plant trees to capture carbon dioxide and
   prevent erosion.
11. Use a rain barrel for gardening and wash-
   ing the car.
12. And most importantly, love Lake Supe-
   rior!

(Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 312-353-2694,
laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov)

Lake Superior Watershed Signs
Visitors and  residents of the Lake Superior
basin in Minnesota will now know when they
have crossed the line - the watershed bound-
ary line, that is! The Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency recently finished installation
of 21 watershed signs over the 6,200 square
mile Lake Superior basin. Placed along
county and state highways, the signs list both
the basin and the particular watershed, for
example the  St. Louis River. This project con-
cept originated with the Lake Superior Bina-
tional Forum, which earlier placed a few
                                                        Sign marking Lake Superior basin boundary
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                                      July 2007
       similar signs in Michigan and Wisconsin. The
       purpose of the signage is to inform the public
       of where the basin boundary is and to encour-
       age people to think in terms of their water-
       shed.

       (Contact: Elizabeth LaPlante, 312-353-2694,
       laplante.elizabeth@epa.gov)

       Making Lake Michigan Great 2007
       Boat Tours
       Since 1998, the research and education vessel
       W.G. Jackson has been spreading the word
       about the Lake Michigan Lakewide Manage-
       ment Plan through the Making Lake Michigan
       Great educational tours. Throughout the
       years, 30 ports of call have been visited
       reaching four states. Local hosts have coordi-
       nated groups for hands-on water quality sam-
       pling cruises. Participants in tour activities
       learn about Lake Michigan and have the op-
       portunity to network about lakewide con-
       cerns. Tour funding has come mainly from
       GLNPO. Other partners for the 2007 tour in-
       cluded the Waukegan Citizen's Advisory
       Group, Pier Wisconsin, U.S. Park Service,
       and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage
       District.

       (Contact: Judy Beck, 312-353-3849,
       beck.judy@epa.gov)

       CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS
       Kinnickinnic River Great Lakes
       Legacy Act Project Agreement
       Signed
       On June 22, 2007, a Great Lakes Legacy Act
       Project Agreement was signed by U.S. EPA
       and Wisconsin Department of Natural Re-
       sources (WDNR) for the Supplemental De-
       sign and Remedial Planning phase of the
       Kinnickinnic River sediment remediation pro-
       ject. The scope of work for this agreement is
       to perform supplemental design activities to
  Making Lake Michigan Great 2007 in Waukegan, IL

finalize the remedial design. The concept de-
sign proposed by WDNR calls for mechani-
cally dredging up to 170,000 cubic yards of
sediments containing high concentrations of
PCBs, PAHs,  and other contaminants from
the 2,000 ft long stretch of the Kinnickinnic
River immediately upstream of the federal
navigation channel. It is anticipated that this
phase of the project will be completed by the
end of 2007. At that time, the project could
potentially move to the remediation phase if
the project meets U.S. EPA's selection crite-
ria identified in the Great Lakes Legacy Act
Implementation Rule, and is agreed to by
U.S. EPA and the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources.
(Contact: AjitVaidya; 312-353-5713. vai-
dya.ajit@epa.gov)

Lower Buffalo River Sediments
Sampled
From June 4th - 15th, 2007, the R/VMudpuppy
was in Buffalo, New York sampling the sedi-
ment in the Lower Buffalo River and City
Ship Canal as part of the Great Lakes Legacy
Act Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study
(RI/FS) Project (cost-shared by GLNPO and
the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper). The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District
provided their pontoon boat and staff to assist
with the sediment collection. Approximately
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                  Significant Activities Report
        132 sediment cores were collected with the
        R/VMudpuppy and transferred to the Corps'
        boat for processing. The Corps also collected
        43 surface sediment samples and water sam-
        ples at 19 locations. The New York State De-
        partment of Environmental Conservation
        shipped approximately 275 samples to be
        analyzed for metals, PAHs, PCBs, pesticides
        and total organic carbon. Additionally,
        GLNPO collected sediment samples for sedi-
        ment toxicity analysis (13 samples) and geo-
        technical properties analysis (25 samples).
        Results are expected to be received by August
        and the data will be used to determine where
        to focus the feasibility study, which is antici-
        pated to begin in January 2008.

        (Contact: Mary Beth G. Ross, 312-886-2253,
        ross.marybeth@epa.gov)

        POLL UTION PREVENTION
        AWRA Conference on Emerging
        Chemicals
        GLNPO's Ted Smith and Illinois-Indiana Sea
        Grant outreach specialist Susan Boehme at-
        tended the American Water Resource Asso-
        ciation's 2007 Summer Specialty Conference
        on "Emerging Contaminants of Concern in
        the Environment, Issues, Investigations, and
        Solutions" in Vail, Colorado on June 25th to
        27th. Susan Boehme made a presentation on
        "Medicine Disposal: Sources, Environmental
        Concerns and Initiatives," on behalf of IL/IN
        Sea Grant and GLNPO. Among the topics
        covered in the Conference were analytical
        methods (including exposure methods), urban
        and agricultural sources and impacts, fate and
        transport in surface and groundwater, and
        from land applied biosolids, advanced treat-
        ment technologies, wildlife health effects, law
        and policy considerations, and interagency
        collaboration and cooperation.
        Much of the Conference was focused on
        sources and impacts of natural and artificial
        steroidal hormones as well as other pharma-
ceuticals, and on compounds that exert estro-
genic effects in the environment, such as plas-
ticizers and surfactants.

(Contacts: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571,
smith.edwin@epa.gov or Susan Boehme,
312-353-4383, boehme.susan@epa.gov)

Burn Barrel and Pharmaceutical
Resource Kits Online
Two of GLNPO / Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant's
toxics reduction outreach projects under the
Great Lakes Regional Collaboration will now
reach wider audiences. Resource kits on alter-
natives to trash burning and safe methods for
medicine disposal  are now available online at
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant's Web Site at
www. ii sgcp. org/learnnot2burn and
www.iisgcp.org/unwantedmeds. The resource
kits will continue to be available in  print and
on CD as well.

(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571,
smith.edwin@epa.gov)
 Bernie the burn barrel
   character used in
  education and out-
 reach discouraging the
  use of burn barrels
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 Significant Activities Report
                                      July 2007
       Indiana Rivers Rally at Purdue
       ORISE Intern associate Jessica Winter pre-
       sented a poster "Keep the Water Clean -
       Don't Flush Your Medicine" at the Indiana
       Rivers Rally at Purdue University on June 7th.
       The Indiana Rivers Rally is a conference
       bringing together local watershed conserva-
       tion groups, paddling enthusiasts, staff from
       state and local environmental agencies and
       water departments, and academic researchers.
       2007 was the first year of what may become
       an annual event. Jessica spoke with confer-
       ence attendees about the effects of pharma-
       ceutical chemicals in the aquatic  environment
       and distributed copies of Illinois-Indiana Sea
       Grant's pamphlet on safer disposal options
       for unwanted/excess medicines. She also
       highlighted Sea Grant's resource  kit on orga-
       nizing medicine collection programs and in-
       vited attendees to participate in Sea Grant's
       upcoming medicine collection workshop in
       Indianapolis. Approximately 170 people at-
       tended the Rivers Rally and many expressed
       concern regarding the issue of pharmaceutical
       chemicals in the environment and interest in
       solutions to the problem.

       (Contact: Jessica Winter, 312-353-3212, win-
       ter.jessica@epa.gov)

       Unwanted Medications Collection
       Workshop in Indiana
       On June 20, 2007, ORISE associate Jessica
       Winter and  Illinois-Indiana Seagrant outreach
       specialist Elizabeth Hinchey Malloy were in-
       vited presenters at "A Workshop  for the Col-
       lection of Unwanted Medications in Indiana."
       The Indiana Household Hazardous Waste
       Task Force  organized the workshop with sup-
       port from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the
       Indiana Department of Environmental Man-
       agement. This meeting grew out of a work-
       shop in March in Illinois co-organized with
       the Illinois Counties Solid Waste Manage-
       ment Association. Over 50 people attended
  Medicine
 Collection
   Program
   Logo from resource kit on proper disposal of un-
             wanted medications
the Indianapolis workshop. Participants in-
cluded Indiana county solid waste managers,
county public health offices, hospice and
home health care staff, members of Indiana
chapters of AARP, and state pharmacy in-
spectors. All participants received the newly
released resource kit produced by Illinois-
Indiana Sea Grant entitled "Disposal of Un-
wanted Medicines: A Resource for Action in
Your Community."

This workshop covered the problems pre-
sented by medication disposal and trained at-
tendees how to conduct a community collec-
tion for unwanted medications. Hinchey
Malloy presented an overview of the issue
("Medication Disposal - What's the Prob-
lem?") and Jessica Winter guided participants
through the chapters of the "Disposal of Un-
wanted Medicines: A Resource for Action in
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                   Significant Activities Report
        Persistent chemicals like lindane can be transported
        for great distances through the "grasshopper effect"
        Your Community." Solid waste managers
        from Indiana (Scott Morgan, Monroe County
        Solid Waste Management District; Mike
        Good, Marshall County; and Steve Johnson,
        Wabash County) shared their insight and ex-
        periences with organizing medicine collection
        programs. Kristin Brier of the Indiana Depart-
        ment of Environmental Management pre-
        sented information on state grant availability
        and application procedures for local collec-
        tion programs. Question and answer sessions
        allowed participants to discuss a wide variety
        of issues relating to medicine disposal.
        At least one workshop participant has already
        indicated plans to start a collection using in-
        formation gleaned from the presentations and
        discussions, while others have indicated that
        they will use the information presented to im-
        prove their existing programs.

        (Contacts: Jessica Winter, 312-353-3212,
        winter.jessica@epa.gov or Beth Hinchey
        Malloy, 312-886-3451, hin-
        chey.elizabeth@epa.gov)
Report on Lindane in China
Lindane (chemical name gamma-
hexachlorocyclohexane, or gamma-HCH) is
an organochlorine chemical used as an insec-
ticide and fumigant. Phase I of a study par-
tially funded by GLNPO on lindane in China
was submitted to the Commission for Envi-
ronmental Cooperation for review and com-
ment. During the 1950s and the beginning of
the 1980s, China was one of the major users
of technical HCH in the world. Although the
use of these chemicals was banned by the
Chinese government on April  1, 1983, after
40 years of use, HCH residues are still found
in air, soil, water, food, and living organisms,
and lindane had been still produced and used
in China until 2003.

In order to better understand the implications
of the use and emissions of lindane in China
on North America, an agreement between the
CEC, an international organization estab-
lished by the North American Agreement on
Environmental Cooperation, and Harbin Insti-
tute of Technology reached an agreement on
the joint project "China - Canada Joint Pro-
ject on Reduction of Lindane Usage in China
and its Impact Globally and on North Amer-
ica. The Phase I report contains the following
3 deliverables of Project.
    1.  Lists referenced lindane producer(s)
       and determines the nature of the prod-
       uct offered for export (technical HCH,
       lindane or formulated lindane prod-
       ucts) and attempt to determine the im-
       porting countries;
    2.  Provides referenced information on
       current pollution status of HCH iso-
       mers in China;
    3.  Provides emission/residue inventories
       of HCH isomers in China.

(Contact: Ted Smith, 312-353-6571,
smith.edwin@epa.gov)
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       AREAS OF CONCERN
       Achieving Restoration Targets and
       Sustaining Stewardship in Areas of
       Concern
       Participants from U.S. Great Lakes Areas of
       Concern (AOC) met in Cleveland, Ohio, June
       28th and 29th, 2007, to review recent develop-
       ments affecting the AOC program and assess
       Great Lakes  Regional Collaboration recom-
       mendations.  The agenda for the "Great Lakes
       Areas of Concern: Achieving Restoration
       Targets and Sustaining Stewardship Confer-
       ence" included an AOC status report, a his-
       torical perspective, and breakout sessions to
       discuss contaminated sediments, fish and
       wildlife restoration, the role of local Remedial
       Action Plan (RAP) groups, and delisting.
       Several invited foundations gave their per-
       spective on Great Lakes restoration, and local
       RAP participants spoke about their successes
       and key challenges. GLNPO habitat staff of-
       fered to help the development of blueprints
       for habitat-related beneficial use impairments.
       During the opening session of the conference,
       GLNPO's David Cowgill spoke on "Progress
       in Cleaning Up Contaminated Sediments Un-
       der the Great Lakes Legacy Act." The presen-
       tation was an overview of how the Legacy
       Act functions and what projects have been
       completed and are underway with a focus on
       how communities got the projects funded, and
       a summary of the overall achievements and
       challenges. Two breakout sessions on con-
       taminated sediments were held on Thursday
       afternoon. The first, chaired by GLNPO's
       Marc Tuchman,  was a discussion of "Options
       For Generating Non-Federal Funding And
       Public Involvement in Sediment Cleanups
       Under the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA)
       and Other Programs." That session was high-
       lighted by discussions on funding sources
       from representatives from previously funded
       GLLA projects.  The second session,
       "Contaminated Sediments: Assessment and
Remedial Tools and Technologies" described
the types of analyses that can be used to de-
fine a remediation project and the technolo-
gies available for remediation. The session
also included a discussion on sustainability
considerations and ways to develop a long-
term sustainable vision to the site before
remediation to engage the community.

(Contacts: (Contact: Mark Elster, 312-886-
3857, elster.mark@epa.gov: David Cowgill,
312-353-3576,  cowgill.david@epa.gov: Marc
Tuchman 312-353-1369,
tuchman.marc@epa.gov: Susan Boehme 312-
353-4383, Boehme.susan@epa.gov: Ajit
Vaidya 312-353-5713, vaidva.ajit@epa.gov:
Eric Stern, 212-637-3806,
stern.eric@epa.gov: Karen Rodriguez, 312-
353-2690, rodriguez.karen@epa.gov: Dan-
ielle Green, 312-886-7594,
green.danielle@epa.gov)

Buffalo River  Mini-Summit
On June 4th, 2007, representatives of GLNPO
(David Cowgill and Mary Beth G. Ross) and
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (Susan Boehme)
attended the Buffalo River Mini-Summit in
Buffalo, New York. The event was coordi-
nated by Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, in co-
operation with the New York State Depart-
ment of Environmental Conservation and
GLNPO. The purpose of the meeting was to
encourage dialogue among all stakeholders
and provide information on the past, present,
 Dave Cowgill speaks at the Buffalo River Mini-Summit
  while the R/V Mudpuppy samples river sediments
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                  Significant Activities Report
         Lake Michigan Regional Team Manager Judy Beck
         with Dr. Natsadorj, the Khamba Lama of Mongolia

        and future of the Buffalo River. David Cow-
        gill presented an overview of GLNPO's Re-
        medial Action Plan (RAP) Program and the
        status of Great Lakes Legacy Act projects
        within the Great Lakes. Mary Beth G. Ross
        and Byron Rupp of the U.S. Army Corps of
        Engineers Buffalo District co-presented the
        various ways the two Federal agencies are
        collaborating on Buffalo River projects. Fol-
        lowing the presentations, a press conference
        was held in part to celebrate the May 9th,
        2007  signing of an $800,000 Project Agree-
        ment  between U.S. EPA and the Buffalo Ni-
        agara Riverkeeper for a Remedial Investiga-
        tion/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) of the Lower
        Buffalo River and City Ship Canal. The event
        also included a guided luncheon tour of the
        AOC aboard the Miss Buffalo II. Representa-
        tives from many local stakeholder groups
        were  also in attendance, including U.S. Con-
        gressman Brian Higgins.

        (Contacts: David Cowgill, 312-353-3576,
        cowgill.david@epa.gov: Mary Beth G. Ross,
        312-886-2253, ross.marybeth@epa.gov:
        Susan Boehme, 312-353-4383,
        boehme. susan@epa. gov)
OUTREACH/EDUCATION
Peace and Water Conference
Features Lake Michigan
GLNPO's Judy Beck, Lake Michigan Team
Manager, spoke at the Northeastern Illinois
University's "A Gathering of Peace and Wa-
ter for Our World - the Ripple Effect" in Chi-
cago on June 21, 2007. The conference ex-
plored both the ecological status of the Great
Lakes from a scientific perspective as well as
the spiritual attachment to water in the cul-
tures of the world. Those presenting included:
Debra Ferryman, Illinois Teacher of the Year;
Osahmin Judy Meister, Elder of the Miniss
Kitigan Drum of the Ojibway; Debra Shore,
Commissioner of the Water Reclamation Dis-
trict of Greater Chicago; Rory Donnelly,
Friends of the Chicago River; and Bill Kurtis,
Emmy Award winning journalist and televi-
sion producer of the show "The New Explor-
ers." The theme of the conference was con-
cern over stewardship of the water resources
of the world with Lake Michigan as the ex-
ample. On June 29th, Beck also provided
opening remarks at the conference-sponsored
"sunrise ceremony" held at the Shedd Aquar-
ium on Chicago's lakefront. The highlight of
the ceremony was the blessing of Lake Michi-
gan, performed by honored guest Dr. Natsa-
dorj, the Khamba Lama of Mongolia.

(Contact: Judy Beck, 312-353-3849,
beck.judv@epa.gov)

EPA is Coin'Green  at
  Taste of Chicago
"Recycle electronics, save energy, conserve
water, and landscape wisely" was the mes-
sage delivered by U.S. EPA staff at the Goin'
Green Pavillion at the annual Taste of Chi-
                                                                        th
                                                                            7th.
                                                  cago festival from July 5  to 7  this year.
                                                  U.S. EPA's tent, which was organized by the
                                                  Office of Public Affairs, was visited by an
                                                  estimated 700 people eager to pickup reading
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 Significant Activities Report
                                      July 2007
       material and talk about at-home conservation
       measures. Illinois-Indiana SeaGrant outreach
       specialist Beth Hinchey and ORISE associ-
       ates Jackie Adams, Jessica Winter, and
       Melissa Simon joined a dozen other U.S.
       EPA representatives in engaging the public
       on the issues of pollution prevention and con-
       servation. With help from GLNPO's Danielle
       Green and GLNPO's Green Acres program,
       Simon gave a presentation on Natural Land-
       scaping which highlighted the ecological
       benefits of planting native species. The Chi-
       cago Botanic Garden donated more than 20
       eye-catching plants for the demonstration.
       U.S. EPA representatives answered questions
       on a wide range of topics including how to
       landscape using little water, how to dispose of
       medicine appropriately, and where to recycle
       electronics. The City of Chicago invited U.S.
       EPA to a planning meeting for next year's
       Green Pavilion at the festival.

       (Contact: Melissa Simon, 312-886-0995, s^
       mon.melissa@epa.gov)

       RESEARCH AND MONITORING
       Spill of National Significance
       Personnel from the Great Lakes National Pro-
       gram Office and crew aboard GLNPO's 180-
       foot research ship R/VLake Guardian partici-
       pated in an exercise responding to a supposed
       large-scale diesel fuel spill in Lake Michigan
       on June 19th and 20th. The exercise tested the
       readiness of the Coast Guard, Navy and U.S.
       EPA to response to such a disaster. The Lake
       Guardian served as a sampling platform, and
       as staging for victim evacuation which in-
       cluded a number of practice lifts by a Coast
       Guard rescue helicopter. Members of the
       Coast Guard, Marines, OSHA and U.S.  EPA
       were aboard the ship to observe and take part
       in the exercise.

       (Contact: Paul Horvatin, 312-353-3612, hor-
       vatin.paul@epa.gov)
     A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hovers over
     the R/V Lake Guardian on Lake Michigan
Lake Erie Dissolved Oxygen Survey
The latest Lake Erie dissolved oxygen survey
took place on June 11th and 12th in the Central
Basin of the lake. This is part of a continuing
program to monitor the oxygen levels in this
area of the lake, which often develops a
"Dead Zone" of very low oxygen. Accompa-
nying the survey were reporters from Channel
3 TV in  Cleveland who are working on a
four-part series on Lake Erie problems, and a
Canadian filmmaker (Primitive Entertain-
ment) making a documentary entitled
"Waterlife" in association with the National
Film Board of Canada.

Areas of low oxygen in the water column
have been recorded annually over the last sev-
eral decades in Lake Erie's Central Basin.
Low oxygen levels in the water column stress
local plant and animal species that depend on
oxygenated water for normal respiration proc-
esses. The annual low-oxygen zones, referred
to as hypoxic or anoxic zones (or popularly,
"dead zones"), are often linked to excess nu-
trient run-off into the lake. The dissolved
oxygen study is a focused investigation of
oxygen content and key nutrient levels like
phosphorus in the Central Basin of Lake Erie
to assess improved or declining conditions
over time.
U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
                                         Page 11

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July 2007
                  Significant Activities Report
        The Lake Erie Dissolved Oxygen Study col-
        lects temperature, dissolved oxygen, chloro-
        phyll and turbidity profiles of the water col-
        umn with the SeaBird remote sensing appara-
        tus.

        (Contact: Todd Nettesheim, 312-353-9153,
        nettesheim.todd@epa.gov)

        GLNPO Scientists Present at Great
        Lakes Research Conference
        Eleven GLNPO scientists and associates at-
        tended the 50th Annual Conference of the In-
        ternational Association for Great Lakes Re-
        search in State College, Pennsylvania from
        May 28th to June 1st, 2007. The theme of this
        year's conference "50 years of Great Lakes
        Research: Past, Present, and Future." GLNPO
        was one of the sponsors of the conference.
        Papers presented at the conference by
        GLNPO scientists and associates were:
        "A Retrospective Look at the Assessment of
           the Great Lakes"by May, J.C., J.M. Ad-
           ams, P.E. Bertram, PJ. Horvatin, and
           C.M. Zuccarino-Crowe.
        "The State of the Great Lakes - A Mixed
           Message"by Zuccarino-Crowe, C.M.,
           J.M. Adams, P.E. Bertram, P.J. Horvatin,
           and J.C. May.
        "Connecting students to Great Lakes re-
           searchers through outreach aboard the
           U.S. EPA's R/V Lake Guardian"by Ad-
           ams, J.M., E.K. Hinchey Malloy, C.M.
           McConaghy, and P.J. Horvatin.
        "GLEAMS, Great Lakes Educators of
           Aquatic and Marine Science: Out of Dry
           Dock and Coming Soon to a Classroom
           Near You.. .the Voyage Resumes!" by
           Hinchey, E.K., R.W.  Former, R.G. Goet-
           tel, J.A. Adams, and T.B. Hallesy.
        "Bacteria, beaches and Swimmable waters:
           Has Bacterial Contamination Increased?"
           by Rockwell, D.C., H. Wirick, and C.
           Kovatch.
"The Great Lakes Offshore Biological De-
   sert" by Rockwell, D.C., G.J. Warren,
   M.D. Balcer, andM.D. Agbeti.
"Air-Water Exchange of Mercury in Lakes
   Michigan and Superior" by Jeremaison,
   J., L. Kanne, T. Lacoe, M.L. Hulting and
   M. Simcik.
"Future Directions in Atmospheric Monitor-
   ing Systems and Techniques" by Perlin-
   ger, J.A., M.L. Hulting, B.B. Hicks, and
   J.E. Dettling.
"Distribution of Toxic Substances within a
   Large Wastewater Treatment Plant and in
   Downstream Surface Waters" by
   Nettesheim, T.G.,Barber, L.B., Gray, J.L.,
   Zintek, L., Whipple, W., and Jayaraj, J.
"Is the Nearshore Shunt Moving Offshore?"
   by Warren, G.J., Horvatin, P.J., Balcer,
   M.D and Rockwell, D.C.,
"Incorporation of a multi-wavelength fluoro-
   meter into a Great Lakes monitoring pro-
   gram" by Warren, G.J., Horvatin, P.J.
"Great Lakes Fish Contaminants Laboratory
   Performance Study" (poster session) by
   Murphy, E.W. and S. Backus.

In addition to the papers presented, GLNPO's
Dave Rockwell co-chaired the
"Eutrophication Management in the Great
Lakes: How Did We Do It In the Past and
Where Should We Go In the Future"  session
and GLNPO's Melissa Hulting co-chaired the
session "Toxic Chemicals in Great Lakes
Air" session.

(Contact: Paul Horvatin, 312-353-3612, hor-
vatin.paul@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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