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Environmental Protection
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EPA 905F21001
2020 Region 5 Highlights
January 2021
Here in EPA Region 5, we are dedicated to the knowledge that we don't have to choose
between a healthy economy and a healthy environment — we can have both. I have made it
my mission to do just that by offering our state, tribal and business partners, and the general
public certainty in the way we fulfill our mission to protect the environment and safeguard
human health.
I believe that certainty from regulators gives the American public the ability to do what they
do best: innovate, create, and produce cleaner and safer technologies. Throughout fiscal year
2020, Region 5 worked hard to provide regulatory certainty to our stakeholders throughout
the six states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Some of the
highlights of this year's activities include:
•	Awarded the first ever Great Lakes Trash-Free Waters grants, part of the more than $68
million In Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants awarded during fiscal year 2020.
•	Readied 188 brownfields for reuse and deleted eight sites from the Superfund
National Priorities List, helping communities foster economic development, while
protecting public health.
•	Redesignated nine non-attainment areas to attainment of National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, resulting in 800,000 Region 5 residents breathing cleaner, safer air and a
more efficient permitting process for area businesses.
Fiscal year 2020 was filled with many accomplishments for Region 5, even in the face of a
global pandemic, and the advancements we made in protecting environmental and human
health will provide additional opportunities for partnership, success and collaboration in
the future. This report summarizes the accomplishments that best demonstrate the Region's
commitment to achieving cleaner air, water, and land, while also providing certainty for our
stakeholders and promoting economic revitalization.
Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, the leadership and staff of Region 5 intend to build
on the successes of this past year. Our efforts to form closer partnerships, streamline our
processes, and to fulfill our commitment EPA's core mission will continue to benefit and serve
the residents and economic prosperity of the Great Lakes region.
KurtThiedei
Regional Administrator
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#ICYMI Chilly start yesterday in
Duluth touring the St. Louis River
aboard EPA's R/V Lake Explorer II!
#GLRI funding is supporting projects
there to cleanup contamination and
restore habitat. @EPA_Benevento
@RepPeteStauber @RepTiffany
Great Lakes Restoration
The Great Lakes form the largest surface freshwater system on Earth, More than 30 million people
live in the Great Lakes basin, and their daily activities, from the water consumed to the waste
returned, directly affects the Great Lakes environment. EPA leads the United States' efforts to restore
and maintain the quality and ecosystems of the Great Lakes watershed. During 2020, Region 5
expanded our efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes. This enhanced focus resulted in signifi-
cant progress for these binational treasures and the communities surrounding them.
A highlight of the year that demonstrates success in restoring our Great Lakes is the official delisting
of the Lower Menominee River Area of Concern, the fifth AOC to be delisted in our nation's history.
We also made significant progress in other AOCs by removing nine beneficial use impairments. A BUI
removal signifies a reversal in the environmental degradation that caused these areas to be designat-
(Continued on back)
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@EPAGreatLakes
During a tour of Brown and Brown
Farms in Decatur this morning
@EPA Regional Administrator Thiede
signed an agreement with
@ILFarmBureau that strengthens
collaboration, and improves
communication and outreach with
farmers. @RodneyDavis epa.gov/
newsreleases/e...
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1:19 PM • lO/27/A)^i^^

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Brownfield Redevelopment CollaB&fative
89 BUIs
removed under
the GLRI
Superfund Cleanups
Over the last four fiscal years, EPA has fully or
partially delisted 82 sites from the National
Priorities List. In 2020, we deleted eight Region
5 sites from the NPL, representing one-third of
the national total. We also completed 29 emer-
gency removals to address immediate threats
to public health, more than 71% of which were
located in Environmental Justice areas.The
Region deployed to 17 emergency responses,
14 involving hazardous materials, and three
involving oil.
DePue Superfund Site
At the request of Illinois EPA, Region 5 assumed
the lead of the DePue Superfund site in 2020.
Despite work delays due to COVID, remediation
was completed at all public spaces, including
a school and parks, and approximately 100
priority residential homes. Meanwhile, both the
remedial investigation for other parts of the
site and an extensive public outreach effort are
ongoing.
Great Lakes Protection and Restoration
In 2020, EPA removed nine beneficial use impairments at nine
Areas of Concern in six states, bringing cumulative BUI removals
since the start of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to 89. The
BUI removals are important steps towards delisting these AOCs
and promote community revitalization.
Chevy Commons
Working Together to Support Brownfield Redevelopment in our Community'
Trash-Free Waters
For the first time, EPA awarded seven grants
totaling almost $2.1 million that will be used
to support community efforts to remove trash
from Great Lakes beaches and waterbodies.
Combatting freshwater and marine litter - and
preventing trash from reaching our water-
ways in the first place - is one of EPA's highest
priorities.
Land Reuse and Redevelopment
Region 5 led the nation in brownfields achieve-
ments, including preparing 188 properties to
meet ready-for-anticipated use requirements,
assessing 417 properties, and cleaning up 17
properties.The Region also invested $9 million
in Opportunity Zones through EPA's Brownfields
Program. This funding will spur economic and
redevelopment opportunities in some of the
most underserved communities in the region.
Legend
Nonattainment Air Redesignations
'Trash Free Waters Grants
Menominee Rivet AOC
Great Lakes AOCs -¦ BUIs Removed
Deleted NPL Sites
Removal Completions
Brownfields Sites RAU
Corrective Action Sites RAU
Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs)
Opportunity Zones
Tribal Lands
Air Redesignations
Partnership with Agriculture
Breaking down barriers and
enhancing partnerships has
been a priority throughout all
Region 5 programs. Working
with the agriculture community
is a vital component to this
effort. During 2020, Regional
AdministratorThiede met
with farmers in all six states,
advancing communication and
information sharing to achieve
shared goals.
Lower Menominee River Delisting
In August, the Lower Menominee River AOC was
formally delisted, making it the fifth U.S. AOC to
be delisted. Contaminated river sediment and
degraded habitat had impaired public benefits
such as fish consumption, healthy fisheries,
uncontaminated shipping channels, and wildlife
habitat. More than $170 million was invested in
the restoration effort. GLRI provided $28 million
for habitat and sediment projects, leveraging
$15 million from non-federal sponsors.
Nonattainment
Areas since
2004
Nonattainment
Areas in
2020
The Region 5 Clean Air Strategy has accelerated the region's pace in redes-
ignating air quality non-attainment areas to attainment of the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards. In 2020, the Region completed nine air
redesignations. This concerted effort by EPA and our state partners has re-
sulted in cleaner, safer air for area residents and a more efficient permitting
process for businesses.

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3:25 PM • 12/7/20 • Twitter Web App
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60604
phone: 312-353-2000
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-5
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o @EPAGreatLakes

Nowhere were have EPA's accomplishments more impactful on human health than our contribu-
tions to cleaner air. Nationally, from 2017 to 2019, the combined emission of criteria pollutants and
their precursors dropped 7%. In FY20 alone in Region 5 we completed nine air quality redesigna-
tions, more than a third of the nation's total. This Administration has prioritized these efforts with an
understanding that a healthy environment is a precursor to a healthy economy. By implementing
the Region 5 Clean Air Strategy, almost 800,000 Region 5 residents are now breathing cleaner air.
With these improvements, local businesses in these communities will face a more straightforward
permitting process that will pave the way for economic development and job creation.
Partnerships
Region 5 has a culture that values and encourages partnerships throughout every program. The
success achieved throughout the Region would not have been possible without a foundation of
strong coordination and communication with our state, local, and industry partners. By working
with state and local agencies we were able to lead the nation in achieving cleanups and helping
communities move forward, allowing land to be repurposed and reused in more productive ways.
This year, our emphasis on this process resulted in exceeding all our EPA Brown fields program goals,
including achieving 150% of our Ready for Anticipated Use goal, 160% of our properties assessed
goal, and 121% of our properties cleaned up goal. Through these effective partnerships, the Region
was able to successfully delete eight sites off the Superfund National Priorities List and complete
work at the Fox River site in Green Bay, Wis., the largest Superfund sediment cleanup project.
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@EPAGreatLakes
In Racine, Wisconsin, EPA's job-
training grants give residents an
opportunity to gain the skills and
certifications needed to secure local
environmental work. #Brownfields
epa.gov/newsreleases/e...
@CityofRacine @WDNR
An area of increased stakeholder partnership this past year was with the agricultural community.
During 2020, Regional Administrator Kurt Thiede sat down in machine shops in every Region 5
state to hear directly from Farm Bureaus and farmers about challenges and successes. These
opportunities resulted in better partnerships and a commitment to information sharing about
conservation practices that allow farmers to both protect their environment and communities,
while simultaneously operating their farms in a more efficient manner.
Although 2020 brought with it the COVID-19 pandemic and we faced numerous challenges because
of it, it also provided an opportunity to come together and help our communities when they
needed it most. In response to COVID, Region 5 collected, prepared, and transferred almost 10,000
surplus PPE items to partner response organizations. The Region 5 lab innovated methods to meet
customer needs while adhering to COVID restrictions, achieving 100% on time delivery of sample
analyses and exceeding 2020 targets.
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(1 of 3) Thanks to years of hard work,
Flint's water infrastructure has greatly
improved. The important steps that
@Cityof_Flint is taking will make it a
model for other communities on how
to safeguard residents from lead
exposure, epa.gov/newsreleases/e...
@mayorneeley
ed as an AOC and takes us one step closer to delisting. With this year's actions, cumulative BUI
removals since the start of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2010 has now reached a total
of 87.
Another major accomplishment for the Great Lakes National Program Office is EPA Administrator
Andrew Wheeler's Trash-Free Waters Program awarding seven grants totaling almost $2.1 million.
This innovative investment will support community efforts to remove trash from Great Lakes
beaches and waterbodies.
Reducing nutrients throughout the Great Lakes Basin is a major priority for EPA and our partners.
To make progress towards that goal, while also promoting innovative practices, Region 5 awarded
nearly $11 million in GLRI funding for 20 nutrient-reduction projects. This included the very first
EPA competitive grant opportunity for innovative market-based projects under the GLRI program
designed to accelerate nutrient reduction efforts in the Great Lakes basin.
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Thanks to EPA's effective partnership
with the State of Ohio, Steubenville,
Ohio meets the federal air quality
standard for sulfur dioxide. The area
has cleaner, healthier air which is
home to more than 38,000 people.
@OhioEPA
Cleaner Air

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