United States

Environ mental Ptotection

Agercy

GreatLakesNationalPrcgramOffice
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60604

February 1997

&EPA

Lake
Michigan
Fact
Sheet

CONTROLLING
LAKE MICHIGAN
LaMP POLLUTANTS

This fact sheet lists the pollutants by Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP)
category and highlights how these pollutants are addressed by U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) programs—both regulatory and voluntary. Other federal and state agencies have
additional authorities that may, in some way, control these pollutants. Every environmental
statute highlighted controls almost all LaMP pollutants in some way, and some of the LaMP
pollutants have been banned from intentional production. Bans, however, do not always require
destruction of products in use. Reviewing the effectiveness of existing controls is one step in
the process of identifying the need for further actions such as prevention, reduction, source
removal, or control activities. The LaMP process continues to evaluate the role of other
sources, such as air deposition and sediments.

What are the Lake Michigan Proposed LaMP Pollutants?

The September 30, 1993, draft LaMP describes three categories for Lake Michigan LaMP
pollutants: critical pollutants, pollutants of concern, and emerging pollutants.

Proposed LaMP Critical Pollutants

polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs)
dieldrin

chlordane	

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites

mercury	

dioxins	

furans

Proposed LaMP Pollutants of Concern

arsenic
cadmium
chromium
copper

cyanrae	** ** ;	

react	yy;'; > . ¦..? ^/. :>f~

zinc

hcxachlorobcnzcnc
toxaphene

poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Proposed LaMP EmergingPollutants

atrazme
selenium

PCB substrtute compounds

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EPA Regulatory Programs and
the Proposed La MP Pollutants

Clean Water Act

The goal of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended (or the Clean Water Act, CWA) is to restore
andmaintainthechemical, physical, andbiological integrity
of the nati on' s waters.

Wastewater and Storm Water Permits
Through the CWA, priority pollutants were identified by
Congress and interpreted by EPA to include 126 chemi-
cals. EPA evaluated thetechnologies available to remove
these pollutants from wastewater and selected the best
technologies for a number of industries. EPA then pre-
pared nati onal standards for those pollutants as a mass or
concentration remaining in wastewater after the b est
available waste-water treatment. All point source dis-
charges are requi red to obtai n a National Pol 1 ution Di s-
charge Elimination System (NPDES)permitto 1 awfully
discharge. NPDES permits require the operator ofthe
source to employ the best available water pollution control
technology andtofurtherreduce discharges of pollution,
as necessary, to comply with water-quality standards.

Water Quality Standards and Criteria
The same list of 126 chemicals must be considered in
preparing water-quality standards and criteriaunderthe
CWA. Water-quality standards consist ofthe designated
uses of the navigable waters (such as use and value for
public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife,
recreational purposes, and agricultural, industrial, and
other purposes including theiruseand for navigation)and
water-quality criteria based on suchuses, and anon-
degradation policy intended to maintain high-qualitywaters
intheir present condition. Toxic substances shall not be
present in waters ofthe Stateintoxicamounts. Water-
quality criteria for the 126 priority pollutants are typically
expressed numerically. In addition tobeing considered in
the development of N PDES permits for point source
discharges, water-quality standards and criteria may be
considered in efforts to control nonpoint sources of
pollution. Money made available under the CWA helps
States control nonpoint sources of pollution.

Final Water-Quality Guidance for the Great
Lakes System

The F inal W ater Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes
System, also known as the Great Lakes Initiative or GLI,
con si sts of num eric water-quality criteri a to protect aquati c
life, wildlife, andhuman health from 29 pollutants (includ-
ing all proposed critical pollutants except furans, and all
proposed pollutants ofconcern except lead); detailed
methodologies todevelop additional criteriaormaximum
values comparabl e to cri teri a for other pol 1 utants; a non -
degradation policy; procedures to determine the need for
and to cal cul ate water quality-based effluent 1 imits for
point source di scharges; and procedures for determining
the total maximum daily load of pollutants which may enter
the Lakes ortheirtributaries from all sources while still
attaining water-quality standards.

Comprehensive Environmental Response.
Compensation, and Liability Act
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa-
tion, and Liability Act, as amended (CERCL A or
Superfund) is probably best known for authorities to
respond to emergency rel eases of hazardous materials,
andto clean up high-profile sites on the National Priorities
List. While Superfund focuses on site-specific cleanups, it
also addresses off-site contamination of surface waters,
sediments, and ground water.

Superfund has several provisions that are preventative in
nature. These provisions address two different subsets of
the LaMP pollutants. First is the requirement to report, to
the National Response Center, spills greaterthan a
"reportable quantity" (RQ) of "hazardous substances"
which include all the proposed criti cal pollutants except
furans (with an RQ of 1 pound each), all of the proposed
pollutants of concern, and selenium (with various RQs,
depending on the chemical form of the release) Reporting
requi rements assure that the State and F ederal offici al s are
noti fied of th e spill, and em ergency responders, in eluding
responsible parties, address the spill to avoi d or mitigate
adverse impacts to human health or the environment.
Second, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program
underthe Emergency Planning and Community Rightto
Know Act (incorporated as a Superfund amendment)
appl i es to manufacturi ng faci 1 i ties (standard i ndustrial
classification codes 20-3 9) that employ 10 or more full-

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time employees and that manufacture or process more
than 25,000 pounds or use more than 10,000 pounds of
any listed chemical duringthe calendar year. Atotal of
24,600 facilities nationwide are required to make public
the levels of toxic chemicals they release into the air,
water, andland. FacilitiesreporttheirTRIinformation
annually to EPA and to the state in which they are located.
Th e 1 i st of chemi cal s requi red to b e reported i ncludes
some proposed critical pollutants (PCBs, chlordane, and
mercury), all the proposed pollutants of concern, and none
of the emerging pollutants.

Oil Pollution Act

The Oil Pollution Act address threats to the environment
from petroleum (i.e. PA Ms) and non-petroleum based oil
releases or spills. In addition to requiring that spill preven-
ti on measures (Spill Preventi on Control and Countermea-
sure Plans) be taken by production, storage, and transpor-
tation facilities, the Act requires EPA to prepare for (area-
wi de contingency pi an s and Facil ity Response PI ans) and
to respond to any oil spill affecti ng the i nl and waters of the
United States, including the Great Lakes system.

Clean Air Act

The purpose of the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA) i s
to protect and enhance the quality of the nation's air
resources to promote the public health and welfare and the
productive capacity of its population. A primary goal of
the CAAisto encourage and promote reasonable actions
for pollution prevention at all 1 evels of government. It
provides authority to regulate 14 of the 20 La MP pollut-
ants.

Section 112(b) of the 1990 CAA amendments contains a
list of 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). EPA is
requiredby Section 112C5 to publ i sh a list of categories

and subcategories of maj or sources (potential aggregate
emitters of 10 tons per year of any HAP or 25 tons per
year or more of any combination of HAPs) and area
sources (stationary sources of HAPs, excluding vehicles
and maj or sources) of these pollutants. In addition,
Section 112(c)(6) requiresEPAtoidentify andregulate
the sources responsibl e for at least 90 percent of the total
air emissions of alkylated lead compounds, poly cyclic
organic matter, hexa-chlorobenzene, mercury, PCBs, 2,3,
7,8-tetrachl orodi -benzofuran s, and 2,3,7,8-

tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Section 112(d) of the CAA directs EPA to establish a
maximum achievable control technology (MACT) stan-
dard for each of the source categories determined under
Section 112(c). Each MACT standard creates emission
limits for the HAPs emitted by sources within the category.
These hazardous ai r pol Iutants Ii sted i n Section 112(b) of
the CAA overlap with the LaMP proposed pollutants:
chlordane, DDE (a DDT metabolite), hexachloro-ben-
zene, PCBs, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin(2,3,7,8
TCDD, adioxin), toxaphene, arsenic compounds, cad-
mium compounds, chromium compounds, cyanide com-
pounds, lead compounds, mercury compounds, poly cyclic
organic matter, and selenium compounds.

In Section 112(m),theCAAprovidesEPAtheauthority
to regulate air emissi ons of hazardous air pollutants if air
deposition i s found to contribute to exceedences of water-
quality standards.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
The obj ectives of the Resource Conservation and Recov-
ery Act (RCRA) are to promote the protection of human
health and the environment and to conserve valuable
material and energy resources by proper management of
soli d and hazardous waste. The statute does not limit solid
wastes to a particular phase state and does not include a
list of chemicals. Rather, sol i d waste i s deti ried to i ncl ude
garbage, refuse and sludge resulting from particular
activities. Hazardous waste is solid waste which may pose
a sub stantial present or potenti al hazard to human health or
the environment when improperly managed. RCRA
encourages process substitution, materials recovery,
properly conducted recycling and reuse, and treatment
over di sposal of wastes.

Under Subtitle C of RCRA, regulatory definitions of solid
an d hazardous waste h ave b een determined. Hazardous
wastes have characteristics such as ignitability, corrosivity,
reactivity, and toxicity. Itisimportantto realize thata
single waste stream may contain multiple pollutants and
that a singl e pollutant may be regul ated under many RCRA
hazardous waste codes. For ex-ample, lead is identified
as a hazardous constituent in more than 20 RCRA hazard-
ous wastes. All of the proposed critical pollutants and
pollutants of concern are included in at least one RCRA

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hazardous waste, and, of the proposed emerging pollut-
ants, several selenium compounds are also identified as
hazardouswastes.

EPA Regulatory Programs and the Pro-
posed La MP Pollutants

Hazardous wastes are subj ectto varying levels of federal
regulation, depending in partupon thevolumeof waste
generated. A particular LaMP pollutant may be present in
a waste, but if hazardous waste i s created at a low rate at
that facility (e.g., less than 1 00 kg per cal endar m ont h), the
waste does not enter RCRA' s cradle-to-grave regulatory
scheme. Household hazardouswastes are also excluded
from the regul atory defi ni tion of hazardous waste. The
cradl e-to-grave regul atory scheme mean s that wastes are
tracked during active management by manifesting of
shipments from the generatorthrough subsequent handlers
to the waste's final recycling (e.g., burning for energy
recovery or solvent di still ation) or di sposal (e.g., combus-
tion, treatmenttorendernonhazardous, orplacementin a
landfill).

Under Subtitle D of RCRA, federal solid waste regulations
include criteri a for cl assi fi cati on of sol i d waste di sposal
facilities and practices, such as"appl ication to 1 and used
for the production of food-chain crops." This regulation
provides the criteri a di sti ngui shi ng between open dumps
and allowable application of solid waste containing cad-
mium (inunits of kilogram perhectare, depending on soil
properties) or PC Bs (concentrations greater than 10 mg/
kg must be incorporated into the soil, unless it is assured
thatPCB contentislessthan 0.2 mg/kgin animal feed or
less than 1.5mg/kg—fat basis—in milk). Cadmium and
PCBsarethe only two pollutants so specifically ad-
dressed.

Under the authority of RCRA Subtitle I regulations, EPA
regul ates underground storage tanks (USTs) containing
hazardous substances as defined in CERCLA (not includ-
ing RCRA Subtitl e C hazardous wastes) and petrol eum
products. Thetechnical standards include provisions for
design, installation, operating, release response, and
closure. As discussed under CERCLA reporting require-
ments for releases of hazardous substances, 17 of the 20
LaMP pollutants are covered by UST regulations.

Toxic Substances Control Act
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) gives EPA the
authority to gather information about the toxicity of par-
ticular chemicals and the extent to which people and the
environment are exposed to them. EPA then uses the
informati on to assess whetherthe chemicals cause unrea-
sonable ri sks to hum ans and the environment and to
institute appropriate control actions after weighing poten-
tial risks againstbenefits to the nation's economic and
social well-being. Essentially all chemical substances
except those used for the tbl I owi ng eight purposes are
subject toTSCA regulatory authority: pesticides, to-
bacco, nuclear material, fire-arms and ammunition, food,
food additives, drugs and cosmetics. These uses are
regul ated under other statutes.

Using PCBs as an example, the manufacture of PCBs was
b anned under T S C A authority in 1978, but due to specific
authorizations, exclusions, or exemptions, some PCBs can
be used to the end of their useful lives. TSCA also
prohibits dilution of PCBsto avoid TSCA provi sions,
regulates the disposal above 50 ppm, and controls the
burning for energy recovery of PCB waste oils between 2
and 5 0 ppm.. PCB s may still be used indefinitely in
electrical equipment, such as transformers and capacitors.
Because the manufacture of PCBs was banned i n the
1970s, PCB transformers and capacitors are at least 20
years old. This particular group of equipmentmay experi-
ence a higher failure rate as it approaches the end of its
useful life.

Of the other LaMP pollutants, TSCA regulates specific
uses of DDT and 1 ead and has specific testing and report-
ing requirements for dioxins and furans. Many PAHs have
uses which may be regulated under TSCA, but the TSCA
regulatory status of each woul d have to be checked
individually.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Roden-
ticide Act

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

(FIFRA) regulates substances created forthe purpose of
pest control. The statute requires EPA to balance risk and
benefit through regulation. Ofthe critical pollutants,
dieldrin, chlordane, and DDTarecanceledpesticides.
Cancel 1 ati on i m poses a date when sale and distribution

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may no longer take pi ace (usually, 18 months from the
effective date of cancellation). Endusers are permitted to
apply any existing stocks according to label instructions.
Although DDT is a canceled pesticide, it is present as a
by-product in dicofol, arelated pesticide currently inuse.
However, all dicofol products containing more than. 1
percent DDT contamination have been canceled. Fungi-
cide compounds containing mercury have al sobeen
canceled under FIFRA. Dioxins and furans are not
intentionally produced, but are created during the manu-
facture of some pesti ci des. The herbi ci des 2,4,5 -T
(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and si 1 vex were
suspended and canceled because of dioxin contamination.
Suspension is an action which disallows theuse of existing
stocks anduses an allowable disposal method, such as
incineration ortransferto an appropriate landfill.

Of the pollutants of concern, arseni c, though con si derably
restricted, is still a component of some pesticides. The
inorganic arsenicals, lead, calcium, and sodium arsenate
and sodium arsenite have been canceled, while arsenic
tri oxi de i s mai nly used for wood treatm ent, such as
pressure-treated lumber. The organic arsenicals, disodium
methane-arsenate, mono sodium methanearsenate, and
cacodylic acid are used as herbicides in and around
ornamental trees, shrubs, andlawns. Copper and zinc are
usedin pesti cideproducts. Hexachlorobenzenewas
cancel ed under FIF RA, but i s stil 1 contai ned as a 1 ow-1 eve!
contaminant in a few pesticides currently in use, such as
DCPA (dacthal) and chlorothalonil. Toxaphene's use as a
pesti ci de is canceled.

F IF RA authority i s also being used to prepare the pesti-
cide component of ground-water protection plans. The
State Management Plan (SNIP) proposed rule includes
voluntary best management practi ces to reduce the
contamination of ground water by pesticides. In the
proposed rule, thefivepesticides, atrazine, simazine,
cyanazine, alachlor, andmetolachlor will requirethat
SMPs be developed for each state. These five pesticides
are herbici des used on maj or crops (parti cul arly corn and
soybeans) i n the Lake Michi gan watershed. Only atrazi ne
hasbeenidentifiedasa LaM P pol lutant b ecause trace
amounts were detectedinLakeMichigan waterin 1992.
As part of the SMP process, the use of a given pesticide
can be restri cted in speci fi c porti on s of a state when the

ground-water concentration of the pesticide exceeds a
state's regulatory threshold and the contamination is not
from a point source.

EPA Voluntary Programs and Proposed
La MP Pollutants

Great Lakes Binationaf Toxics Strategy
Pollution preventi on activities can be targeted on LaMP
pollutants by applying the same four-step process laid out
in th eCanada—United States Strategy for the Virtual
Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the
(ire at Lakes (i nform ati on gathering, analysis, identification
of cost-effective options, and i mpl ementati on) to all ofthe
LaMP pollutants. The Strategy i ncl udes chal 1 enges to the
United States and Canada to virtually eliminate mercury,
dioxins and furans, chlordane, aldrin/dieldrin, DDT, mi rex,
toxaphene, octachlorostyrene, alkyl lead, PCBs,
hexachlorobenzene, andbenzo(a)pyrene—a significant
overlap with the draft Lake Michigan LaMP pollutants.
Information gathering and analysis can consist of reviewing
governrnent databases (e.g., TRI, RCRA biennial reports,
pesticideuse and field crop data) to identify the most
si gnifi cant sources of the pol lutants and their sources.

33/50 Program

A partnership approach m ay be appropri ate when regula-
tory approaches are not cost effective or are politically
impossible. InPai-tnerships in Preventing Pollution, A
Catalog of the Agency's Partnership Programs (United
States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA lOO-B-96-
001, Spring 1996), EPA explains howitisbuilding
partnerships with a variety of groups, including small and
large businesses, citizen groups, state and local govern-
ments, universities and trade associations. A successful
exam pi e of pol luti on preventi onisthe33/50 program,
whi ch set nati onal prioriti es for preventing chemi cal
releases to theenvironmentby targeting 17 pollutants
reported to TRI in 1988 for reduction by 33 percentin
1992 and 50 percent in 1995. The 33/50 target chemicals
were selected nationally on thebasis of relative toxicity,
volumes ofuse, andpotential for reduction through

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pollution prevention. The LaMP pollutants overlap with
these 33/50 chemi cal s: mercury and compounds, cadmium
and compounds, chromium and compounds, cyanide
compounds, and lead and compounds. The 1,300
individual voluntary pledges from corporate America
represent a commitment to a cl eaner environment in a
healthy economy.

Pesticide Environmental Stewardship
Program

EPA also describes the Pesticide Environmental Steward-
ship Program (PESP) in the publication,"Partnerships in
Preventing Pollution, A Catalog of the Agency's
Partnership Programs. " The PESP is abroad effort by
EPA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and
the Food and Drug Administration to reduce pesticideuse
and risk in agriculture and non-agricultural settings. In
September 1993, the three agencies announced a federal
commitment to two m aj or goal s:

Developing specific use/risk reduction strategies
that include reliance on biological pesticides and
other approaches to pest control that are thought to
be saferthan traditional chemical methods.

sector teams made up of representatives from:

Environmental Organizations
« Environmental Justice and Community organizations
Industry
Labor

Federal, State, and Local governments.

These teams are developing holistic, consensus-based
strategies to public health and environmental protection
that are fl exible, innovative alternatives to the current
regulatory system. The six industries participating are:

AutomobileManufacturing
Computers and Electronics
Iron and Steel
Metal Finishing
Petroleum Refining
Printing

Having 75 percent of U. S. agricultural acreage
adopt integrated pest management programs by
the year 2000.

One of the way s to reduce the use of persi stent toxicants
for pest control is to use genetically engineered crops,
such as Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) corn, potatoes and
cotton. Genetic engineering i s also used to prepare
herbicide-resistant crops, such as Round-up Ready
Soybeans. Whilenot necessarily reducing overall pesti-
cide use, glyphosate (the active ingredient of Round-up)
has not become a widespread water contaminant.

Common Sense Initiative
Through thi s initiative, EPA i s moving beyond the tradi -
tional singlemedia, one-size-fits-all approach to environ-
mental and public health protection towards a holistic,
industry-by-industry approach that 1 ooks across all medi a.
Approximately 40 proj ects are underway in six industry

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