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WIMS is on our late Summer publication break continuing through Labor Day. We will resume publication on Tuesday, September 3, 2013.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
GLMRIS Issues Updated Eagle Marsh ANS Controls Report
Aug 14: The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Team has released the updated Eagle Marsh Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Controls Report, which identifies options and technologies to prevent the transfer via water of Asian carp and other ANS between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins at Eagle Marsh wetlands preserve, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The report was updated based on public comments and is now available on the GLMRIS website.
In the draft report released November 16, 2012, nine structural alternatives were compared and at least three -- all hydrologic separation alternatives -- were determined to have a "high" likelihood of preventing inter-basin transfer of ANS across Eagle Marsh. The draft was open to public review and comments for 60 days following its release, and a public meeting was held December 2012.
Based on the results of the public review and stakeholder meetings, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and interested stakeholders are conducting further evaluations of variations of Alternatives H and I in the report that could be implemented independently of GLMRIS. Alternatives H and I involve reconstructing an existing agricultural berm along the Graham-McCulloch Ditch at Eagle Marsh.
One option includes a reconstruction of the existing berm at Eagle Marsh to prevent flood water from passing between the Great Lakes Basin and the Mississippi River Basin during flood events. The reconstructed berm would be similar in height to the existing berm for much of its length, with existing low areas raised and high areas lowered to create a uniform berm. This option is still undergoing evaluation due to complexities in engineering and hydrological analyses, real estate and funding. Additionally, compliance with environmental and other laws still need to be evaluated before a final decision is made.
The Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) holds an easement on much of the property on which Eagle Marsh is located and is interested in taking the lead on design of the potential berm reconstruction and implementation of a solution to the potential ANS transfer at Eagle Marsh. The Eagle Marsh property is jointly owned by the Little River Wetlands Project (LRWP) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and both organizations have been active in developing a solution.
USACE has actively coordinated with IDNR, U.S. Geological Survey, NRCS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. EPA, Council on Environmental Quality, LRWP, Maumee River Basin Commission, Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District and Allen County Surveyor's Office throughout the development of the report.
Of the 18 pathways studied in GLMRIS Focus Area 2, Eagle Marsh was the only one identified as having a high risk for potential transfer of ANS between basins, thus warranting its own ANS controls report. Even after a temporary fence was built in 2010 for Asian carp prevention, Eagle Marsh was still identified as high risk for transfer of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus or VHS.
Based on the results of the public review and stakeholder meetings, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and interested stakeholders are conducting further evaluations of variations of Alternatives H and I in the report that could be implemented independently of GLMRIS. Alternatives H and I involve reconstructing an existing agricultural berm along the Graham-McCulloch Ditch at Eagle Marsh.
One option includes a reconstruction of the existing berm at Eagle Marsh to prevent flood water from passing between the Great Lakes Basin and the Mississippi River Basin during flood events. The reconstructed berm would be similar in height to the existing berm for much of its length, with existing low areas raised and high areas lowered to create a uniform berm. This option is still undergoing evaluation due to complexities in engineering and hydrological analyses, real estate and funding. Additionally, compliance with environmental and other laws still need to be evaluated before a final decision is made.
The Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) holds an easement on much of the property on which Eagle Marsh is located and is interested in taking the lead on design of the potential berm reconstruction and implementation of a solution to the potential ANS transfer at Eagle Marsh. The Eagle Marsh property is jointly owned by the Little River Wetlands Project (LRWP) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and both organizations have been active in developing a solution.
USACE has actively coordinated with IDNR, U.S. Geological Survey, NRCS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. EPA, Council on Environmental Quality, LRWP, Maumee River Basin Commission, Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District and Allen County Surveyor's Office throughout the development of the report.
Of the 18 pathways studied in GLMRIS Focus Area 2, Eagle Marsh was the only one identified as having a high risk for potential transfer of ANS between basins, thus warranting its own ANS controls report. Even after a temporary fence was built in 2010 for Asian carp prevention, Eagle Marsh was still identified as high risk for transfer of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus or VHS.
Access a release from GLMRIS (click here). Access links to the Eagle Marsh report and all appendices and a fact sheet (click here). [GLakes/ANS]
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Great Lakes Socioeconomics & Climate Change
Aug 13: A jointly developed interactive map launched this month by the University of Michigan's Graham Sustainability Institute and Headwaters Economics gives Great Lakes policymakers and decision-makers easy access to targeted data to help them plan for, and adapt to, the regional impacts of climate change. The free online tool -- the "Socioeconomics and Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region" map -- provides social, economic and demographic statistics on 225 counties in the region, overlaid with detailed data about municipal spending, land-use change and climate-change characteristics. It was co-developed by the Graham Sustainability Institute (as part of its Great Lakes Adaptation Assessment for Cities project, known as GLAA-C) and Headwaters Economics, an independent, nonprofit research group. The Kresge Foundation funded and facilitated the collaboration.
Don Scavia, director of the Graham Sustainability Institute said, "We anticipate that the impacts of climate variability and change will be felt differently in different regions of the Great Lakes based on their economies, infrastructure and vulnerable populations. This collaboratively built resource is designed to give these communities some of the solutions-focused, place-based climate science they need to adapt." Elizabeth Gibbons, GLAA-C project manager and research area specialist said, "The interactive map is geared toward helping stakeholders see how changes in climate interact with social, economic and land-use changes across the region. We're really hoping it proves to be a valuable tool for all the municipalities who use it."
The online tool—which includes historical data from 1951 to 2011 -- covers counties in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. U-M and Headwaters Economics expect to co-develop a similar map for Ontario in the months ahead.
Don Scavia, director of the Graham Sustainability Institute said, "We anticipate that the impacts of climate variability and change will be felt differently in different regions of the Great Lakes based on their economies, infrastructure and vulnerable populations. This collaboratively built resource is designed to give these communities some of the solutions-focused, place-based climate science they need to adapt." Elizabeth Gibbons, GLAA-C project manager and research area specialist said, "The interactive map is geared toward helping stakeholders see how changes in climate interact with social, economic and land-use changes across the region. We're really hoping it proves to be a valuable tool for all the municipalities who use it."
The online tool—which includes historical data from 1951 to 2011 -- covers counties in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. U-M and Headwaters Economics expect to co-develop a similar map for Ontario in the months ahead.
Access a release (click here). Access the online interactive map from the Graham website (click here). Access the online interactive map from the Headwaters website (click here). [#GLakes, #Climate]
Thursday, August 8, 2013
New Science On Toxics Chemical In The Great Lakes
Aug 6: HealthyStuff.org has partnered with the Mind the Store campaign to craft a mini-report that highlights some of the new science around toxic chemical pollutants in the Great Lakes, including the nasty "PBT" chemicals that stay in the environment, to "emerging contaminants" like Triclosan, which are rapidly rising as Great Lakes pollutants. Toxic chemicals have a variety of routes they travel: some are released directly from manufacturing sites or creep their way out of landfills into the ground water, rivers and lakes, while others are the result of legacy pollution from days past. So the researchers mapped out where the Hazardous 100+ chemicals have been found in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern to illustrate this legacy of pollution.
Access the mini-report including references and links (click here). Access the Hazardous 100+ List of Chemicals of High Concern (click here). Access the HealthyStuff website for more information (click here). [#GLakes/Toxics]
Monday, August 5, 2013
Corps Contracts For A New Electric Carp Barrier
Aug 1: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District awarded a contract in the amount of $2.8 million July 31, 2013, to E.P. Doyle & Son LLC for construction of water structures as part of a new electric barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) in Romeoville, IL. E.P. Doyle & Son LLC is certified as a small business concern. The firm-fixed-price construction contract is for the fabrication and in-water installation of electrodes and other in-water structures for a new barrier, as authorized by Congress, as an upgrade to the demonstration barrier that has been online since 2002. Installation is slated for spring 2014. Additional contracts will follow to complete the barrier control building and activate the barrier.
USACE indicated in a release that here are two other electric barriers in the CSSC. The barriers are operated to deter the inter-basin establishment of Asian carp and other fish through an electric field in the water via the CSSC. The barriers are one control technology in a broad interagency effort to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp establishment.
USACE indicated in a release that here are two other electric barriers in the CSSC. The barriers are operated to deter the inter-basin establishment of Asian carp and other fish through an electric field in the water via the CSSC. The barriers are one control technology in a broad interagency effort to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp establishment.
The barriers are complex electrical and mechanical systems and must periodically be powered down for maintenance. Therefore, more than one barrier is needed so at least one can be active at any time. Chicago District Commander Col. Frederic A. Drummond Jr. said, "Each barrier built takes lessons learned from the previous ones to ensure the most effective prevention tool possible. We continue to work with our partners and stakeholders to assess the Asian carp threat and make informed decisions regarding barrier operations."
USACE said that laboratory and tagged-fish results show that the electric barriers are an effective fish deterrent. As of spring 2013, individually-coded transmitters have been surgically implanted into approximately 238 fish of all sizes in the Chicago Area Waterway System. There have been nearly 6 million detections of these fish, and no tagged fish have crossed the barriers in the upstream direction. No Asian carp have been captured or observed above the barriers in the last two years. Currently, the adult population front of Asian carp is about 55 miles from Lake Michigan and has not moved for several years. The electric barriers are approximately 37 miles from Lake Michigan.
USACE said that laboratory and tagged-fish results show that the electric barriers are an effective fish deterrent. As of spring 2013, individually-coded transmitters have been surgically implanted into approximately 238 fish of all sizes in the Chicago Area Waterway System. There have been nearly 6 million detections of these fish, and no tagged fish have crossed the barriers in the upstream direction. No Asian carp have been captured or observed above the barriers in the last two years. Currently, the adult population front of Asian carp is about 55 miles from Lake Michigan and has not moved for several years. The electric barriers are approximately 37 miles from Lake Michigan.
Access a release from USACE (click here). Access the USACE Aquatic Nuisance Species Portal for more information (click here). Access the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (click here). [#GLakes/ANS]
Friday, August 2, 2013
Great Lakes Governors RFP Re: Maritime Transportation
Aug 1: The Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) seeks to hire a consultant or consulting firm (consultant), part-time. The primary role of the consultant will be to analyze the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River maritime transportation system and develop recommendations that will ultimately be shared with the Great Lakes Governors and Premiers for their consideration in the development of policies to be adopted and programs that may be implemented.
The position requires experience on port, transportation and maritime issues. The consultant will work closely with the CGLG staff and will report to the Executive Director. The consultant will also work closely with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Maritime Task Force (Task Force) as well as other staff designated by the Great Lakes States, Ontario and Québec. Proposals will be accepted via email until August 31, 2013.
Access the CGLG website and a brief announcement of the RFP (click here). Access the complete RFP for details (click here). [#GLakes]
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