Presque Isle Bay AOC Air Deposition Study

Jan 15: Presque Isle Bay near Erie, Pennsylvania, is one of 43 locations around the Great Lakes region to have been designated an “Area of Concern” by the International Joint Commission (IJC), indicating that past use and contamination of the bay has led to impairments on the ability to fully use the bay for beneficial purposes. Presque Isle Bay has become the first of these 43 areas to be re-designated as an “Area of Recovery,” indicating that the bay’s management committee has determined that allowing a natural recovery -- rather than an active remediation project -- is the best course for bringing the bay back to full health. Local, state and national officials are therefore working hard to eliminate remaining sources of pollution to the bay and determine how long a wait is needed until the bay will return to health on its own.

Although historical pollution of the bay was largely through industrial discharges directly into the bay’s waters, the great majority of such releases have now been eliminated. However, large amounts of some toxic substances may be entering the bay -- and Lake Erie to which it connects -- by depositing from the atmosphere. If chemicals are entering from the atmosphere at a significant level, it could significantly affect the time it will take for the bay to recover and for pollution levels in the bay’s sediment to decrease.

Among the primary contaminants causing concern in Presque Isle Bay are a group known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Unlike some persistent chemicals that can be transported across the globe in the atmosphere, PAHs are degraded quickly enough in the atmosphere that most deposition of these chemicals is likely to come from relatively local (within a few hundred miles) sources.

To determine the amount of these chemicals entering the bay, a study has been undertaken by a research team at Gannon University, led by Dr. Michelle Homan and Dr. Weslene Tallmadge, sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission’s Great Lakes Air Deposition (GLAD) Program. The results of the study allowed the research team to make some preliminary assessments of the relative importance of various sources to the PAH concentrations and deposition to the bay. Activities are now underway to collect additional sampling data, which is needed to improve the results of the source identification work.

Access a posted announcement of the project with links to additional information (click here). Access details on the project including a summary report and the complete final report (click here).

Groups Appeal Ohio Lake Erie Access Decision

Jan 8: Conservation groups took the first step to appeal an Ohio lower court decision that blocks Ohio citizens from walking, fishing and recreating along the shores of Lake Erie. The groups seek to overturn a December 11th decision by Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Eugene Lucci, which redefines the boundary separating public and private property along the Lake Erie shoreline from the ordinary high water mark to the point at which the water meets land from moment to moment -- effectively barring citizens from the shores of Lake Erie unless they are in the lake itself. The case is, Merrill v. State of Ohio and NWF, et. al (Case No. 04CV001080). The National Wildlife Federation, Ohio Environmental Council and League of Ohio Sportsmen filed the notice of appeal with the Eleventh District Court of Appeals of Ohio.

Neil Kagan, senior attorney for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) said, “We are filing this appeal to protect the historic right of all citizens to stroll, fish and recreate along the shores of Lake Erie. The law is clear: The Lake Erie shoreline is a public trust for all to enjoy.” The lower court ruling goes against more than 100 years of Ohio legal precedent, which holds that the land up to the high water mark be held in public trust.

Keith Dimoff, executive director for the Ohio Environmental Council said, “Our appeal comes down to one thing -- beating back an attempt to strip Ohio citizens of their centuries-old right to access the shores of Lake Erie. This flawed decision will mean fences and 'KEEP OUT' signs along our shore; we will not let that happen.” The groups said that Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann is also expected to file a notice of appeal today, even though Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has sided publicly with the plaintiffs who are attempting to keep Ohio citizens off the shores of Lake Erie.

The case is similar to a landmark Michigan lawsuit that resulted in a unanimous Michigan Supreme Court decision upholding the public trust up to the high water mark. On July 29, 2005 the Michigan Supreme Court decided, Glass v. Goeckel, Case No. 126409. In the 5-2 decision, the Michigan Supreme Court overruled , a highly controversial Appeals Court decision, and said that under the public trust doctrine individuals retain the right to walk freely along the shoreline of the Great Lakes up to the ordinary high water mark. In its decision the Michigan High Court defined the "high water mark" using a Wisconsin definition, and clarified the distinction between "littoral property" pertaining to property on the seas, oceans or Great Lakes; and "riparian,” pertaining to property on rivers and streams.

Access a release from NWF (click here). Access Judge Lucci's decision (click here). Access the Ohio Attorney General's website (click here). Access the complete Michigan Supreme Court opinion and dissent (click here). Access links to all of the briefs filed in the Michigan Supreme Court case (click here).

State Of The Strait - Status and Trends Of Key Indicators 2007

Dec 4: This report, State of the Strait - Status and Trends of Key Indicators, 2007, is based on the Detroit River-Western Lake Erie Indicator Project, a three-year U.S.-Canada effort to compile and summarize long-term trend data, and the 2006 State of the Strait Conference held in Flat Rock, Michigan. An indicator is a measurable feature that provides useful information on ecosystem status, quality or trends and the factors that affect them. Examples of indicators used in this report include contaminants in fish, coastal wetland loss, reproductive success of threatened and endangered species, urban sprawl, land use changes, pollutant emissions, and many others. Indicator reporting clearly communicates ecosystem trends to policy makers and managers to aid in decision-making.

Indicators in the report are placed into three different categories to illustrate causal relationships: pressure, state, and response. Pressure indicators describe the direct and indirect pressures, including human activities that impact the environment. State indicators describe the physical, chemical, and biological condition of the natural world and human health and welfare. Response indicators describe societal actions in policy or behavior undertaken to improve and protect the environment. Policy-makers and decision-makers at all levels need timely, reliable, and relevant information on indicators for management purposes. Indicators measure progress toward management goals and objectives. From a management perspective, particular emphasis needs to be placed on quantifying targets and endpoints for management programs.
The purpose of the project was to: compile and interpret long-term data bases for ecosystem indicators from the Detroit River-Western Lake Erie basin; translate the information into understandable terms for policy-makers and managers; and make these indicator data and trends readily available.

Key sponsors of the 2006 State of the Strait Conference and this report include: Canadian Consulate; CDM; Detroit Water and Sewerage Department; DTE Energy; Environment Canada; Environmental Management Association; Essex Region Conservation Authority; Friends of the Detroit River; Great Lakes Fishery Trust; International Joint Commission; International Wildlife Refuge Alliance; Metropolitan Affairs Coalition; Michigan Sea Grant; University of Michigan-Dearborn; University of Windsor; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Access a posted announcement on the report (click here). Access the website for the complete 327-page report for complete information including links to the full report, individual sections and related information (click here). Access a 3-page executive summary (click here). Access the related Great Lakes Environmental Indicator Project website for additional information (click here). Access the WIMS new Great Lakes Environment Blog for additional information (click here).