US-Canada Release Nearshore Areas Of The Great Lakes 2009 Report

Sep 18: Environment Canada and the U.S. EPA released the Nearshore Areas of the Great Lakes 2009 report. The report describes the current state of nearshore area environmental conditions and changes in nearshore areas of the Great Lakes since 1996, and suggests management implications related to nearshore issues. Nearshore areas of the Great Lakes are important because this is where land-based activities can impact water quality and where humans generally interact with the Great Lakes.

The report includes information on the issues of botulism, harmful algae blooms, viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), and shoreline development, among other stressors. Experts in the United States and Canada contributed the chapters for the report, which was prepared for the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) 2008.

Access the complete report (click here, Note we experienced problems with this website). Access the State of the Great Lakes 2009 Highlights report (click here). Access EPA's SOLEC website for additional information (click here).

State Of The Great Lakes 2009 Highlights Report

Jun 19: U.S. EPA and Environment Canada have released, The State of the Great Lakes 2009 Highlights, report. The Highlights report is based on environmental indicator reports and information on the nearshore that was prepared for the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, October 22 23, 2008. Many experts on various components of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem contributed to the process. Data sources and contact information for each indicator are included in the technical report, State of the Great Lakes 2009. For the nearshore components, similar information can be found in the report Nearshore Areas of the Great Lakes 2009.

This assessment is in accordance with the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Indicator reports are supported by scientific information and, to the extent feasible, assessed by Great Lakes experts from Canada and the United States, along with a review of scientific papers and use of best professional judgment. Indicators are organized into nine categories: Coastal Zones and Aquatic Habitats (combined in this report), Invasive Species, Contamination, Human Health, Biotic Communities, Resource Utilization, Land Use-Land Cover, and Climate Change.

Overall assessments and management challenges were prepared for each category to the extent that indicator information was available. The State of the Great Lakes 2009 Highlights report is derived from a more detailed State of the Great Lakes 2009 report.

Access the Highlights report (click here). Access additional SOLEC information, previous reports and other publications (click here). Access EPA's SOLEC website for additional information (click here).

Using Computer Models In Great Lakes Decision-Making

May 2: A new publication by researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and the University of Michigan -- The Use of Models in Great Lakes Decision Making, An Interdisciplinary Synthesis -- examines how computer simulation models were used in four case studies in the Great Lakes. The four cases were chosen because they represent the increasing demands being placed on both environmental managers and computer modelers. They covered high interest topics as diverse as fish stocking and lake levels. Dr. Jack Manno of ESF said, “Computer models have been used for a long time, but no one asked how to do the modeling to best promote good decision making. The issue is whether the models really answer the right questions.”

Manno said the researchers looked at how models were used and which ones worked well in addressing the issue at hand and communicating the model's meaning to stakeholders. He said the publication suggests a process that can be used when facing a policy issue that has environmental aspects. The research project, “The Development and Use of Predictive Models in Great Lakes Decision-Making: An Interdisciplinary Synthesis,” was funded with a one-year, $65,330 grant from New York Sea Grant.

Access an announcement of the report (click here). Access a copy of the 96-page publication (click here).

House Hearing On Improving Great Lakes Water Quality

Jan 23: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Chaired by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) held a hearing entitled, Progress Toward Improving Water Quality in the Great Lakes. The Subcommittee received testimony from representatives from the U.S. EPA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the International Joint Commission, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and members of the United States House of Representatives on Great Lakes water quality. Representatives testifying included: Peter Visclosky (D-IN); Bart Stupak (D-MI); and Mark Kirk (R-IL); and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL).

GAO delivered testimony entitled, Great Lakes Initiative: EPA and States Have Made Progress, but Much Remains to Be Done If Water Quality Goals Are to Be Achieved (GAO-08-312T, January 23, 2007). GAO indicated that millions of people in the United States and Canada depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water, recreation, and economic livelihood. In 1995, EPA issued the Great Lakes Initiative (GLI). The GLI established water quality criteria to be used by states to establish pollutant discharge limits for some BCCs and other pollutants that are discharged by point sources. The GLI also allows states to include flexible permit implementation procedures (flexibilities) that allow facilities’ discharges to exceed GLI criteria.

GAO's testimony was based on its July 2005 report, Great Lakes Initiative: EPA Needs to Better Ensure the Complete and Consistent Implementation of Water Quality Standards (GAO-05-829) and updated information from EPA and the Great Lakes states. The statement addressed: (1) the status of EPA’s efforts to develop and approve methods to measure pollutants at the GLI water quality criteria levels, (2) the use of permit flexibilities, and (3) EPA’s actions to implement GAO’s 2005 recommendations.

GAO said in its 2005 report, it made a number of recommendations to EPA to help ensure full and consistent implementation of the GLI and to improve measures for monitoring progress toward achieving GLI’s goals. GAO said EPA has taken some actions to implement the recommendations. For example, EPA has begun to review the efforts and progress made by one category of facilities -- municipal wastewater treatment plants -- to reduce their mercury discharges into the basin. However, until EPA gathers more information on the implementation of GLI and the impact it has had on reducing pollutant discharges from point sources, as we recommended, it will not be able to fully assess progress toward GLI goals.

EPA testified that, "While significant and emerging challenges remain, the Great Lakes have made a dramatic comeback from severely polluted conditions - 30 to 40 years ago when the Lakes were seemingly on the verge of collapse... We have also made significant progress in incorporating revised permit limits into NPDES permits that reflect the Guidance [GLI]. The percentage of NPDES permitted discharges to the Lakes or major tributaries that had permit limits reflecting the Guidance's water quality standards has increased from 62% in 2002 to 95% in 2007." The Agency cited and listed many of the accomplishments of the recent State of the Great Lakes 2007 [See WIMS 6/7/07 and below].

Access the hearing website for background information and links to all testimony (click here). Access the 2007 Highlights Report on the State of the Great Lakes 2007 and other documents about Great Lakes indicators and the SOLEC website (click here); or the Binational website (click here).