USACE Releases ANS Control Paper For Comment

Dec 21: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has published and released for comment the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Control Paper: Inventory of Available Controls for Aquatic Nuisance Species of Concern – Chicago Area Waterway System. USACE will be hosting two (2) conference calls regarding the paper on January 10 and February 8, and is accepting comments on the paper through Friday, February 17, 2012 [76 FR 79167-79168, 12/21/11].

 

    The purpose of the ANS Control Paper is to identify the range of options or technologies available to prevent the ANS of Concern transfer in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). Each selected Control was identified as one that is potentially effective at preventing the transfer of the 39 ANS of Concern-CAWS via aquatic pathways. The organisms were previously identified as non-native species to be the initial focus of Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS). The paper does not contain specific recommendations, rank the effectiveness of the Controls, or identify constraints, impacts, regulatory requirements or technological feasibility of application.

 

    Controls include those that modify flow within a waterway, such as hydrologic separation of the basins, those that modify the water quality of a waterway, chemical application to ANS, collection and removal of ANS from a waterway, as well as other types of Controls currently in research and development. USACE has prepared a fact sheet for each of the 27 ANS Controls.

 

    USACE will consider comments received during the comment period, and will update the ANS Control Paper in spring 2012. An updated, final report will be posted on the GLMRIS website. Using the information contained in the paper, USACE will develop screening criteria consistent with study objectives and refine the list of ANS Controls to determine which warrant further consideration. USACE will formulate plans comprised of one or more of the screened ANS Controls in consideration of four criteria: completeness, effectiveness, efficiency and acceptability. USACE will then evaluate and compare the effects of the alternative plans.

 

    Access the Control Paper website and link to the complete report, fact sheets, commenting form & instructions and related information (click here). Access the FR announcement (click here). [#GLakes]

 

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Agencies Settle With Chicago Governments To Stop Sewer Discharges

Dec 14: U.S. EPA, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the State of Illinois announced a Clean Water Act (CWA) settlement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to resolve claims that untreated sewer discharges were released into Chicago area waterways during flood and wet weather events. The settlement will safeguard water quality and protect people's health by capturing stormwater and wastewater from the combined sewer system, which services the city of Chicago and 51 communities.

    EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman said, "This consent decree requires MWRD to invest in green roofs, rain gardens and other green infrastructure to prevent basement flooding in the neighborhoods that are most severely impacted by sewer overflows. The enforceable schedule established by this consent decree will ensure completion of the deep tunnel and reservoir system to control untreated sewage releases into Chicago area rivers and Lake Michigan." Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice said, "These much needed upgrades to Chicago's sewer infrastructure will reduce combined sewage overflows and the public's exposure to harmful pathogens. The use of innovative green infrastructure in the city's urban core will reduce runoff and flooding, and improve the quality of the environment where people live."

    Under the settlement, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) will work to complete a tunnel and reservoir plan to increase its capacity to handle wet weather events and address combined sewer overflow discharges. The project will be completed in a series of stages in 2015, 2017 and 2029. The settlement also requires MWRD to control trash and debris in overflows using skimmer boats to remove debris from the water so it can be collected and properly managed, making waterways cleaner and healthier. MWRD is also required to implement a green infrastructure program that will reduce stormwater runoff in areas serviced by MWRD by distributing rain barrels and developing projects to build green roofs, rain gardens, or use pervious paving materials in urban neighborhoods. MWRD has also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $675,000.

 

    Access a release from EPA Region 5 and link to details on the settlement and related information (click here).

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Coast Guard Issues Final Rule For Chicago Ship Canal

Dec 12: The U.S. Coast Guard issued a final rule [76 FR 77121-77125] establishing both a safety zone and a Regulated Navigation Area on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near  Romeoville, IL. This final rule places navigational, environmental, and operational restrictions on all vessels transiting the navigable waters located adjacent to and over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' electrical dispersal fish barrier system. This rule is effective in the CFR on December 12, 2011. This rule is effective with actual notice for purposes of enforcement at 5:30 pm on December 1, 2011. The Agency explains that a 30 day effective period is unnecessary in this case because the safety zone and regulated navigation area (RNA) established by this rule have been in effect and enforced on a temporary basis for the last twelve months.

 

    The Coast Guard indicates that, "In response to the threat of Asian carp reaching the Great Lakes and devastating the Great Lakes commercial and sport fishing industries, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began in 2002 the operation of a series of electrical barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC). These barriers are located approximately 30 miles from Lake Michigan and create an electric field in the water by pulsing low voltage DC current through steel cables secured to the
bottom of the canal. Currently, three electrical barriers are in operation. These barriers are meant to prevent and reduce the dispersal of Asian carp in the CSSC.

    The Coast Guard's Ninth District Commander has determined that the electric current radiated from the electric barriers poses certain safety risks to commercial vessels, recreational boaters, and people on or in portions of the CSSC in the vicinity of the barriers. Consequently, the Coast Guard's Ninth District Commander has concluded that an RNA [regulated navigation area] is necessary to mitigate such risks."

 

    Access the complete final rule (click here).

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Corps Assessment Of Cargo Traffic Through Chicago Waterway

Dec 7: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released the Baseline Assessment of Cargo Traffic on the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), an interim product of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS). According to an announcement, the assessment is intended to present commodity traffic data, as it relates to its movement into CAWS, through CAWS and within CAWS. The report also details commodity traffic and commodity group traffic through the CAWS locks, relative to the CAWS and the overall Illinois Waterway passing through the Lockport Lock and Dam, the Thomas J. O'Brien Lock and Dam and the Chicago Harbor Lock and Dam; historic traffic trends; consumers of the products and how they are typically used and how they generally move throughout the system.

    In September 2011, USACE released the Baseline Assessment of Non-Cargo CAWS Traffic, which assessed lock traffic by commercial passenger, recreational and governmental vessels. The data from these two reports will be used to develop navigation system models and waterway traffic forecasts in order to make the best potential recommendation for aquatic nuisance species controls on the waterway and, if necessary, mitigation measures. USACE said it will host a conference call January 5, 2012, at 10:00 AM (CST) for interested parties to ask questions on the Cargo Assessment.

    Access a link to the complete report, information on the conference call and other reports from the GLMRIS (click here). [#GLakes]

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Experts & National Attorneys General Discuss Invasive Species

Nov 30: Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette moderated an invasive species panel discussion before the Winter Meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), held in San Antonio, TX. The panel is an extension of Schuette's efforts to build a national coalition "to demand tough action by Congress" to combat the spread of invasive species through the Chicago Waterway System, including the voracious Asian carp. Schuette said, "Invasive species like Asian carp and zebra mussels cause massive economic and ecological destruction to states across the nation. It's time for Congress to take action and close the wide-open doorway at Chicago."

    According to a release from Schuette, the three nationally renowned invasive species experts serving on the panel at Schuette's request included: Lindsey Chadderton, Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Director for the Nature Conservancy; Andy Buchsbaum, Great Lakes Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation; and Lori Williams, Executive Director, for the National Invasive Species Council. A copy of the presentation offered by the panel is available on the Attorney General's website (see link below). 

    On September 26, 2011, Schuette announced a national coalition of seventeen attorneys general signed a letter to the leaders of three Congressional committees calling for them to move federal legislation (H.R. 892, S. 471) that would force a quicker resolution to the on-going study of permanent ecological separation between the Great Lakes and Mississippi river basins currently being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [See WIMS 9/27/11]. Schuette is also continuing forward with Michigan's lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers and the Chicago Water District, joined by attorneys general from Minnesota Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The states filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case and require the Corps to take action to install block nets and accelerate the completion of its study of permanent ecological separation between the Great Lakes and Mississippi river basins [See WIMS 10/26/11].

 

    Access a release from AG Schuette (click here). Access the complete 53-slide presentation (click here). Access legislative details for H.R.892 (click here). Access legislative details for S.471(click here).

 

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