Great Lakes News 1/9/14

<> Advisory Board Releases Final Recommendations for 2015-2019 GLRI Action Plan - The Great Lakes Advisory Board (Board) recommends that the Federal Interagency Task Force (IATF) take a balanced approach that will result in achieving the maximum ecosystem improvements under the next generation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).

<> Grants between $25,000 and $1,000,000 available from Sustain Our Great Lakes - Sustain Our Great Lakes  has announced a call for proposals for their grant program. Grant funding is available for projects that work on habitat restoration, or delisting beneficial use impairments that are related to habitat. Pre-proposals will be due February 17, 2014. The grant application can be found here. On January 15, the group will host a webinar that discusses the details 

·   Sustain Our Great Lakes is now accepting applications for competitive funding through its 2014 grant cycle.  

GLMRIS Report to control Asian Carp

<> USACE submitted to Congress the GLMRIS Report to control Asian Carp and other invasive species – The report presents a range of options and technologies available to prevent aquatic nuisance species (ANS) movement between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic connections. Comments will be accepted until 30 days following the last public meeting, or March 3, 2014. 

• Senator Stabenow, Representative Camp, Great Lakes Advocates Say More Action Needed Following Release of Asian Carp Report - Following the release of a new report on ways to stop Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman Dave Camp today joined with Great Lakes experts and advocates to urge that more action be taken to stop the invasive fish that could wreak havoc on the Great Lakes' ecosystem.

• Levin statement on Great Lakes invasive species study
• New federal report marks turning point in fight against Asian carp
• Great Lakes Conservation Leaders React to Corps' Asian Carp Prevention Study

Multiple Postings January 6, 2014

<> GLMRIS Interbasin Study Being Released - On January 6, 2014, the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Report will be released to the public and submitted to Congress. The GLMRIS Report presents a range of options and technologies to prevent aquatic nuisance species (ANS) movement between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic connections.

<> Projects Wanted - Funding Opportunity - The Great Lakes Protection Fund seeks to support a suite of projects that will design, develop, test and evaluate innovations to advance the next generation of actions to protect and restore the ecological health of the Great Lakes. Preproposals received by February 3, 2014 can be considered for support at the Fund's June 2014 board meeting.

<> Recent gain in Great Lakes coastal wetlands shadows impending losses, experts warn - The Great Lakes region gained 13,000 acres of coastal wetlands from 2004-09, due to low lake levels - and experts warn that this gain may obscure much larger, longer-term losses that are likely to continue. 

<> Making Great Lakes wind power 'bird friendly' - A $2 million project funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative used radars to track bird migration and bat populations in the Great Lakes basin. The project could make Great Lakes wind power more 'bird friendly' by guiding wind power projects to areas where birds are less likely to fly into the spinning blades of wind turbines.

WIMS Environmental News Blogs

WIMS Environmental News Blogs - Sep 30: WIMS is relocating our offices and is taking a temporary leave from all of our publications and blogs. We will return on January 6, 2014.

In the meantime it is a great opportunity to check out our Environmental News Blogs. The blogs are continuously, automatically updated with the latest news and information from various RSS feed sources selected by WIMS.

• White House News;
  
• Congressional News;
  
• Federal Agencies News;
  
• Industry News;
  
• Enviro Group News;
  
• Air Quality News;
  
• Hazardous Waste News; and
  
• Transportation News

 

    

Dry Cargo Residue Discharges In The Great Lakes

Sep 25: The Coast Guard announced the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) assessing the potential environmental impacts associated with a proposed final rule to regulate discharges of dry cargo residue (DCR) in the Great Lakes [78 FR 58986-58987]. The Coast Guard is requesting public comment on the FEIS which must be submitted on or before October 25, 2013.

 

    In August 2008, the Coast Guard issued an Environmental Impact Statement (the Phase I FEIS), which evaluated regulatory alternatives for discharging DCR into the Great Lakes. Based in part on that FEIS's
findings, we published an interim rule on September 29, 2008 (73 FR 56492). It kept in place the Coast Guard's interim enforcement policy for Great Lakes DCR discharges and announced our intention to research Phase I FEIS data gaps related to DCR discharge control measure costs and effectiveness.

 

   The Phase II FEIS we are now making available is "tiered" off the Phase I FEIS, addresses the Phase I FEIS data gaps, and would provide support for a Coast Guard final rule to take the place of the 2008
interim rule. It finalizes the Phase II draft EIS that we made available for public comment when we issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (77 FR 44528; Jul. 30, 2012) to propose the final rule. The Phase II FEIS reviews data we collected from approximately 2,000 DCR reporting forms and 30 Coast Guard-observed dry cargo loading and unloading operations. Data collected permitted further evaluations of DCR quantities and the effectiveness of control measures. The Phase II FEIS analysis concludes that the final rule would require maintaining a "broom-clean" standard on the vessel deck and implementing a management plan to minimize DCR discharges from a vessel's deck and tunnel. Vessels would need to keep onboard records of DCR-related discharges and continue observing existing DCR discharge exclusion areas. Mitigation of nearshore and port impacts would be included through a prohibition of limestone and clean stone DCR discharges within 3 statute miles of shore. In the Western Basin of Lake Erie, vessels not traveling beyond 3 statute miles from shore could discharge DCR within dredged navigation channels and not create adverse impacts to native sediment or benthos.

 

    Bulk dry cargo residues means non-hazardous and non-toxic residues of dry cargo carried in bulk, including limestone and other clean stone, iron ore, coal, salt, and cement. It does not include residues of any substance known to be toxic or hazardous, such as, nickel, copper, zinc, lead, or materials classified as hazardous in provisions of law or treaty.

 

   Access the FR announcement (click here). Access the docket to submit and review comments (click here). [GLakes]

Great Lakes Observing System Data Portal Launch

Sep 24: The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) announced the launch of its Data Portal. The GLOS Data Portal is the central repository for Great Lakes data hosted by GLOS. The Data Portal is the means by which GLOS makes real-time and archived information available to a broad range of stakeholders. As outlined in the Enterprise Plan, the availability of data allows stakeholders to make smarter decisions about how to use, manage and restore the resources of the Great Lakes.

    The first screen that appears provides users with an overview of the tool and explains the layout. The information included addresses: Point Observations, Satellite Observations, Model Forecasts, Search and Help. Perusing the topics will assist in quickly understanding the Data Portal. GLOS is dedicated to developing a fully integrated, bi-national observing system that provides products and services to decision-makers, resource managers and other data users. In partnership with federal, state and local government agencies, research institutions, industries, private corporations, bi-national organizations, and not for profit organizations, GLOS connects data users with data providers in ways that are supportive of policy and decision-making.

 

    Access a release from GLOS and link to the Data Portal and a video tour (click here). Access the GLOS website for more information (click here). [#GLakes]

Legislators Comment On Asian Carp In Flatfoot Lake Near Chicago

Sep 17: U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), author of the Stop Invasive Species Act [See WIMS 7/2/12] that was signed into law by President Obama in July 2012, issued a statement after the discovery of an Asian carp in Flatfoot Lake, which is extremely close to Lake Michigan. She said, "There are thousands of Michigan jobs that rely on the Great Lakes, and we need more than temporary fixes. If Asian carp are not stopped before they enter the Great Lakes, they could destroy the ecosystem, as well as the boating and fishing industries, and hundreds of thousands of jobs. We passed bipartisan legislation to require the Corps to finally make stopping Asian carp a top priority, and the Army Corps needs to follow the law and complete its work."

    A 53-inch, 82-pound carp was caught in Flatfoot Lake near Chicago. Flatfoot Lake is located next to Calumet River, which feeds directly into Lake Michigan. Recent research found that as few as 10 Asian carp are needed to establish a breeding population, which illustrates the potentially devastating effects Asian carp could have on the Great Lakes' ecosystem. Sen. Stabenow indicated that this discovery further underscores the Army Corps of Engineers' responsibility to find a solution for keeping Asian carp, and other invasive species, from entering the Great Lakes. The Stop Invasive Species Act, written by Senator Stabenow and Representative Dave Camp (R-MI), requires the Army Corps to deliver concrete options, including full hydrological separation of the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin, to stop Asian carp. The bill passed Congress and was signed by President Obama last year.

    Rep. Camp also issued a statement saying, "News that a live Asian carp was found dangerously close to Lake Michigan, in Flatfoot Lake, is another reminder that we must find a permanent solution to protect the Great Lakes.  Incidents like this underscore the fact that hydrological separation is the only real way to keep Asian carp from destroying the Great Lakes." According to a release from Rep. Camp, last week, Wisconsin Public Radio reported that White House Council on Environmental Quality Asian carp director John Goss recently told a group in Milwaukee that a 53 inch, 82 pound Asian carp had been found in Flatfoot Lake, Illinois in August.

    Access a release from Sen. Stabenow (click here). Access a release from Rep. Camp and link to the radio report (click here). Access the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee website for more information (click here). Access the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study website (click here). [#GLakes]