Great Lakes Still Has A Significant Mercury Pollution Problem

Oct 6: The Biodiversity Research Institute has announced it will release a report entitled, Great Lakes Mercury Connections: The Extent and Effects of Mercury Pollution in the Great Lakes Region, a synthesis of new research by 170+ scientists based on 35 peer-reviewed papers published this month in the journal Ecotoxicology and soon to be published in Environmental Pollution. According to an announcement, despite decades of progress, the Great Lakes region still has a significant mercury pollution problem.

 

   The report is a collaboration of the Biodiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine, the Great Lakes Commission based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The report is the product of a binational, scientific synthesis sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission through its Great Lakes Air Deposition Program, funded by the U.S. EPA.

 

    On October 11, during Great Lakes Week in Detroit, and in a webinar, scientists will present new policy-relevant research, as the deadline nears for U.S. EPA Utility Air Toxics Rule, including: new information on the severity of the mercury problem in the Great Lakes region; new research on the wildlife effects of mercury; and new analysis of progress made by pollution control efforts to date and the contribution of emissions sources in the Great Lakes region. Speakers will include: Tim Eder – Executive Director, Great Lakes Commission; James Wiener, Ph.D. – Wisconsin Distinguished Professor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; David C. Evers, Ph.D. – Executive Director, Biodiversity Research Institute; and Charles T. Driscoll, Ph.D. – University Professor and National Academy Member, Syracuse University.

 

    According to an abstract of a paper in Ecotoxicology, "This special issue examines bioaccumulation and risks of methylmercury in food webs, fish and wildlife in the Laurentian Great Lakes region of North America, and explores mercury policy in the region and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. A total of 35 papers emanated from a bi-national synthesis of multi-media data from monitoring programs and research investigations on mercury in aquatic and terrestrial biota, a 3-year effort

involving more than 170 scientists and decision-makers from 55 different universities, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies. Over 290,000 fish mercury data points were compiled from monitoring programs and research investigations. The findings from this scientific synthesis indicate that (1) mercury remains a pollutant of major concern in the Great Lakes region, (2) that the scope and intensity of the problem is greater than previously recognized and (3) that after decades of declining mercury levels in fish and wildlife concentrations are now increasing in some species and areas. While the reasons behind these shifting trends require further study, they also underscore the need to identify information gaps and expand monitoring efforts to better track progress. This will be particularly important as new pollution prevention measures are implemented, as global sources increase, and as the region faces changing environmental conditions."

 

    Access the announcement from Biodiversity Research Institute with further details and contacts (click here). Access the Special Issue of Ecotoxicology on Mercury in the Great Lakes to access various papers (click here).

 

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)

2011 GLRI Quality Technical Conference: Dec. 6-8

Oct 5: The 2011 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Quality Technical Conference will be held in Chicago, on December 6-8, 2011. The primary purpose of this year's conference is to facilitate implementation of quality practices for projects being conducted under the GLRI by providing training, tools, resources, and a forum for communication among GLRI collaborators as they implement their projects. The 2011 GLRI Quality Technical Conference will provide an opportunity to work together to improve quality practices for GLRI projects and ultimately, the environment.

    The first conference day will include the meeting welcome, and plenary and technical sessions. Day two will offer a choice of two concurrent sessions: Session I will include training sessions and Session II will include a series of technical sessions on implementation of quality. The morning of conference day three will be dedicated to presentations by GLRI collaborators. The Quality Program Lead for each GLRI collaborator will present the status of quality implementation for their GLRI projects.

    Access complete conference information including registration details, agenda and contacts (click here).

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)
NAS Report Casts Doubt On Effects Of Renewable Fuel Standard
Gulf Coast Task Force Releases Ecosystem Restoration Strategy
Enviros Sue To Stop Early Clearing On Keystone XL Pipeline Route
EPA Announces Three Combined Heat & Power Awards
Administration Accelerates Grid Modernization Pilot Projects
Efficient Water Heating Can Save Consumers Nearly $18 Billion
USDA Announces $115+ Million In Water & Sewer Loans & Grants
New Mexico Group Sues To Save State's Carbon Reduction Law

IJC Great Lakes Priority Issue Reports For Comment

Oct 4: For the past two years, experts from the International Joint Commission (IJC) Water Quality Board, Science Advisory Board, Council of Great Lakes Research Managers, Health Professionals Task Force and International Air Quality Advisory Board (and other experts) have been developing findings and recommendations regarding six key research areas: the Nearshore Framework; Chemicals of Emerging Concern, Harmful/Nuisance Algae; Aquatic Invasive Species; Benefits and Risks of Fish Consumption; and Beaches Recreational Water Quality. Most draft reports are now posted (or will be soon) and available for public comment. Following the IJC Biennial Meeting (October 12-14) and the incorporation of comments received, the reports will become the foundation for the 16th Biennial Report, to be released in 2012.

 

    Access the reports, related information and commenting instructions by clicking on the links above. Access complete information on the IJC Biennial Meeting and Great Lakes Week in Detroit (click here).

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)

Mining Association Sues To Stop Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Senate Committee Hears From Shale Gas Advisors
Trade Agreements For Korea, Colombia & Panama
DOI Report On Impacts Of Climate Change On Freshwater Resources
DOE Receives 1st Entry In Commercial Air Conditioner Challenge
Senate Hearing On Nutrient Reduction Approaches
Maryland Man Sells $9 Million In Phony Renewable Fuel Credits
Raritan Baykeeper v. NL Industries, Inc.

$2.4 Million For Lake Erie GLRI Projects

U.S. EPA announced funding for three Toledo-area Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) projects totaling nearly $2.4 million. The projects will help to restore Lake Erie and put people back to work, using a conservation corps model to hire unemployed workers to improve habitat and clean up shoreline. The three Toledo-area projects were selected from 44 proposals totaling almost $25 million, which were submitted in response to a $6 million challenge that EPA issued in August to encourage Federal agencies to sign up unemployed workers to implement restoration projects in federally-protected areas, on tribal lands and in Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the Great Lakes Basin. To qualify for funding, each project is required to provide jobs for at least 20 unemployed people.

    Susan Hedman, EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager said, "The tremendous response to EPA's challenge underscores the large backlog of Great Lakes restoration projects that are ready to be implemented and the strong support that exists for using a conservation corps model to get the job done. Over the next week, EPA will be announcing a total of eight restoration projects worth $6.6 million as part of this challenge. Each project will produce immediate, direct ecological benefits and will help to put unemployed people back to work." The announcement in the Toledo area includes: $1 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to control invasive plants in the Lower Black River; another $811,252 to restore habitat in the Maumee River AOC; and $480,000 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for conservation, restoration and outreach at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge on the southwest shore of Lake Erie.

 

    Access a release from EPA Region 5 (click here, posted soon). Access more information on GLRI (click here).

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)

DOE Approves $4.743 Billion In Solar Project Loan Guarantees
SCOTUS Denies Challenge To CA Indirect Air Source Rule
DOE Finalizes Rule For NEPA Categorical Exclusion 
NASA Says Arctic Ozone Hole Is "Unprecedented"
DOI Completes Reforms Of Old Minerals Management Service
GAO Finds Problems With NOAA Historical Climatology Network
EPA Adds State Enforcement Actions Map To ECHO
Agencies Partners On Health & Safety Of Commercial Imports

Technical Workshop On Army Corps Channel Stability Tool

Sep 30: The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) advises that over the last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Detroit District has developed a stand-alone Channel Stability Tool that can be used by local stakeholders to design maintained channels in clay soils, with the goal of limiting bank failures, erosion, and sediment delivery to rivers and streams and, subsequently, to Lake Superior. The project was made possible by funding under the Great Lakes Tributary Modeling Program, which is a joint initiative between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Great Lakes Region) and the Great Lakes states.

    The Corps of Engineers Detroit District will host a technical workshop on October 18, 2011, to introduce this new tool that can be used to estimate the stability of maintained channels and ditches in clay soils. The workshop will be held at the Minnesota Pollution Control Offices, located at 525 S. Lake Ave, #400, Duluth, MN 55802, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. Organizations interested in learning to use the Channel Stability Tool and providing constructive feedback are invited to participate in this technical workshop.

    The tool incorporates the effects of cohesive soils, vegetation, and hydraulic scour. Representatives from the Corps of Engineers Detroit District will be demonstrating the tool and soliciting feedback on the user interface in order to ensure that the final product is useful to stakeholders. The final version of the tool, incorporating suggestions gathered during the October 18 meeting, will be released later this fall.

    Access an announcement from GLC with further details (click here). Access more information on the Great Lakes Tributary Modeling Program (click here).

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)
Major Enviros Sue Administration On Shell Oil Arctic Drilling Plan
$132.4 Million Loan Guarantee For Kansas Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
Six Winners Of The i6 Green Innovation Challenge
EPA Seeks 125 Smart Growth Communities For $1.5 Million Funding
SAB Okays Assessment Of Hg Exposures To Subsistence Fishers
DOE Releases First Quadrennial Technology Review Report
Global Change Strategic Plan Outline & Public Comment Period

17 Attorneys General Press For Asian Carp Control

Sep 26: Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced that the newly formed national coalition of seventeen attorneys general fighting the spread of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species though Chicago waterways have sent 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 currently being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In particular, the coalition called for legislation to:

• Slash three years off the current Army Corps of Engineers' study, from the end of 2015 to the end of 2012;
• Direct the President (or his designee) to oversee the study and ensure it is completed on time;
• Require the Army Corps to use information found in independent studies of the problem rather than duplicating such efforts, thereby speeding up the process;
• Force the Army Corps to use the Congressionally-mandated standard of "preventing" the spread of invasive species instead of their unilateral decision to instead look for ways to merely "reduce the risk" of such a spread. 

    Schuette said, "These states understand that the job-killing invasive species flowing freely though the wide-open doorway in Chicago must be stopped now. We are turning up the heat on federal officials dragging their feet at our expense. It is too bad we need legislation to do this, but it is time for the Army Corps of Engineers to get to work."

    Schuette recently announced the results of his efforts to build a coalition beyond the Great Lakes, which resulted in 16 states joining with Michigan so far: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

    In July 2011, the Army Corps of Engineers released a list of 40 aquatic invasive species with the highest risk of traveling through the waterway in either direction. Of those species, 30 pose a high-risk to the Mississippi River Basin and ten, including Asian carp, pose a high-risk to the Great Lakes Basin. Current invasive species control efforts in the Chicago waterway, like electrical barriers, are temporary and experimental and do not address the threat of all 40 species, especially those that may travel downstream. 

 

    The Stop Asian Carp Act was introduced earlier this year by sponsors Representative Dave Camp (R-MI) (H.R. 892) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) (S.471). The coalition letter and supportive briefing paper were both sent to Chairmen and Ranking Members of the following congressional committees charged with reviewing the legislation: the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the House Committee on Natural Resources, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Schuette noted a recent study commissioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and conducted by independent scientists at the Center for Aquatic Conservation at the University of Notre Dame identified the Chicago Waterway as a "major pathway" for the spread of invasive species, concluding that "the canal represents a potential highway to environmental havoc for many species that pose a high risk to both the Great Lake and the Mississippi basins."

 

    In the letter the AGs explain, "H.R. 892 has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment as well as the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittees on Water and Power and on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs. S. 471 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Unfortunately, no further action has been taken on these bills while the threat of invasive species

migration through the Basins grows."

 

    Access a release from AG Schuette (click here). Access the detailed letter that includes links to related information (click here). Access legislative details for H.R.892 (click here). Access legislative details for S.471(click here).

 

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)

Industry & Enviros At Odds Over Advancement Of Oil & Gas Regs
UN Documents Global Urban Air Pollution
Shutdown Avoided; Budget Offsets For Disaster Relief Delayed
FWS 90-Day Finding On 374 Rare Southeastern Species Under ESA
First Two Green Power Communities Announced
Ceres Revamps Corporate Sustainability Awards Program
American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. The City of Los Angeles

Army Corps To Increase Carp Barrier Voltage This Fall

Sep 9: As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to pursue all actions needed to contain the Asian carp threat below the Electric Dispersal Barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), the Agency announced plans to increase the operation of the barriers to slightly higher parameters. The increase will occur this fall. The Corps released an Optimal Operating Parameters Report including the safety tests used to inform the decision to raise the operating parameters, along with two additional reports: the Independent External Peer Review (IEPR) to test for Asian carp environmental DNA (eDNA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Scoping Report for the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS).

 

    While extensive research and monitoring indicate that small Asian carp currently are not within the vicinity of the fish barriers, and all field telemetry research indicates the barrier is highly effective, the Corps is taking this conservative approach to operating the barrier out of an abundance of caution. The Efficacy Study Interim Report IIA, one of three updates released by the Corps, assesses the safety and effectiveness of the barrier at these higher operating parameters. The aspect of the report regarding safety summarizes a series of in-water tests on the barrier that include addressing field-strength mapping, sparking potential during barge fleeting and collision, voltage potentials between barges traversing the barriers, personnel in-water shock potential, stray-current corrosion potential, and optimal settings for the parasitic barrier system.

 

    The testing shows there is no appreciable increase in risk to public safety with an increase of operational parameters from the current settings of 2.0 volts per inch, 15 hertz and 6.5 millisecond pulse to the new settings of 2.3 volts per inch, 30 hertz, and 2.5 millisecond pulse length. However, it also shows that operating barriers IIA and IIB concurrently increases the area of risk for a person in the water and an increased potential for sparking in adjacent fleeting areas. The Corps does not intend to operate barriers IIA and IIB simultaneously.

 

    Access a lengthy release from the Corps and links to all documents (click here).

 

GET THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS (click here)