$1.6 Million For Projects On Mercury Exposure & Fish Consumption

Oct 4: U.S. EPA announced two Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants totaling almost $1.6 million for projects to protect women and children from mercury exposure through Great Lakes fish consumption. The funding will be used to improve health screening and to develop more effective fish consumption advisories. 

 

    The University of Illinois at Chicago will receive $192,258 for a project to recruit Great Lakes area health care providers and their pregnant patients to participate in a study evaluating the link between fish consumption and mercury levels in blood. The project will determine whether a single question about fish consumption is an effective screening tool to predict which women are likely to have elevated mercury levels and a related increase in potential health risks to their children. Data will also be analyzed to determine whether recreational anglers and tribal members have higher levels of mercury in their blood than the general population. 

 

    A second, major grant to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for $1.4 million will fund a project to improve health screening and to develop more effective fish consumption advisories in the Lake Superior Basin. A previous EPA-funded study found that nearly one in 10 infants in the basin had mercury levels higher than those recommended as safe by EPA. The Grand Portage Chippewa Tribe and the Sawtooth Mountain Clinics in Grand Portage and Grand Marais, Minnesota will participate in the MDH project. Physicians affiliated with the clinics will survey consenting female patients of childbearing age about fish consumption and test blood mercury levels. Patients will also be counseled to promote safe fish consumption choices. 

    Access a release from EPA and link to more information on GLRI and the grants (click here).

 

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Two Major Great Lakes Protection Fund Grants

Oct 5: In September of 2012, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo assumed the chairmanship of the Great Lakes Protection Fund (GLPR) and selected Matthew Driscoll to serve as Chair of the Board. At the meeting the Board of Directors also awarded two grants that commit more than $1.2 million to teams that further the Fund's mission to identify, demonstrate, and promote regional action to enhance the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

    One grant of up to $449,000 was awarded to a team (comprised of 8 organizations) led by the Council of Great Lakes Industries to create, through pilot testing, a new water stewardship toolkit specific to the Great Lakes region, that will prevent or reduce ecosystem impacts from water use, and be compatible with industry needs. A second grant of up to $823,000 was awarded to a team (comprised of 8 organizations) led by Wayne State University to develop, test, and implement an automated shipboard sampling system that will enable real-time verification of the efficacy of ballast water treatment systems and reduce the likelihood of new invasive  species entering the Great Lakes.

    GLPR is a private, nonprofit corporation formed in 1989 by the Governors of the Great Lakes states. It is a permanent environmental endowment that supports projects that lead to tangible improvements in the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem; promote the interdependence of healthy ecological and economic systems; and are innovative, creative, and venturesome.

 

    Access the announcement from GLPR and link to more information on the grants and the Driscoll appointment (click here).

 

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21 Grants For Invasive Species In The Great Lakes Basin

Oct 2: U.S. EPA announced 21 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GRLI) grants totaling nearly $8 million for projects to combat invasive species in the Great Lakes basin in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. Susan Hedman, Great Lakes National Program Manager and Region 5 Administrator said, "These EPA grants will prevent the spread of invasive species, increase the accuracy of early detection techniques, and control non-native flora and fauna that have invaded the Great Lakes basin. These projects will improve the environmental health and economic vitality of the world's largest freshwater system."

 

    Over the last three years, the GLRI has provided $172 million for the prevention, detection and control of invasive species in the Great Lakes ecosystem. Approximately $80 million of this GLRI funding is being used to support the interagency Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework. The announcement is the most recent in a series of announcements to highlight EPA's 2012 GLRI grants for restoration and protection projects. The GLRI, initially proposed by President Obama in February 2009, is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in more than two decades.

 

    Access a release from EPA and link to more information about the GLRI (click here). Access a full list of EPA 2012 grants for project to combat invasive species (click here).

 

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Asian Carp eDNA Found In Lake Erie's Maumee Bay

Sep 25: State and Federal agencies report that Asian carp environmental DNA (eDNA) has been detected in three of 350 water samples collected from western Lake Erie's Maumee Bay and Maumee River between July 31 and August 4. The three samples, all positive for silver carp eDNA, were found in Maumee Bay -- two in Michigan waters and one in Ohio waters. The water samples were collected by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of an extensive sampling effort developed in response to the discovery of Asian carp eDNA in water samples taken from Maumee and Sandusky bays in summer 2011. In addition to the three positive eDNA samples recently found in Maumee Bay, the ODNR, MDNR and Service previously announced that of 150 samples collected from Sandusky Bay in late July, 20 tested positive for silver carp eDNA.

 

   The western Lake Erie response plan also included intensive electrofishing and test netting in the Maumee Bay and River and the Sandusky Bay and River in August 2012, during which time no Asian carp were found. MDNR Fisheries Chief Jim Dexter said, "I cannot overstate the importance of our Great Lakes fishery to the economy and quality of life in Michigan. We will continue working with our partner agencies to identify the source of Asian carp eDNA in western Lake Erie so we can effectively protect the Great Lakes from the threat posed by silver and bighead carp if the species were to establish viable populations in the Great Lakes or their tributaries."

 

    Extensive sampling conducted for Asian carp this summer and fall have yielded no live fish, suggesting that if Asian carp are present, then they are in very low abundance. Asian carp, including bighead and silver carp, pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem and economy. Help from the public, especially Great Lakes anglers, will be imperative moving forward. All anglers are strongly encouraged to learn how to identify Asian carp, including both adults and juveniles, as the spread of juvenile Asian carp through the use of live bait buckets has been identified as a possible entry point into the Great Lakes.

 

    Access a lengthy release from MDNR with links to instructional videos and more information on the Asian carp issue (click here).

 

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USACE Releases Minnesota Aquatic Pathways Reports

Sep 25: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released the Focus Area 2 Aquatic Pathway Assessment Summary Reports for the State of Minnesota: Swan River and Libby Branch of Swan River. The reports present the methodology and key evidence used to assess the potential for transfer of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins through several aquatic pathways.

    As part of the Focus Area 2 portion of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), USACE evaluated two potential pathways within the State of Minnesota, Swan River and Libby Branch of Swan River to consider the probability that a viable aquatic pathway exists. The reports show that both pathways in Minnesota were rated as low probability for movement of ANS. Comments will be accepted through October 25, 2012. 

 

    On September 14, USACE released the Focus Area 2 Aquatic Pathways Assessment Summary Report which presents the methodology and key evidence used to assess the potential for transfer of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins through several aquatic pathways [See WIMS 9/24/12]. A total of 18 potential aquatic pathway reports, and one report for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, are being released in phases, by state, as part of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), Focus Area 2. The initial Summary Report provides a summary of the individual reports (i.e. pathways) to be completed and released in phases. Comments are also being accepted on the Summary report through October 14, 2012.

 

    Access an announcement from USACE with links to the MN reports and commenting instructions (click here). Access the schedule chart for the release of various reports and commenting (click here). Access the GLMRIS website for more information (click here).

 

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USACE Releases Aquatic Pathways Assessment Summary Report

Sep 14: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently released the Focus Area 2 Aquatic Pathways Assessment Summary Report. The report presents the methodology and key evidence used to assess the potential for transfer of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins through several aquatic pathways. A total of 18 potential aquatic pathway reports, and one report for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, are being released in phases, by state, as part of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), Focus Area 2. The initial Summary Report provides a summary of the individual reports (i.e. pathways) to be completed and released in phases. Comments are being accepted through October 14, 2012.

    The overall objective of the Focus Area 2 portion of GLMRIS is to produce an interim report for each potential aquatic pathway that is found between the two basins. Each report evaluates key evidence from the available information to qualitatively estimate the likelihood of an aquatic pathway forming and ANS being able to utilize it to reach the adjacent basin. Included in many of these pathway assessments, and included in the summary report, are some potential actions or opportunities that were identified that might prevent or reduce the probability of ANS transfer occurring between the basins. The reports are the next step in a tiered approach to assess the risk associated with the spread of ANS between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.

    The USACE identified interested parties and solicited input early in the process for Focus Area 2 and has included individual visits and discussions with the state agencies responsible for water resources, and fish and wildlife management in the eight states bordering the Great Lakes. The process used for the Focus Area 2 assessments has also been discussed in meetings with representatives of the Council on Environmental Quality, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

    Access a release from GLMRIS with commenting instructions (click here). Access the 117-page Pathways Assessment Summary Report (click here). Access the schedule chart for the release of various reports and commenting (click here).

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12th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference

Sep 21: The University of Toledo College of Law has announced its 12th annual Great Lakes Water Conference on Friday, November 2, 2012. The conference will address new international, national and state laws impacting Great Lakes water quality and quantity. Three panels of experts will discuss the newly amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, mercury pollution, and water use legislation spawned by the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. Tom Henry, award-winning environmental writer for the Toledo Blade, will be the keynote speaker. The conference is free to the public, and attorneys can earn 4.5 hours of Ohio CLE for $60. 

    Access more information about the conference and registration for CLE and/or a box lunch (click here).

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