New Science On Toxics Chemical In The Great Lakes

Aug 6:  HealthyStuff.org has partnered with the Mind the Store campaign to craft a mini-report that highlights some of the new science around toxic chemical pollutants in the Great Lakes, including the nasty "PBT" chemicals that stay in the environment, to "emerging contaminants" like Triclosan, which are rapidly rising as Great Lakes pollutants. Toxic chemicals have a variety of routes they travel: some are released directly from manufacturing sites or creep their way out of landfills into the ground water, rivers and lakes, while others are the result of legacy pollution from days past. So the researchers mapped out where the Hazardous 100+ chemicals have been found in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern to illustrate this legacy of pollution.

 

    Access the mini-report including references and links (click here). Access the Hazardous 100+ List of Chemicals of High Concern (click here). Access the HealthyStuff website for more information (click here). [#GLakes/Toxics]

 

 

 

Corps Contracts For A New Electric Carp Barrier

Aug 1: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District awarded a contract in the amount of $2.8 million July 31, 2013, to E.P. Doyle & Son LLC for construction of water structures as part of a new electric barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) in Romeoville, IL. E.P. Doyle & Son LLC is certified as a small business concern. The firm-fixed-price construction contract is for the fabrication and in-water installation of electrodes and other in-water structures for a new barrier, as authorized by Congress, as an upgrade to the demonstration barrier that has been online since 2002. Installation is slated for spring 2014. Additional contracts will follow to complete the barrier control building and activate the barrier.

    USACE indicated in a release that here are two other electric barriers in the CSSC. The barriers are operated to deter the inter-basin establishment of Asian carp and other fish through an electric field in the water via the CSSC. The barriers are one control technology in a broad interagency effort to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp establishment.

    The barriers are complex electrical and mechanical systems and must periodically be powered down for maintenance. Therefore, more than one barrier is needed so at least one can be active at any time. Chicago District Commander Col. Frederic A. Drummond Jr. said, "Each barrier built takes lessons learned from the previous ones to ensure the most effective prevention tool possible. We continue to work with our partners and stakeholders to assess the Asian carp threat and make informed decisions regarding barrier operations."

    USACE said that laboratory and tagged-fish results show that the electric barriers are an effective fish deterrent. As of spring 2013, individually-coded transmitters have been surgically implanted into approximately 238 fish of all sizes in the Chicago Area Waterway System. There have been nearly 6 million detections of these fish, and no tagged fish have crossed the barriers in the upstream direction. No Asian carp have been captured or observed above the barriers in the last two years. Currently, the adult population front of Asian carp is about 55 miles from Lake Michigan and has not moved for several years. The electric barriers are approximately 37 miles from Lake Michigan.

 

    Access a release from USACE (click here). Access the USACE Aquatic Nuisance Species Portal for more information (click here). Access the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (click here). [#GLakes/ANS]

Great Lakes Governors RFP Re: Maritime Transportation

Aug 1: The Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) seeks to hire a consultant or consulting firm (consultant), part-time. The primary role of the consultant will be to analyze the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River maritime transportation system and develop recommendations that will ultimately be shared with the Great Lakes Governors and Premiers for their consideration in the development of policies to be adopted and programs that may be implemented.

 

    The position requires experience on port, transportation and maritime issues. The consultant will work closely with the CGLG staff and will report to the Executive Director. The consultant will also work closely with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Maritime Task Force (Task Force) as well as other staff designated by the Great Lakes States, Ontario and Québec.  Proposals will be accepted via email until August 31, 2013.

 

    Access the CGLG website and a brief announcement of the RFP (click here). Access the complete RFP for details (click here). [#GLakes]

GLC Program For Soil Erosion & Sediment Control Grants

Jul 31: The Great Lakes Commission announced the 2013 Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Round Two grant programs. This year, the program offers two grant options, a small scale grant project and a larger watershed scale grant project. The due date for applications is 6:00 PM ET September 6, 2013. A total of $750,000 is available for grants.

 

    GLC indicates that the program is all about making a difference -- in water quality, land use, and agricultural productivity. Initiated in 1991 and authorized in the 2002 and 2007 Farm Bills, the Federal/state partnership has supported well over 400 demonstration and technical assistance projects throughout the Great Lakes region. The Basin Program is coordinated by GLC in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Natural Resources Conservation Service), U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

 

    Access complete information (click here). Access the Great Lakes Basin Program website for additional information (click here). [#GLakes]

$8.5 Million For Great Lakes Green Infrastructure

Jul 26: U.S. EPA announced that it has invited the 22 largest U.S. Great Lakes shoreline cities to apply for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding for green infrastructure projects that will improve Great Lakes water quality. Great Lakes National Program Manager Susan Hedman said, "These Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants will be used for green infrastructure projects to reduce urban runoff and sewer overflows that foul beaches and impair Great Lakes water quality."

    Up to $8.5 million is available to U.S. Great Lakes shoreline cities in the following amounts: (A) Population greater than 500,000 Up to $1,000,000; (B) Population from 100,000 - 499,999 Up to $500,000; and (C) Population from 50,000 - 99,999 Up to $250,000. Eligible cities can use the grants to cover up to 50 percent of the cost of rain gardens, bio-swales, green roofs, porous pavement, greenways, constructed wetlands, stormwater tree trenches and other green infrastructure measures installed on public property. Cities are encouraged to work with non-governmental organizations and private sector partners on these projects. Grants will be awarded to eligible Great Lakes shoreline cities on a "first-come, first awarded" basis – until funding runs out. The applications deadline is September 15, 2013.

 

    Access a release from EPA and link to complete details (click here). [#GLakes]

Democratic Senators Want Great Lakes In Climate Plan

Jul 23: Six Great Lakes Democratic Senators wrote President Obama urging him "to fully incorporate the risks and impacts to the Great Lakes" as he charts a plan for confronting climate change [See WIMS 6/25/13 & See WIMS 6/26/13]. The letter is from Senators Carl Levin (D-MI)); Dick Durbin (D-IL); Al Franken (D-MN); Sherrod Brown (D-OH); Charles Schumer (D-NY); and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) . It points to the importance of the Great Lakes, which supply drinking water to 40 million residents and provide 1.5 million jobs, and to problems such as low lake levels and extreme weather that are likely to worsen if climate change continues.

 

    In their letter the Senators indicate, "This year, Great Lakes water levels reached new historic lows severely hampering commercial shipping, jeopardizing recreational boating and fishing, devastating the tourism industry, threatening electric power generation, compromising water supply infrastructure, and exacerbating problems caused by invasive species.  In addition, severe spring storms in the Midwest resulted in flooding that damaged highways, homes, businesses, and public buildings.  The heavy rains and flooding also ironically exacerbated shipping problems in the Great Lakes because the runoff from these storms resulted in excessive sedimentation, further restricting shipping channels.  While we are pleased that your climate action plan would help make communities more resilient to flooding, it is disappointing that low water levels and the Great Lakes were not once mentioned in your plan, nor addressing the impacts they cause to shipping and the economy, water and energy supplies, shoreline integrity and the environment. The impacts of climate change on the nation's largest freshwater system should not be overlooked.

 

    Access a release and the complete letter (click here). [#GLakes, #Climate]

Meeting Of GLC & Great Lakes Week

Jul 25: The 2013 Annual Meeting of the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) will be held at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, on September 9, 2013. Again this year, the GLC Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with Great Lakes Week (September 9-12), which features the annual meetings and conferences of diverse groups who are leading the fight to restore the Great Lakes. Events this year include the first binational public forum under the new Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition's Great Lakes Restoration Conference.

 

    The GLC meeting will feature panel discussions on fluctuating water levels and St. Clair River control options; the Waukesha, WI, water diversion proposal; and innovative state and provincial programs for dealing with nutrient management, invasive species and other pressing Great Lakes issues. Register by Aug. 9 to receive discounted registration fees. The 2013 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting registration fee is $110 (USD). Fees will rise to $125 on Aug. 10. An updated agenda, and travel and lodging information are available.

 

    Access complete registration and meeting information (click here). Access complete information on Great Lakes Week activities (click here). [GLakes]