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).

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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).

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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).

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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).

 

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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).

 

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GLWQA Amendments, Forums, Webinar, & Comments

Sep 8: The Governments of Canada and the United States (the Parties) recognize the importance of engaging the Great Lakes community as they proceed with the negotiations to amend the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). As the Parties near the end of the negotiation process, they are providing an opportunity for the public to input into this process through two in-person Public Forums (one in Canada and one in the United States), and a webinar.  The purpose of the meetings will be to review significant changes being contemplated for an amended Agreement. Additionally, the public may also provide written comments.

 

    In the U.S. a public forum will be held in Chicago on September 13, at the U.S. EPA Region 5 headquarters from 9 AM to 1 PM(CDT). Additionally a public webinar will be held the same day from 1 PM – 4  PM (CDT). Written comments on the significant changes being contemplated for an amended GLWQA may be submitted until September 20, 2011. The Parties have also released the presentation that will be presented at the public forums and webinar entitled, Negotiations to Amend the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) Binational Public Forum.

 

    On September 7, Great Lakes United (GLU) and allied organizations submitted recommendations that they view to be essential elements of a successful agreement that will step up to the scale of environmental threats in the lakes, and also provide governing systems, leadership and strategies to implement the Agreement. The groups indicated their frustration that, "to date, almost no information has been available to the public about the substance and scope of the new Agreement, making it difficult for concerned citizens to ascertain what modernization looks like, or to provide meaningful feedback in public forums." 

 

    Access an overview and links to meeting and webinar details, registration, contacts and the Presentation on Amendments (click here). Access the existing GLWQA (click here). Access a release on the letter from GLU and link to the letter (click here). Access the Great Lakes United Agreement Watch blog for extensive information and (click here). [#GLakes]

 

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Great Lakes Commission; IJC, AOCs Meetings & Great Lakes Week

Sep 8: On October 11 & 12, Commissioners from the eight Great Lakes states and the provinces of Ontario and Québec will be meeting at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, as part of Great Lakes Week, discussing Great Lakes issues of priority interest including: the Great Lakes as engines of economic recovery; Great Lakes ports in the 21st Century; lessons learned from algal blooms and dead zones in Lake Erie; the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; renegotiation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and the proposed ecological separation of the Mississippi and Great Lakes watersheds to thwart the spread of Asian carp.

 

    Also, the International Joint Commission (IJC) will be holding its Biennial Meeting on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit from October 11-14. Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the IJC reports on progress toward restoration and engages the public in discussions regarding fishability, swimmability and drinkability. Additionally, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition will be holding its Seventh Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference on October 12-14; and the U.S. Areas of Concern (AOC) will conduct its Program Annual Meeting on October 13-14 -- both at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit.

 

    Great Lakes Week represents a new partnership to improve the places around the basin where people live, work, learn and play. The week's activities will bring representatives of the U.S. and Canadian governments together with a broad coalition of public and private groups to highlight efforts to implement solutions for the lakes' most pressing problems. Great Lakes Week also gathers the annual meetings and conferences of various organizations in one place, making it one of the most wide-ranging Great Lakes summits in history.

 

    Access a summary of all events during Great Lakes Weeks and links to details on registration and agendas for each (click here). [#GLakes]

 

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