What's New Slow pace of Kalamazoo River clean up frustrates officials MLive.com (3/8) Amid the myriad environmental issues talked about in the nearly 20 years that the Kalamazoo Environmental Council has been hosting its annual legislative breakfast, one issue in particular has been a mainstay: How can the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from the Kalamazoo River be expedited?
EDITORIAL: Ottawa River's rebirth The Toledo Blade (3/6) After too many delays, the Ottawa River is finally ready to shake its reputation as the most polluted waterway in the state. The long-awaited cleanup of the riverbed hits high gear in early May. Completion is expected by December.
EDITORIAL: White Lake residents need to speak up Muskegon Chronicle (3/3) A recent announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of a plan for additional cleanup at the former Hooker Chemical site in Montague Township is good news — especially as it comes on the heels of the Obama administration’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
EPA wants more wells to protect White Lake from effects of old chemical plant Muskegon Chronicle (2/27) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a plan it says will clean up groundwater to safe levels within 18 years in the southern portion of the former Hooker Chemical site in Montague Township, MI.
Overview
Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are severely degraded geographic areas within the Great Lakes Basin. They are defined by the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 2 of the 1987 Protocol) as "geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area's ability to support aquatic life." The U.S. and Canadian governments have identified 43 such areas; 26 in U.S. waters, 17 in Canadian water (five are shared between U.S. and Canada on connecting river systems). Collingwood Harbour, in Ontario, is the first of these 43 sites to be delisted.
The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, as amended via the 1987 protocol, directs the two federal governments to cooperate with state and provincial governments to develop and implement Remedial Action Plans for each Area of Concern.
Areas of Concern Map International Joint Commission (IJC) A clickable map of all the Great Lakes' AOCs and their information tables.
Great Lakes Areas of Concern U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) Information on U.S. AOCs including current RAP status, scheduled meetings, progress and achievements, beneficial use impairments, research, publications, community involvement and funding partners.
Resources on the Areas of Concern Great Lakes Commission This web site provides a "virtual library" of information on the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) program and associated Remedial Action Plans (RAP). The site includes links to RAP documents and AOC web pages; contacts for each AOC; resources on delisting the U.S. AOCs, including existing delisting targets and documentation for AOCs that have been delisted; workshop proceedings; funding sources; and other AOC resources.
TEACH Great Lakes: Water Pollution Water pollution is defined as a change in the chemical, physical and biological health of a waterway due to a human activity: sewage disposal, toxic contamination through heavy metals and pesticides, overdevelopment of the water's edge, and more...
Areas of Concern Special Report International Joint Commission (IJC) This April 2003 report was produced under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 to the Governments of the United States and Canada and the State and Provincial Governments of the Great Lakes Basin.
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, 1978 Expresses the commitment of each country to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.