GREAT LAKES REGION AS SEEN FROM ISS

FROM:  NASA 

Caption Credit:  NASA.  From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore took this photograph of the Great Lakes and central U.S. on Dec. 7, 2014, and posted it to social media. This week on the station, the Expedition 42 crew has been busy with medical science and spacesuit work while preparing for the arrival of SpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo craft, scheduled to launch on Dec. 16 on a two day trip to the station before it is captured by the Canadarm2 and berthed to the Harmony node. Image Credit: NASA/Barry Wilmore.

BIG CHILL BRINGS BIG ICE OVER THE GREAT LAKES

FROM:  NASA

On Feb. 19, 2014 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over the Great Lakes and captured this striking false-colored image of the heavily frozen Great Lakes – one of the hardest freeze-ups in four decades. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), ice cover on North America’s Great Lakes peaked at 88.42% on Feb. 12-13 – a percentage not recorded since 1994. The ice extent has surpassed 80% just five times in four decades. The average maximum ice extent since 1973 is just over 50%. Unusually cold temperatures in the first two months of the year, especially in January, are responsible for the high ice coverage. Very cold air blowing over the surface of the water removes heat from the water at the surface. When the surface temperature drops to freezing, a thin layer of surface ice begins to form. Once ice formation begins, persistently cold temperatures, with or without wind, is the major factor in thickening ice. This false-color image uses a combination of shortwave infrared, near infrared and red (MODIS bands 7,2,1) to help distinguish ice from snow, water and clouds. Open, unfrozen water appears inky blue-black. Ice is pale blue, with thicker ice appearing brighter and thin, melting ice appearing a darker true-blue. Snow appears blue-green. Clouds are white to blue-green, with the colder or icy clouds appearing blue-green to blue.  Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC.

CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP REGARDING REPORT ON ASIAN CARP ENTERING GREAT LAKES

FROM:  CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP  

Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released a new report on ways to stop Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes.  The study was required by the Stop the Invasive Species Act, which was authored by Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and signed into law in July 2012.  The law required the Corps to complete the report two years earlier than previously scheduled and to focus on hydrological separation to stop invasive species.  Unfortunately, the Army Corps’ proposals for projects that could stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes are not yet developed enough to allow work on those projects to begin.

“While the report focused on a number of options to protect the Great Lakes, it failed to fully develop a permanent solution to prevent Asian carp from destroying the Great Lakes,” said Camp.  “I am concerned many of the Corps’ proposed options rely on undeveloped technology and do not adequately account for the region’s transportation needs.  More work is needed to completely develop a serious plan to protect the Great Lakes and the jobs and economy they support.”

Following the report, the Army Corps of Engineers is holding public briefings across the Great Lakes region and accepting public comments.  To read and offer comments on the report click here.

The report comes in the wake of alarming incidents that illustrate how close Asian carp are to the Great Lakes and how vulnerable the Lakes are to invasion and ecological destruction.

SENATOR LEVIN'S STATEMENT ON GLEEPA

FROM: U.S. SENATOR LEVIN'S WEBSITE
Senate Floor Statement on the Introduction of the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the Great Lakes are a magnificent resource and unique in the world. These water bodies, formed during the last ten thousand years, are the largest source of surface freshwater on the planet. The lakes shaped how people settled and secured resources for their survival. Native Americans, French explorers, early European settlers, immigrants flocking to new industrial cities, along with the current populations of today all rely on the lakes for their survival – providing food and drinking water, transportation, power, recreation, and magnificent beauty.


However, the vast resources the Great Lakes provide must not be taken for granted. We must do all we can to protect these waters and clean up the areas that have been harmed by toxic contaminants, polluted runoff, untreated wastewater, and destructive invasive species. That is why as co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Senator Kirk and I, along with several of our colleagues, are introducing today the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013, or GLEEPA.

This bill builds upon the work of a multitude of stakeholders -- environmental organizations; business associations; tribal governments; community leaders; and federal, state and local officials – who worked together to craft the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy, a 2005 plan to guide restoration and protection for the Great Lakes. The legislation we are introducing today would formally authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), an inter-agency program designed to implement the plan articulated in the Collaboration Strategy.

The GLRI is an action-oriented, results-driven initiative targeting the most significant problems in the Great Lakes, including aquatic invasive species, toxics and contaminated sediment, nonpoint source pollution, and habitat and wildlife protection and restoration. While broadly authorized under the Clean Water Act, the GLRI should be specifically authorized in law to clarify its purpose and objectives and to demonstrate support from Congress. Since the GLRI was launched in fiscal year 2010 with $475 million in funding, real progress has been made to restore the health of the Great Lakes: More than a million cubic yards of contaminated sediments have been cleaned up. More than 20,000 acres of wetland, coastal, upland and island habitat have been restored or enhanced. New technologies are being developed to combat the sea lamprey. Asian carp have been prevented from establishing a sustaining population in the Great Lakes. Hundreds of river miles have been restored to enable free fish passage from the Great Lakes to their spawning grounds. Reduction of nutrient loading from agriculture runoff has lessened occurrences of harmful algal blooms.

In addition to authorization of the GLRI, this legislation would reauthorize two existing programs: (1) the Great Lakes Legacy program, which supports the removal of contaminated sediments at more than thirty Areas of Concern (AOCs) across the Great Lakes; and (2) the Great Lakes National Program Office, which handles Great Lakes matters for the EPA.

The health and vitality of the Great Lakes not only provide immense public health and environmental benefits, but they are also critical to the economic health of the region. For example, in Muskegon Lake, which is directly connected to Lake Michigan, cleanup of 430,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, also provided jobs to barge and dredge operators, truck drivers, biologists, chemists, toxicologists, and general laborers. The cleanup will help lift fish consumption advisories and restore fish habitat, which is vital to this area that is a popular fishing and boating destination.

Reports find a two to three dollar return for every dollar invested in cleanup and restoration activity. And preventing future damage to the lakes – from aquatic invasive species for example – could easily save the public hundreds of millions of dollars in future expenditures. With a $7 billion fishery, $16 billion in annual expenditures related to recreational boating, and about 37 million hunters, anglers and bird watchers enjoying the Great Lakes each year, we cannot afford to not protect and restore this precious resource.

The legislation we are introducing today includes important safeguards to ensure that tax dollars are wisely spent on activities that actually achieve results. Projects are directed to be selected so that they achieve strategic and measurable outcomes and which can be promptly implemented through leveraging additional non-federal resources. The bill would also authorize an inter-agency task force to coordinate federal resources in a way that most efficiently uses taxpayer funds, focusing on measurable outcomes such as cleaner water, improved public health, and sustainable fisheries in the Great Lakes.

Finally, state and local officials, tribal governments, business organizations, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders need an avenue to communicate on matters pertaining to Great Lakes restoration. Recently, the EPA created a board that advises the EPA and other federal agencies on Great Lakes cleanup and protection activities. This bill would make the advisory board permanent to ensure that the many voices across the Great Lakes region can have a direct conduit to the federal government.

Mr. President, the Great Lakes are home to more than 3,500 species of plants and animals and support 1.5 million direct jobs, $62 billion in wages and a $7 billion fishery. This legislation is needed to address the threat of invasive species such as Asian carp, polluted runoff that can harm aquatic and public health, toxic sediments, and harmful algal blooms that kill fish, foul coastlines, and threaten public health. The legislation will also help the United States implement its commitment to the bi-national 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. We hope the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will promptly act on this important legislation, as it did in 2010 when it approved similar legislation.

EPA REMOVES PRESQUE ISLE BAY FROM GREAT LAKES "AREA OF CONCERN" LIST

Presque Isle Bay Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Presque Isle Bay Removed from Great Lakes "Area of Concern" List; Second Area in U.S. to be Delisted

WASHINGTON (Feb. 14, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Presque Isle Bay, on the Pennsylvania shore of Lake Erie, has been removed from the list of heavily contaminated Great Lakes sites targeted for cleanup by the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Environmental conditions in Presque Isle Bay have significantly improved due to actions taken by federal, state and local government. Studies have shown that revitalized waterways, like Presque Isle Bay, can benefit the local economy and better protect people’s health. Presque Isle Bay is now the second site in the nation to be taken off the list of Great Lakes "Areas of Concern" (AOCs).


In October 2011, the federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force committed to accelerate cleanups of contaminated rivers and harbors to "delist" AOCs. Presque Isle Bay’s delisting reduces the number of AOCs to 29 contaminated sites wholly in the U.S. or shared with Canada.


"On my last day as EPA Administrator, I’m proud to announce that Presque Isle Bay is no longer considered an Area of Concern. We still have a great deal of work to do in the Great Lakes, but this is a positive step that will help protect people’s health and the environment in the community," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who also serves as Chair of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force. "President Obama has made cleaning up the Great Lakes a priority for his Administration, and delisting Presque Isle Bay is a big step toward fulfilling that commitment."


The historic discharge of industrial and domestic wastewater contaminated Presque Isle Bay with excessive nutrients, organic compounds, toxic metals and other pollutants. Improvements at Erie’s wastewater treatment plant, along with the waterfront’s conversion from heavy industrial to commercial use, reduced pollution and helped restore the bay.


Since 2010, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding has been used to accelerate the final steps needed to delist Presque Isle Bay. President Obama launched the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at the start of his first term.


"Presque Isle Bay being delisted is a testament to the many conservation, environmental and sportsman groups in Erie County who have made the health of Presque Isle Bay a community priority," said Congressman Mike Kelly. "While this is certainly an achievement, we as a community must keep Presque Isle Bay a priority to avoid any environmental challenges in the future."


Environment Canada, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the U.S.-Canada International Joint Commission concurred with the decision to delist the Presque Isle Bay AOC.


The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will continue to monitor ecological conditions in Presque Isle Bay, with support from EPA. .

THE FORMATION OF ADVISORY BOARD ON GREAT LAKES ISSUES

FROM:  U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA Forms First Advisory Board On Great Lakes Issues
CHICAGO (May 31, 2012) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the creation of an advisory board to support federal agencies with the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the updated Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.   

The new board, the federal government’s first advisory committee on Great Lakes issues, will provide advice and recommendations to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson in her capacity as federal Interagency Task Force chair.  EPA will consider candidates from a broad range of interests including environmental groups, businesses, agricultural groups, funders/foundations, environmental justice groups, youth groups, academia and state, local and tribal representatives as needed. Nominees will be solicited through a second Federal Register notice in the coming weeks. EPA anticipates that board will be established this summer. 

"The health of the Great Lakes affects the health of millions of people. These waters also play a vital role in the historical, cultural, educational and economic progress of this region," said EPA Administrator and Task Force Chair Lisa P. Jackson. “As we work to set a new standard of care for these waters, it's important that we hear from experts and stakeholders who can strengthen our efforts. By providing insight from those who know these waters best, the Great Lakes Advisory Board will ensure the continued success of the work already underway, and help move us into the next phases of Great Lakes restoration and protection."

The Great Lakes provide more than 30 million Americans with drinking water and underpin a multi-billion dollar economy.  In February 2009, President Obama proposed and Congress funded the GLRI, the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades.

The Interagency Task Force is made up of 16 federal agencies and departments.  In 2010 they developed an action plan to implement the president’s historic initiative.  It calls for aggressive efforts in five areas:

•    Cleaning up toxics and toxic hot spot Areas of Concern.
•    Combating invasive species.
•    Promoting near-shore health by protecting watersheds from polluted runoff.
•    Restoring wetlands and other habitats.
•    Raising public awareness, tracking progress, and working with partners.