Revised Great Lakes Agreement Signed

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Canada’s Minister of the Environment have signed the newly amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement The agreement, first signed in 1972 and last amended in 1987, is binational effort to protect the world’s largest surface freshwater system and the health of the surrounding communities.

The revised agreement will facilitate United States and Canadian action on threats to Great Lakes water quality and includes measures to anticipate and prevent ecological harm. New provisions address aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation and the effects of climate change, and support continued work on existing threats to human health and the environment in the Great Lakes Basin such as harmful algae, toxic chemicals, and discharges from vessels.

The overall purpose of the Agreement is “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters” of the Great Lakes and the portion of the St. Lawrence River that includes the Canada-United States border. Both governments sought extensive input from stakeholders before and throughout the negotiations to amend the Agreement. Additionally, the amended Agreement expands opportunities for public participation on Great Lakes issues.

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Michigan Projects To Improve Stormwater Quality and Reduce Bacteria

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded six Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants, totaling over $1.6 million, to improve water quality at Great Lakes beaches in Michigan. Projects awarded grant funding include:

• $179,700 to the City of Marquette, Michigan, to lower health risks and to improve water quality at two Lake Superior beaches in Marquette by using green management practices to reduce contamination.
• $500,000 to the City of Marysville, Michigan, to install rain gardens and other green infrastructure to reduce contaminated stormwater runoff and to deter geese at Chrysler Beach on the St. Clair River.
• $500,000 to the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority for green infrastructure to reduce contaminated stormwater runoff at Lake St. Clair Metropark (Metro Beach.)
• $217,015 to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to construct rain gardens, plant native grass and install a filtration system to improve water quality and reduce health risks at Sherman Park and Four Mile beaches in Sault Ste. Marie.
• $263,188 to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to build a green stormwater infiltration system at New Buffalo City Beach to reduce bacteria and nutrient levels.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in Michigan to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs. For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website
 

New Water Quality Standards For Carbaryl

In the May 22, EPA released its final national recommended ambient water quality criteria for carbaryl-2012. The final document establishes pollutant levels for carbaryl in relation to aquatic life. EPA published the draft national recommended water quality criteria for carbaryl in November 2011 and provided the public an opportunity to comment. The Agency developed the aquatic life criteria based on EPA's Guidelines for Deriving Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses.

EPA's national recommended final acute and chronic ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for protecting freshwater organisms from potential effects of carbaryl is 2.1 mg/L. For the protection of estuarine/marine organisms from potential effects of carbaryl, EPA is recommending a final acute AWQC of 1.6 mg/L. At the present time, there are insufficient data to calculate a chronic AWQC for estuarine/marine organisms.

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EPA - Coast Guard Coordination On Vessel Permit Enforcement

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together to enforce EPA’s vessel general permit program. The MOU outlines steps the agencies will take to better coordinate efforts to prevent and enforce against illegal discharges of pollutants from vessels, such as cruise ships and oil tankers.

Under the MOU, USCG has agreed to incorporate components of EPA’s vessel general permit program into its existing inspection protocols and procedures to help the United States address vessel pollution in U.S. waters. The MOU creates a framework for improving EPA and USCG cooperation on data tracking, training, monitoring, enforcement and industry outreach. The agencies have also agreed to improve existing data requirements so that information on potential violations observed during inspections can be sent to EPA for evaluation and follow-up.

The vessel permit program applies to more than 61,000 commercial ships based in the U.S. and more than 8,000 foreign ships operating in U.S. waters. The vessel permit covers 26 types of discharges such as deck run-off from rain, ballast water used to stabilize ships, and wastewater from showers, sinks and laundry machines. These discharges may result in negative impacts on the environment, including the spread of invasive species from ballast water that can harm sensitive ecosystems. The vessel permit program also specifies corrective actions, self inspections and self monitoring, record keeping and reporting requirements.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in Michigan to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.

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Revison to Great Lakes Action Plan

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , in collaboration with 15 other federal agencies, have made restoring the Great Lakes a national priority and is proposing a budget of $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (Initiative). The EPA Action Plan, recently released, describes how the Initiative will be executed from 2010 through 2014.

The Plan builds on the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy (GLRC Strategy). The GLRC Strategy provides a framework for the Action Plan. The Action Plan has five major focus areas:

1. Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern, including pollution prevention and cleanup of the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes
2. Invasive Species, including efforts to institute a “zero tolerance policy” toward new invasions, including the establishment of self-sustaining populations of invasive species, such as Asian Carp
3. Nearshore Health and Nonpoint Source Pollution, including a targeted geographic focus on high priority watersheds and reducing polluted runoff from urban, suburban and, agricultural sources
4. Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration, including bringing wetlands and other habitat back to life, and the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the entire 530,000 acres of Great Lakes coastal wetlands for the purpose of strategically targeting restoration and protection efforts in a science-based manner
5. Accountability, Education, Monitoring, Evaluation, Communication and Partnerships, including the implementation of goal- and results-based accountability measures, learning initiatives, outreach and strategic partnerships

The Action Plan identifies goals, objectives, measurable ecological targets, and specific actions for each of the five focus areas identified above. The Action Plan will be used by federal agencies in the development of the federal budget for Great Lakes restoration in fiscal years 2011 and beyond. As such, it will serve as guidance for collaborative restoration work with participants to advance restoration. EPA believes that the Plan will also help advance the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement with Canada.

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Great Lakes Initiative Water Quality Standards - Tier 2

The Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System, also known as the Great Lake Initiative (40 CFR 132), promulgated ambient water quality criteria that applied to waters in the Great lakes basin. The methodologies used to calculate these water quality standards were essentially the same as those used by US EPA since 1994 to calculate National Water Quality Criterion, with the addition of several new types of standards, such as wildlife-based criteria.

[Read more about GLI Wildlife-based Water Quality Criteria]

A minimum data set is required to calculate water quality criteria for both National and GLI (“Tier I”) standards. However, the GLI did provide for methodology States could use to calculate standards for other chemicals which may not have enough data to fulfill these minimum requirements. The resulting standards are referred to as “Tier II” values, or “secondary” values.

Under the GLI, if all minimum data requirements for calculating Tier I are not met, a “safety factor” or “adjustment factor” is applied to the existing data to calculate a water quality standard. All the same requirements for test data acceptability apply equally to Tier I and Tier II standards.

Because the Tier II values use conservative adjustment factors and assumptions, and rely on a limited data set, standards derived using Tier II methodologies will typically result in much lower concentrations compared to Tier I standards.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address water quality standards, wastewater permitting and assessing potential impacts of chemicals in the aquatic environment.

[Click here to request further information on water quality standards technical support.]

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Vessel Discharge Permit - EPA Reconsiders General NPDES Permit

In December, the EPA released a general permit for cargo vessels entering the Great Lakes or other US waters from overseas that includes rules for 26 types of discharges, such as ballast, oily bilge water and "gray water", deck runoff and engine cooling water. Beginning on February 6, 2009, vessels ranging from large cruise ships to barges, tankers and many recreational vessels have to obtain permit coverage and meet certain requirements under the terms of the Vessel General Permit (VGP). These new requirements include best management practices and standards that differ depending on the type of discharge and the type of vessel. Recordkeeping requirements, self reporting, training and other obligations are also required for vessel owners and operators.

One of the key goals of the permit program is to control the spread of invasive species. Ballast water is a leading pathway for the spread of zebra mussels and other non-native aquatic species, which can displace native species and result in significant damage. The EPA permit requires vessels heading for US ports with full ballast tanks to exchange the water at least 200 miles from shore. Ships with empty tanks must rinse them with salt water to kill freshwater organisms remaining in residual puddles or sediment.

However, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency has indicated that the agency now plans to reconsider these rules. The agency believes that the VGP may do too little to prevent cargo ships from spreading invasive species. Similar measures have already had been required by Canada and the U.S. Coast Guard, and evidence suggests that they have been ineffective at control the spread of invasive species. Environmental groups also sued EPA in February 2009, saying the permit did not meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. They want shippers to install systems for sterilizing tanks to control invasive species.

Both Michigan and Minnesota set up their own discharge permit programs before the EPA completed its VGP. The other Great Lakes states, except Wisconsin, added their own specifications to the EPA rules. Wisconsin state water officials adopted the VGP without amendments.

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Michigan Environmental Consulting Services - Environmental Consultant

Caltha LLP provides expert technical consulting services to private and public sector clients across Michigan. For further information, click on links below:

Michigan (MDEQ) Auditing – Compliance Audit – System Audit Services
Michigan (MDEQ) Stormwater Permit Compliance – Storm Water Permitting Services
Michigan Integrated Contingency Plan - SPCC Plan Services
Michigan (MDEQ) EPCRA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Compliance
Michigan (MDEQ) RCRA Compliance Services
Michigan Haz Com – Product Stewardship Compliance Services
Michigan EHS Staffing - Contract Employee Services
Michigan (MDEQ) Wastewater Compliance - NPDES Permitting Services

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in Michigan to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.

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