By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of an action plan that it says will restore the Great Lakes to a higher standard of environmental quality.

Along with the plan, the government will spend $475 million on various projects in the region. The projects fall under the following rubrics: toxic substances, invasive species, nearshore health and nonpoint source pollution, habitat and wildlife protection, and education.

According to the plan’s executive summary, “while in the past we have worked to minimize harm, public demand for a new standard of care is surging. That standard of care is that we must leave the Great Lakes better for the next generation than the condition, in which we inherited them. We must continue to go beyond minimizing harm to proactively rehabilitating the Great Lakes. Only then, will they be able to keep providing jobs, recreation and sanctuary.”

The report, “Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan (GLRI),” touts itself as more than just a bunch of windy proclamations. The timeline for implementation of the plan is 2010-14.

Regarding its first area of focus, toxic substances, the plan envisions pollution prevention and cleanup of the most polluted areas of the Great Lakes. To illustrate the problem, the report states that of 31 locations originally identified as areas of concern (AOCs), only one, the Oswego River, has been taken off the list with one other, Presque Isle, attaining recovery status.

Its objectives include delisting five of these areas by 2014. By 2011, it plans to have collected or prevented the release of 15 million pounds of electronic waste and 15 million pills of unwanted medicine. By 2014, it plans to increase these numbers to 45 million pounds of e-waste and 45 million pills, and achieve the same goal regarding 4.5 million pounds of hazardous household waste.
Regarding invasive species, the plan provides a timeline for the introduction of various invasive species into the Great Lakes by different means. The plan reports that it has a zero tolerance policy towards invasive species. It highlights its plans for the Asian carp, but missing from these is the possibility of shutting down locks to prevent the establishment of the fishes in Lake Michigan.

Instead, it will rely on improvements to the electric fish barrier, federal efforts to detect and remove fish from the system and using the U.S. Geological Survey to “develop innovative control technologies.” According to the report, “agencies will continue to adapt their management strategies as new information becomes available.”

On nearshore health and nonpoint source pollution, the report states nearshore water quality has become degraded, as illustrated by eutrophication, the process by which a body of water is enriched by too much in the way of nutrients. These include phosphorus, which results in unsightly algal blooms on beaches and depletion of dissolved oxygen. Excessive nutrients can result in closed beaches, bad odors in these areas, as well as instances of avian botulism. There are a number of objectives in this area. Among them, “by 2014, a measurable decrease will be achieved in soluble phosphorus loading from 2008 levels in targeted tributaries.”

On habitat and wildlife protection, the plan would bring wetlands and other habitat “back to life.” It would undertake the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the entire 530,000 acres of Great Lakes wetlands for the purpose of targeting restoration and protection efforts. One of its objectives is to reopen 4,500 miles of Great Lakes rivers and tributaries and to reopen 450 barriers to fish passage.

To learn more, visit http://greatlakesrestoration.us