July/August 1996
|
|
July/August 1996 |
For more than five years, the communities in the Muskegon Lake and White Lake Areas of Concern have been actively involved in many projects ranging from organizing Public Advisory Councils (PACs) to seeking funding for remedial actions. The PACs' one-year-old LakeWatch program recently received the national Local Environmental Hero award from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual "local environmental heroes" also recognized for their tireless efforts to preserve and protect our environment include Jerry Engle, Chuck Vanderlaan, Kathy Evans, Gary Fahnenstiel and Theresa Lauber.
LakeWatch is a citizen water monitoring program developed to provide useful water quality data while utilizing a vast source of energy -- enthusiastic volunteers. Thirty-five LakeWatch volunteers take secchi disk readings and collect water samples once a month for temperature, phosphorus and chlorophyll on Muskegon and White Lakes. The LakeWatch program will not only provide data for annual reports, but will also help to identify potential water quality problems and educate the community about lake ecology through training, presentations, displays and annual reports.
Last year over 400 volunteer hours were documented for LakeWatch organizing, recruiting, training and monitoring. What began with initial seed money from a Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant was expanded to include many other partners who help with program delivery and funding. These include the Lake Michigan Field Station of NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, Montague High School, Muskegon Conservation District, Muskegon County Wastewater Management System, Muskegon Lake and White Lake PACs, Muskegon Sportfishing Association, Natural Resource Conservation Service, White Lake Area Sportfishing Association, Timberland Resource Conservation and Development Council and Phillips Environmental Partnerships.
Through educational programs like LakeWatch, the Muskegon Lake and White Lake PACs are continuing to educate the communities on water quality and habitat issues that encompass projects on natural landscaping, soil erosion, buffer strips, wildlife monitoring, household waste, urban runoff and land ethics. Current projects are funded through a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality grant received by the Muskegon Conservation District.
For more information, contact Theresa Lauber, Muskegon Conservation District, 1001 East Wesley, Muskegon, MI 49442. Telephone (616)773-0129; fax (616)773-1210.
Following a successful demonstration project in 1995, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has proposed to dredge areas of the Manistique River and harbor that were previously planned to be capped, according to U.S. EPA announcements. Agreement in principle has been reached for the companies named as "potentially responsible parties" to provide a set amount of money for U.S. EPA to perform the dredging.
Within two to three years after dredging, PCB concentrations in fish are expected to drop below current health advisory levels, according to U.S. EPA.
During summer 1995, sediment dredging in the North Bay portion of the Area of Concern showed that a cofferdam and silt barriers with floating booms were effective in containing resuspended sediments during debris removal. No resuspension of sediments occurred during the dredging. The cost of dredging proved to be comparable to capping the sediments in part because disposal costs were less than expected. Materials with high PCB concentrations were separated and disposed of in a PCB disposal facility while 97 percent of dredged sediments could be safely disposed of in a nonhazardous landfill.
The total cost for dredging the harbor and river hotspots is estimated to be between $6 million and $11 million. During dredging activities, surface water would be monitored, according to U.S. EPA. U.S. EPA would also conduct sediment and fish sampling for several years after the dredging to confirm that cleanup standards were met.
As we go to press, U.S. EPA is reviewing the comments presented at public meetings held in March and May. Work to remove and dispose of the contaminated sediments could begin in mid-summer 1996.
For more information, contact James Hahnenberg, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard (SR-6J), Chicago, IL 60604-3590. Email hahnenberg.james@epamail.epa.gov; telephone (312)353-4213; fax (312)886-4071.
Revised: 17 February 1997
Maintained by Kevin McGunagle,
mcgunaglek@ijc.wincom.net