Thunder Bay PAC Meeting – Wed., January 7
The Public Advisory Committee (PAC) to the Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan, or harbour cleanup plan, met at 7 p.m. on January 7th at the Balmoral Street Centre on the Lakehead University campus (Room: HS 1029).
The agenda included a presentation about the Thunder Bay Stormwater Management Plan by a representative of Emmons and Olivier Resources (Minneapolis) and City of Thunder Bay representatives. A second presentation about the Kaministiquia River Water Management Plan was provided by representatives of Ontario Power Generation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
Agenda and Complete Information Package:
- Agenda for January 7, 2015
- Previous Minutes (November 12, 2014)
- Directions to the Meeting (parking is free of charge)
- Information to join by computer or phone (using GoToMeeting)
- Kaministiquia River Water Management Plan
- Presentation about the Kaministiquia River Management Plan
- OPG Presentation about the Kaministiquia River System.
- Presentation about the Thunder Bay Stormwater Management Plan
- Information about the Thunder Bay Stormwater Management Plan
- Comments from John Parks re Thunder Bay North Harbour mercury contamination cleanup
- Great Lakes Fisheries Commission – Lake Trout Restoration Plan for Lake Superior (1996)
- Great Lakes Fisheries Commission – Fish Community Objectives for Lake Superior (2003)
New Great Lakes Monitoring Website
The greatlakesmonitoring.org site provides easy access to long-term, environmental monitoring data collected throughout the Great Lakes. There are a range of environmental parameters to choose from such as nutrients, contaminants and physical properties of water from various sources.
Features:
- Explore trends across the basin and visualize available data from a variety of sources
- Compare data among various locations or parameters
- Search for specific data and download
Click the photo or the lnk above to visit the site.
Livable Thunder Bay – An Introduction to EarthCare
For the past ten years EarthCare has been a changemaker in Thunder Bay – creating a more sustainable, healthy and livable city. Each year over 180 working group members and EarthCare partners rally together to take on meaningful projects and initiatives that ultimately create the future our community is looking for. The Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan is represented on EarthCare through their Water Working Group (WWG). This video, produced by EarthCare, provides an introduction to their work and goals.
More information on EarthCare can be found at: earthcarethunderbay.ca/ or on Facebook: facebook.com/earthcaretbay
[vimeo 113109782 w=600 h=400]
Video of Sediment Cores being Collected at Peninsula Harbour
The following is a video, provided by Environment Canada, shows divers collecting cores from the Peninsula Harbour sediment cap for further analysis. The video was taken during monitoring activities of the thin-layer cap.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZFr-bLSeFk?rel=0]
New Website Explores L. Superior’s Wisconsin Shipwrecks
What do the following names have in common – Fedora, Lucerne, Noquebay and Pretoria? They are all Lake Superior shipwrecks which have sunk in Wisconsin.
A fascinating new website with many excellent photos and videos is up and running are you are invited to “Dive In.” Check it out. The website is a fascinating way of exploring yet another dimension of Lake Superior.
Nipigon Bay PAC Meeting – Tues., January 6th
The Public Advisory Committee to the Nipigon Bay Remedial Action Plan met at 7 p.m. on January 6th at the Recreation Centre, 39 Brompton Rd., Red Rock, Ontario. At the meeting, representatives of Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change presented a draft Nipigon Bay “completion report”, outlining progress to address environmental issues identified by the Nipigon Bay Remedial Action Plan. A detailed agenda, minutes of the previous meeting and other meeting information is posted below.
Agenda and Complete Meeting Package:
- Agenda for January 6th, 2015
- Minutes of October 15th, 2014
- Information to join the meeting by computer or phone
- Letter to Red Rock Mayor G. Nelson and council seeking affirmation re plans for upgraded wastewater treatment plant construction
- Letter from Red Rock re timeline for construction of new wastewater treatment plant
- 2012 Report on the status of walleye in Nipigon Bay
- Chronicle Journal Article on Red Rock wastewater plan
.jpg){kind=link}
How Much Habitat is Enough?
Work to address impaired fish and wildlife habitat is central to Great Lakes Remedial Action Plans. A per-requisite in this work is knowing how much habitat is necessary to support a particular wildlife population.
To help answer this question Environment Canada produced the document “How Much Habitat is Enough? – (3rd edition, 2013)” (available here). The document describes the minimum amount of wetland, forest, riparian and grassland habitat needed to support populations of wildlife. The report also provides an extensive literature review and 21 habitat guidelines to assist land planners and other conservation practitioners to restore and protect wildlife habitat.
Guidelines include: 30% to 50% minimum forest cover, the greater of 10% wetland cover per watershed or 40% of historic wetland cover, 75% of the length of a stream naturally vegetated, less than 10% impervious cover in a watershed, and average grassland patch sizes of greater than or equal to 50 hectares. This publication has influenced land use planning, restoration projects and land purchase initiatives across multiple jurisdictions and has become a standard conservation biology and landscape ecology reference.
Thunder Bay PAC Meeting – November 12
The next meeting of the Public Advisory Committee (PAC) to the Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan, or cleanup plan, will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12 at the Balmoral Street Centre on the Lakehead University Campus (directions). The general public is welcome to attend and there is no charge.
Links to Important Documents:
- Agenda
- Minutes of previous meeting
- Delisting Criteria for Beneficial Use Impairments being discussed
- Presentation on George Creek Rehabilitation by Frank Edgson/Northshore Steelhead Association
- Kaministiquia River Water Management Plan (note, this is a huge file and will take significant time to access)
- Kathy Sakamoto Chippewa Beach Geomorphology Information
- Comments Re North Harbour from Environment North
Special Presentation on Chemicals of Emerging Concern in the Great Lakes
Presence of Chemicals of Emerging Concern in the Great Lakes & Impact of Advanced Technologies on their Removal.
Dr. Saad Jasim, Director of SJ Environmental Consultants (Windsor) Inc.
November 20, 2014 — 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.
ATAC building (Room 1003) at Lakehead University.
ABSTRACT
The Great Lakes and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on earth. Over the past 10 years, focus on environmental monitoring has shifted to an array of recently discovered compounds known as ‘chemicals of emerging concern’ (CEC). These chemicals are found in products used daily in households, businesses, agriculture and industry, such as flame-retardants, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides.
Wastewater treatment plants are among the important pathways by which CEC enter the Great Lakes, with concentrations highest in the vicinity of wastewater discharges. Treated sewage is often discharged into the nearshore waters, which also provide a source of drinking water to the public. They are released into aquatic environments mainly via sewage treatment plant effluents and agricultural runoff. Since conventional sewage treatment processes fail to eliminate them efficiently, they end up in natural waters.
Despite high transformation and removal rates, many EDCs and PPCPs are persistent in the environment due to their continuous release. Adverse impacts of this diverse group of chemicals have been documented for wildlife including increased feminization of fish, sexual disorders in snails and juvenile alligators, and kidney failure in vultures leading to death. Ozonation and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been reported to be extremely effective in removing these compounds.
November 2014 Podcast
NOVEMBER EDITION
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Carri Lohse-Hanson, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
To listen to the interview, click here.
In the November 2014 edition of InfoSuperior’s podcast, or audio interview series, Thunder Bay Remedial Plan Coordinator Jim Bailey speaks with Carri Lohse-Hanson of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Carri is a long-serving member of the Lake Superior Binational Program to Restore and Protect the Lake Superior basin ecosystem. She is the Lake Superior Binational Program Coordinator with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and works in St. Paul, Minnesota under the direction of MPCA’s Duluth, Minnesota office.
Carri is well known to many, many agency people and citizens from around the entire lake, both in Canada and USA, who have been active in Lake Superior restoration and protection. Carri has been a driving force in the Binational Program and has overseen multiple successful efforts aimed at reducing chemical contamination. These efforts include mercury reduction, PCB reduction, pesticide reduction and open burning reduction aimed at dioxins. Carri currently serves as U.S. Co-chair for the Binational Program Chemical Committee. Carri will be retiring in January, 2015.