Lake Michigan Monitoring Coordination Council
Draft Meeting Summary
Spring Meeting
May 20, 2002
Monona Terrace Convention Center
Madison, WI
A total of
16 people attended the Spring Meeting of the Lake Michigan Monitoring
Coordination Council (the Council). A
list of participants is provided below.
(See Council Members and Interested Parties List for
contact information.)
Steve Blumer U.S.
Geological Survey
Naomi Detenbeck U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Research and Development
Victoria Harris University
of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Paul Horvatin U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes National Program Office
John Hummer Great
Lakes Commission
Bob Kavetsky U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
Gary Kohlhepp Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality
Russell Kreis U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development
Ric Lawson Great
Lakes Commission
Chris Magruder Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage
District
Mary Moffett U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development
Elizabeth Moore Great Lakes Commission
Charlie Peters U.S.
Geological Survey
Jana Stewart U.S.
Geological Survey
Eric Waldmer Milwaukee
Metropolitan Sewerage District
Lawson welcomed several newcomers and began
with a brief presentation/overview of the Lake Michigan Monitoring Coordination
Council.
Peters reported that the Western lake Michigan Drainages
NAWQA study has been restarted. They
are sampling four sites on a bi-monthly basis for chemistry and flow. They will also be sampling these four sites
annually for fish, macroinverebrates and algae. Additionally, habitat assessments will be conducted. They will also be sampling eight sites for
mercury in water, sediment and tissue.
Project personnel will be starting a special mercury study and a special
urban land use study next year. They
will be resampling the Cambrian Ordivician Aquifer and the sandy glacial
agricultural area aquifers from cycle one.
They will be sampling the entire glacial aquifer and conducting a flow
system study in the sandy glacial aquifer area.
Peters reported that one aspect of the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences—Waters of Wisconsin (WOW) project would be looking at current water
monitoring networks in Wisconsin and conducting a needs assessment. (See Jana Stewart’s report below for more
information on this project.)
Peters also reported that the Aquatic GAP project has begun
for the Great Lakes. (See Jana
Stewart’s report below for more information on this project.)
Stewart first spoke briefly about the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences—WOW project. The project is in
its second year. The products to be
produced in the short-term include a report, a statewide water summit and
additional outreach activities. The
report will include an overview of the current status of Wisconsin’s water, a
history of water policy, short and long-term demand scenarios and a discussion
of strategies for promoting sustainable management of the state’s water
resources.
Stewart also gave an update on the Aquatic GAP project. She reported that Wisconsin and Michigan are
building a bio-database with a focus on fish.
They are also in the process of developing ecological stream
classifications. The project will assess
gaps in biodiversity and help develop a bio-monitoring network. Several states around the Great Lakes basin
(including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin) are in
various stages of the project – building bio-databases, developing ecological
stream classifications, or becoming partners in the project. Future work will include assessments of
freshwater mussels and other macroinvertebrates.
Beck gave an update on the Lake Michigan LaMP. An update of the LaMP is out on CD and small
quantities of hard copies. She
indicated there is now more focus on setting targets for making progress on
various parts of the plan. Some topics
which have received attention recently include PCBs, mercury, Superfund, and
atmospheric deposition. The LaMP team
is developing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for PCB and mercury. She added
that there is a draft proposal in the works for a mercury phase-out
program. The program will require a
monitoring element, which she would like to discuss in more detail at the next
Council meeting.
Beck also reported on the work of a “Critical Ecosystem
Team” for Region 5. They have developed
a GIS map that highlights trouble spots in the region using a 1994 baseline.
Horvatin provided an update on the Lake Michigan Mass
Balance project. He reported that
results have been “rolled out” at state capitals in four states. He is planning to get LMMB investigators
together in March or April 2003 for a final “roll-out” of results. He is hoping that by 2004-05 that more
intensive monitoring can be accomplished by using the LMMB results as part of a
monitoring framework to help measure change over time.
Horvatin also reported on the International Air Deposition
Network. This November, the group is
meeting with representatives from Canada on their implementation plan. Part of the plan includes an additional
monitoring station on the water intake crib three to four miles offshore near
Chicago.
Horvatin reported that fish contaminant results for Lake
Michigan for the period 1999-2001 would be released in July.
Horvatin also reminded participants that the State of the
Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) would take place October 16-18 in
Cleveland. He indicated that an update
on the State of Lake Michigan would be one of the agenda items, of which the
Council will take part in. Some reports
on specific indicators may be presented.
Finally, Horvatin suggested that the Council take up
discussion on the idea of completing a TMDL for Lake Michigan for PCBs and
mercury. He could have more information
for the next Council meeting.
Blumer reported that a St. Joseph River Watershed conference
is taking place June 10-11, 2002 at the Century Center in South Bend, IN. The conference features sessions discussing
environmental conditions in the St. Joseph River watershed and their impacts on
Lake Michigan; agriculture & atrazine issues; and bi-state and local
efforts to restore and protect water quality.
(For more information, see the Spring LMMCC newsletter under “Coming
Events” distributed via the Council listserve May 17.)
Blumer reported that PCB sampling in the Pere Marquette and
Muskegon River watersheds is underway.
Sampling will take place at 16 sites for each river, four times per each
site. The sampling is primarily TMDL-related.
Blumer also reported that through funding from the Clean
Michigan Initiative, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Land and
Water Management Division and USGS are sampling 70-100 inland lakes per year;
each being sampled twice a year (late summer and ice-out) to establish a
trophic index for each lake.
Blumer added that
Michigan State University is doing related work – looking at sediment cores to
gather more detailed information on contaminant concentrations for mercury and
most metals.
Kohlhepp announced that Michigan now has a monitoring web
page: http://www.mi.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3306_28610---,00.html
He indicated that 2001 monitoring reports
would be accessible on the web page some time this fall. The web page also includes volunteer
monitoring and beach monitoring information.
III. Council Workgroup Updates
The following information was presented on
the status of each of the 10 workgroups:
Air: (Still seeking workgroup chair) Nothing new to report.
Aquatic Nuisance Species: (Still seeking workgroup chair) Hummer reported that the Great Lakes Commission received
preliminary acceptance of a grant proposal it submitted to the U.S. EPA Great
Lakes National Program Office. The purpose
of the grant is to advance the development of a regional ANS monitoring program,
the initiation of a Nonindigenous Invasive Species Early Detection System pilot
– which would be done in the Lake Michigan basin – and a corresponding
implementation plan. Work would be a
collaborative effort among the LMMCC ANS workgroup, the Great Lakes Panel on
Aquatic Nuisance Species, and the Great Lakes Commission. The GLC/Great Lakes Panel is currently
developing a Rapid Response System for “high risk” areas for non-indigenous
invasive species.
Fisheries: Great Lakes Commission staff has received
some feedback on a strategic plan developed for the workgroup. GLC staff will follow up on the plan in the
months ahead.
Groundwater: (Norm Grannemann, chair) Nothing new to report.
Land Use: Beck (chair) reported that the workgroup is
coming together on the Illinois side of the lake. An informal partnership of the NE Illinois, the NE Indiana and
Milwaukee area planning commissions has received two grants. She added that they hope to get Michigan
involved in the project. Beck also
reported that she is developing a watershed academy and that continuing
education credits can be earned by taking the course. Contact Judy for more information.
Open Lake: (Glenn Warren, chair) See update report from Paul Horvatin on the
Lake Michigan Mass Balance project above.
Recreational Waters:
(Kathy Luther, chair) On behalf
of Holly Wirick (U.S. EPA Water Division) and Dr. Richard Whitman (USGS) Hummer
reported that FY’02 Beach Act grant applications were currently due. These
grants are a continuation of last year’s grants to develop beach monitoring and
public notification programs. Most of
the states have formed advisory committees to help develop the state plans. He
added that six Great Lakes states (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) each received
somewhere between $200,000-$300,000.
Hummer also reported that the BeachNet listserve has grown
substantially. The beaches association
will be planning an upcoming conference – before or just after SOLEC. Tentative ideas would be a call for papers
from management, environmentalists, regulators and scientists.
Tributaries: (Charlie Peters chair) Peters reported that the workgroup developed
a strategic plan in October 2001. The
workgroup has not been able to meet to implement the strategic plan since that
time.
An initial tributary inventory was
conducted by the Great Lakes Commission.
A more detailed survey was developed by a few entities in the
basin. The focus will be on getting the
USGS, WDNR, and MDEQ to complete that survey.
The BEC workshops, the Great Lakes
workshops, and the Capacity Building workshop each provided some information
for this work group to work from.
The USGS involvement with the WOW effort
should provide some information for the work group. This effort will develop a
purpose statement, current status, and recommendations for stream flow, water
quality, groundwater level and water use monitoring. The draft will be done in
July.
The USGS NAWQA report on establishing a
Lake Michigan Monitoring Network should also provide some information for the
workgroup. This effort is reviewing
water quality and flow information in the USGS and STORET database from 1970 to
present. One product of the project
will be a map of sites and what was collected at each of those sites in a
simple graphical format. A draft of the
report is expected to be completed in September.
Kohlhepp reported that Michigan is doing
extensive monitoring for metals and nutrients for most Lake Michigan
tributaries. They are striving for data
compatibility with NAWQA standards.
Wetlands:
Hummer reported on behalf of the Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands
Consortium. Earlier this spring, the
GLC selected six research projects that will lead to a long-term Great Lakes
coastal wetlands monitoring strategy.
The purpose of this year’s fieldwork is to test the coordinated
collection and analysis of selected methods and metrics across the basin in
several geomorphic types of wetlands.
Project work will take place in over 30 wetland sites distributed across
the Great Lakes basin. Data will be
collected and analyzed on all of the Consortium’s pre-selected indicators,
which include biological measures, physical and chemical measures, and
landscape measures. Data will be
centrally compiled at the end of project work so that cross-site comparisons
can be done. Hummer gave a brief
summary of each of the six projects for Year One.
Wildlife: (Laurie Rounds chair) Lawson reported that draft priorities (a
Summary of Monitoring Priorities for Relevant States and Agencies) and species
lists have been compiled by GLC staff.
These lists cut across state and federal rankings for the species. Follow up work to these lists will be
coordinated by this workgroup in the months ahead.
Detenbeck gave a detailed presentation on the Lake Michigan
Diagnostic Case Study being conducted by U.S. EPA Office of Research and
Development. The following summary is
extracted from her presentation:
The primary goal of this study is to develop an efficient
systematic approach for the Lake Michigan basin to:
The project’s sub-objectives are to:
For more information on this presentation/project, contact
Detenbeck directly at detenbeck.naomi@epa.gov.
Lawson stated that future Council activities include moving
the workgroups forward, a possible presentation at the October SOLEC meeting,
and the Council’s fall meeting. Due to
time constraints, discussion regarding details for these initiatives was very
limited.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m.