The Great Lakes region is in the industrial heartland of North America. More than 35 million people live within the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin and depend upon it for economic, recreational, and aesthetic benefits. Twenty percent of the world's and 95 percent of the United States' supply of fresh water is contained in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence system. This enormous system borders two Canadian provinces and eight U.S. states and has more than 14,000 miles of shoreline. Its drainage basin covers more than 400,000 square miles from a point west of Duluth, Minnesota to Trois Riveries, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River.
Most proposals for Coastal America projects in the Great Lakes region emerge from the cooperative efforts of federal, state, and local agencies and interest groups operating on the local level. Like the southeast region, proposals are brought to the Great Lakes RIT through a "proponent" or lead partner. Each "proponent" ensures that any proposal meets applicable Coastal America criteria and are submitted in an appropriate format. The Chairperson of the Great Lakes RIT serves as a focal point, coordinating proposals with RIT members for comment and/or endorsement.
If Great Lakes RIT members from three or more participating agencies endorse a proposed project and none specifically object, the project is entered on the Great Lakes RIT Projects Working List. The Great Lakes RIT member for each project supports approval and/or funding for their agency's involvement through normal internal programs and processes. Once pertinent approvals and funds are obtained by the partners, the lead partner at the local level coordinates the necessary arrangements with other partners to execute the project.
The Great Lakes RIT monitors the progress of approved projects and reports progress to the NIT as necessary. The lead agency for each project prepares fact sheets which are compiled and forwarded to the NIT by the Great Lakes RIT Chairperson.
The International Joint Commission (IJC), an international body convened between the U.S. and Canada, concerned with the health and restoration of the Great Lakes, has identified forty three Areas of Concern (AOCs) since 1973. These include major municipal and industrial centers on rivers, harbors, and connecting channels. Although many of the sites continue to exhibit problems of bacterial pollution, eutrophication, and habitat loss, the dominant concern at all but one is toxic substance contamination. Thus, the Great Lakes RIT has also endorsed the remediation of toxic substance contamination as the principal theme of its strategy.
High concentrations of a variety of toxic pollutants have been discovered in the bottom sediments of numerous areas of the Great Lakes, especially in areas adjacent to harbors, industrial sites, and urban centers. Most of these areas are contaminated by PCBs, metals, pesticides, and oil and grease. The sources of these pollutants include historic and current industrial discharges, municipal discharges, and discharges and releases associated with harbor operations. Also a range of nonpoint sources including sewer overflows, urban runoff, and leachate from contaminated ground water are suspected sources of sediment contamination in some areas.
Another issue of the Great Lakes strategy is the control of "exotic" or nonindigenous organisms. Foreign species, including the sea lamprey, the alewife, the Asian clam, and various plant species, have invaded the Great Lakes system at various times since the early 1800's and have competed aggressively with native biota. Most early introductions were the result of efforts to improve marine access to the Great Lakes through the Erie Barge Canal in the 1830's and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1954. New troublesome species are now entering the Great Lakes through the discharge of ballast water from oceangoing vessels. Examples include the ruffe, a European perch-like fish that researchers believe was introduced into Duluth Harbor in 1983, and the zebra mussel, also from Europe, discovered in Lake St. Clair in 1983 and now present throughout the Great Lakes and many inland rivers, e.g., the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Hudson. Substantial numbers of the ruffe have been collected from the St. Louis Bay and River near Duluth, Minnesota. First collected in 1986, a significant breeding population has developed. The ruffe feed on the eggs and larvae of other percids and whitefish, often resulting in declines in those species. The zebra mussel is extremely prolific, i.e., 30,000 eggs per female, and attaches to hard substrates exposed to currents, such as water intake pipes, fishnets, boat hulls, and other solid surfaces often clogging and leading to excessive maintenance and repair.
As a part of the IJC's continuing efforts in the Great Lakes, Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) are being developed for each AOC, aimed at restoring beneficial uses and encouraging the reestablishment of environmental health and integrity. The RAP process is a community based approach to designing the best possible solution to the particular problems facing each site. It operates on a scale that can foster understanding of the true nature of the issues and the linkage between economic and environmental well-being. Based on early cost estimates, it is apparent that tens of billions of dollars from both private and public sources will be required for RAP implementation. Nevertheless, the process can highlight potential opportunities for the Great Lakes RIT to promote projects that can begin the process of remediation in support of the goals of the IJC.
To date, habitat restoration and nonpoint source pollution prevention have been of high priority to the Great Lakes RIT. For example, on the Maumee River in Ohio, a demonstration project focuses on prescriptive fertilizer application by farmers to reduce nonpoint source pollution to Lake Erie. At Pensaukee Harbor, Wisconsin, an island was created from dredged material to provide habitat for wildlife resources including colonial nesting birds and state listed endangered species and to provide erosion protection for wetland areas along the Green Bay shoreline. In addition, remedial options for contaminated sediments that are a major source of PCBs to southern Green Bay, Wisconsin at Little Lake Butte des Morts have been studied.