Lake Erie Areas of Concern Summit

July 11-12, 2006
Tom Ridge Environmental Center
Erie, Pennsylvania

Meeting Overview
The Lake Erie Areas of Concern Summit convened participants from the 12 Lake Erie Areas of Concern (AOC) to

• network and enhance communication;
• review recent developments affecting the AOC program;
• identify opportunities to expedite progress on key AOC tasks;
• improve linkages between the AOCs and the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP); and
• consider followup activities that will strengthen collective efforts to restore and protect Lake Erie.

The program included a mix of presentations from agency staff and technical experts, reports from representatives from the Lake Erie AOCs and the Lake Erie Binational Public Forum, and facilitated discussion. The program focused on providing

• an overview of AOC and lakewide management efforts on Lake Erie;
• a review of opportunities for Lake Erie’s AOCs to collaborate with and benefit from programs and resources available at the federal, state/provincial and local levels; and
• examples of how local Remedial Action Plan (RAP) groups have developed the capacity needed to advance restoration efforts in their AOCs.

During the course of the two-day meeting representatives from Lake Erie’s 12 AOCs discussed their work, the challenges they face, and how they would like to collaborate with other partners. Presentations from the meeting and associated materials are provided below.

Meeting Materials

• Agenda (PDF)
• Participants list (PDF)
• Notes from Day One Discussions (PDF)
• Notes from Day Two Breakout Discussion Sessions (PDF)
• Fact Sheets on Lake Erie’s Areas of Concern (PDF)
• Survey Responses on Remedial Action Plan Activities in Lake Erie’s Areas of Concern (PDF)
• Lake Erie Critical Leaders Proceedings Summary (PDF)
• Lake Erie Critical Leaders Recommendations Summary (PDF)

Summary of Key Themes from the Meeting Discussions
The meeting discussions highlighted a number of key themes – and ongoing challenges – for the Lake Erie community. In brief, these centered on

• Strengthening the land-water connection – We need to better link and integrate land use and watershed management efforts with our regional and binational work to protect and restore Lake Erie. This should involve strengthening key land use/watershed management programs (e.g., Remedial Action Plans, Phase II stormwater management, soil erosion prevention, coastal zone management, etc.) and linking them more clearly with lakewide management programs and goals outlined in the Lake Erie LaMP and other documents.



• Marketing our message – Communicating with and educating the public, elected officials and other key audiences is critical to raising awareness of the economic value of water resources, how we impact them, and how restoring them will enhance the economic vitality and quality of life in our communities.



• Sustaining local efforts – Maintaining strong local stewardship programs is vital and requires high-capacity watershed organizations, professional leadership, sustainable funding mechanisms, and effective engagement with public officials. The Lake Erie community should collectively explore options for addressing these and other challenges facing local stewardship programs.



• Coordinating our collective efforts – We must continue to coordinate and network the many government agencies, local groups, academia and others working in programs that benefit Lake Erie. Priority activities include applying monitoring and research expertise to local problems (such as beneficial use impairments in the AOCs); targeting resources at key needs; setting goals and tracking outcomes; facilitating ongoing communication and networking among watershed stewards; and devising creative solutions to common challenges.

Followup and Next Steps
The meeting generated many valuable ideas for strengthening and expediting the restoration and protection of Lake Erie and the Areas of Concern on the lake. The challenge now is to refine these ideas and make them “operational” so they yield tangible benefits for both local AOC restoration efforts and the collective Lake Erie management program. These ideas will be addressed by leaders of the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan and the individual AOC programs on Lake Erie in collaboration with other partners.

Sponsors
The Lake Erie Areas of Concern Summit was sponsored by the Presque Isle Bay Public Advisory Committee, U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office, the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, and the Great Lakes Commission.

Contacts

• Dan O’Riordan, Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan Manager, U.S. EPA-Great Lakes National Program Office, 312-886-7981, oriordan.daniel@epa.gov
• Lori Boughton, Chief, Office of the Great Lakes, Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection, 814-217-9635, lboughton@state.pa.us
• Matt Doss, Program Manager, Great Lakes Commission, 734-971-9135, mdoss@glc.org.

Presentations

Setting the Stage: An Overview of Lake Erie Restoration and Protection Efforts

(Note: With the exception of the presentations and materials provided below, most of the presentations from this session were made verbally.)

Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan (remarks – PDF)
Dan O’Riordan, Lake Erie LaMP Manager, U.S. EPA, Great Lakes National Program Office (oriordan.daniel@epa.gov)

Ohio's Areas of Concern (PDF)
Julie Letterhos, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (julie.letterhos@epa.state.oh.us)

Michigan’s Areas of Concern (remarks – PDF)
Michelle Selzer, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (selzerm@michigan.gov)

Voices from the Local Level: Challenges and Opportunities Facing Lake Erie’s Areas of Concern and the Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan

(Note: With the exception of the presentations and materials provided below, most of the presentations from this session were made verbally.)

St. Clair River Binational Public Advisory Council (PDF)

Lake Erie Binational Public Forum

• Presentation (PDF)
• Fact Sheet (PDF)

Building Bridges and Facilitating Collaboration to Advance AOC Restoration Efforts

Optimizing the Potential of the new Federal-State AOC Coordinating Committee (PDF)
Mark Elster, U.S. EPA-GLNPO (elster.mark@epa.gov)

Coordinating Federal, Provincial, and Local RAP Actions Through the Canada-Ontario Agreement (PDF)
Mary Ellen Scanlon and Ted Briggs, Ontario Ministry of the Environment (mary.ellen.scanlon@ene.gov.on.ca, ted.briggs@ene.gov.on.ca)

Leveraging Lake Erie's Science Community Through the Lake Erie Millennium Network (PDF)
Jan Ciborowski, University of Windsor (cibor@uwindsor.ca)

Advancing Great Lakes Research and Information Exchange Through the Great Lakes Regional Research and Information Network (PDF)
Frank Lichtkoppler, Professor, Ohio State University Extension and Extension Specialist, Ohio Sea Grant (lichtkoppler.1@osu.edu)

Coordinating Technical Expertise to Delist the Fish Tumor Impairment in the Presque Isle Bay AOC (PDF)
Eric C. Obert, Coastal Environmental Specialist, Pennsylvania Sea Grant (eco1@psu.edu)

Building Core Capacity Among AOC Participants

Rouge River Area of Concern, Michigan (PDF)
Kurt Heise, Director, Wayne County Department of Environment (kheise@co.wayne.mi.us)

• Fact Sheet (PDF)

Cuyahoga River Area of Concern, Ohio (PDF)
Jim White, Director, Cuyahoga River RAP and River Navigator, Cuyahoga American Heritage River (whitej@cuyahogariverrap.org)

• Fact Sheet (PDF)

Detroit River Area of Concern, Ontario (PDF)
Melanie Coulter, Coordinator, Detroit River Canadian Cleanup (coulter@detroitriver.ca)

Buffalo River Area of Concern, New York (PDF)
Jill Spisiak Jedlicka, Buffalo River RAP Coordinator, Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER (jedlicka@bnriverkeeper.org)

Keynote Speakers

Murray N. Charlton, Project Chief, Lake Management Research, Aquatic Ecosystem Management Research Division, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada (presentation – PDF)
murray.charlton@ec.gc.ca

David A. Ullrich, Director, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (remarks – PDF)
david.ullrich@nemw.org