AOC Summit III
Charting a Course to Delisting
February 2-3, 2006
Holiday Inn West, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Workshop Overview
The AOC Summit convened federal, state and local Remedial Action Plan participants to begin implementation of the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) new Guidance for Delisting Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern. The delisting guidance identifies specific criteria that the State of Michigan will use to determine when beneficial use impairments (BUIs) in the AOCs have been restored. It also outlines the process the state will use to track progress in restoring the BUIs and ultimately support delisting of Michigan's AOCs. The purpose of the AOC Summit was to formally present the guidance and begin the process of applying it in Michigan's 14 AOCs. DEQ staff prepared customized delisting guidance for each AOC outlining key decisions that local public advisory councils (PACs) need to address. During the AOC Summit representatives from Michigan’s AOCs used this guidance to begin developing a plan for implementing the delisting guidance in their AOC.

Followup and Next Steps

Following the AOC Summit DEQ staff will meet with individual PACs to review the delisting guidance, discuss issues specific to each AOC, work with PACs on decisions for adopting the statewide criteria, and work on plans for developing fish and wildlife criteria.

Contacts

For general questions about the AOC Summit or Michigan’s AOC delisting guidance, contact Shanna Draheim, DEQ, 517-241-4311, draheims@michigan.gov. For questions related to specific AOCs, contact the Statewide Public Advisory Council representative for that AOC (see Council list at www.glc.org/spac/spacmemb.html) or the DEQ coordinator for the AOC:

• Menominee River, Torch Lake, Deer Lake: Sharon Baker, 517-335-3310, bakersl@michigan.gov
• St. Clair River, Clinton River, Detroit River: Shanna Draheim, DEQ, 517-241-4311, draheims@michigan.gov
• St. Marys River, Saginaw Bay/River, Rouge River, River Raisin: Michelle Selzer, 517-241-3731, selzerm@michigan.gov
• Manistique River, White Lake, Muskegon Lake, Kalamazoo River: Julie Sims, 517-373-2732, simsj@michigan.gov

Workshop Agenda and Associated Documents

• Agenda (PDF)
• Participants list (PDF)
• Guidance for Delisting Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern (PDF)
• Fact Sheet on Delisting Guidance for Michigan’s Areas of Concern (PDF)

AOC Summit Photo Album

View this album with photos of the AOC representatives and agency staff who participated in the AOC Summit.

Acknowledgments

The workshop was sponsored by the Statewide Public Advisory Council for Michigan’s Areas of Concern Program and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, in collaboration with U.S. EPA-Great Lakes National Program Office and the Great Lakes Commission.

Special thanks to Willard Rose and the Kalamazoo Nature Center (www.naturecenter.org) for hosting dinner for the Summit participants; and Thomas Dietz with the Kalamazoo Valley Museum (http://kvm.kvcc.edu/) for his presentation on the history of the Kalamazoo River.

Presentations

Review of Statewide Delisting Criteria for Michigan’s Areas of Concern: What it is, How it Works, Roles and Responsibilities for Implementing it, and Next Steps for Applying the Criteria in Each AOC (PDF)

Roger Eberhardt, MDEQ
eberharr@michigan.gov

Shanna Draheim, MDEQ
draheims@michigan.gov

Developing Delisting Criteria for Fish and Wildlife: Guidance, Technical Assistance and Key Funding Opportunities to Support Target Development

Karen Rodriguez, U.S. EPA, Great Lakes National Program Office (PDF)
rodriguez.karen@epa.gov
• Background Paper: Assessment of Fish and Wildlife Beneficial Use Impairments in Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern (PDF)

Jay K. Wesley, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
wesleyjk@michigan.gov
• Fact Sheet: Potential Grant Sources for Stream Habitat Restoration and Improvement Projects, and Associated Recreation Projects in Michigan (PDF)
• Fact Sheet: Fisheries Division's Completed River Assessments and Species Plans with an AOC (PDF)

Lisa Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (PDF)
lisa_williams@fws.gov

Donn Waage, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (PDF)
waage@nfwf.org

Michelle Selzer, MDEQ (PDF)
selzerm@michigan.gov
• Fact Sheet: Technical Assistance and Funding Opportunities for Developing Fish & Wildlife Beneficial Use Impairments Restoration Criteria (PDF)

Matt Doss, Great Lakes Commission
mdoss@glc.org

Examples of Target Setting Efforts for Fish and Wildlife in Michigan’s AOCs

Muskegon Lake and White Lake (PDF)
Kathy Evans, Timberland RC&D, Muskegon Lake Public Advisory Council
kevansrcd@aol.com

Clinton River (PDF)
Gary Morgan, Clinton River Watershed Council
gary@crwc.org

Saginaw River/Bay and Rouge River (PDF)
Jack Bails, Public Sector Consultants, Inc.
jbails@pscinc.com

Setting Local Fish and Wildlife Targets Based on the MDEQ Delisting Guidance (PDF)

Roger Eberhardt, MDEQ
eberharr@michigan.gov

Shanna Draheim, MDEQ
draheims@michigan.gov

A Framework for Implementation: Key Decisions for Local Public Advisory Councils in Applying Statewide Delisting Criteria (PDF)

Roger Eberhardt, MDEQ
eberharr@michigan.gov

Shanna Draheim, MDEQ
draheims@michigan.gov

Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session #1: AOC Workgroups (PDF: Agenda)

AOC delegations met to review key decisions for applying the statewide delisting criteria for their AOC.

Breakout Session #2: AOC Integration Groups (PDF: Instructions / Agenda)

AOCs were convened in small groups to report out on common issues and solutions to problems identified in individual AOC sessions.

• St. Marys River, St. Clair River and Detroit River (Moderator: Shanna Draheim)
• Torch Lake, Deer Lake and Manistique River (Moderator: Sharon Baker)
• Muskegon Lake, White Lake, Clinton River, Saginaw River/Bay (Moderator: Julie Sims)
• Kalamazoo River, Menominee River, Rouge River, River Raisin (Moderator: Michelle Selzer and Roger Eberhardt)

Breakout Session #3: Reconvene AOC Workgroups (PDF: Instructions / Agenda)

AOC delegations met to finalize discussions and draft recommendations for their AOC.

For more information about this workshop and related Areas of Concern efforts, contact Matt Doss at the Great Lakes Commission, 734-971-9135, mdoss@glc.org.