PROGRESS REPORT 2000 

Sediments Challenge Update

EPA and EC first presented a draft sediment reporting format to the Integration Group at the February 15, 2000, meeting.  The proposed reporting format was also presented at the May 16, 2000, Stakeholder meeting.  The purpose of the proposed format is to track sediment remediation activities occurring in the Great Lakes Basin.  Example maps depicting the status of some contaminated sites in Canada and the United States were presented to the Integration Group.   Preliminary maps, beginning with the baseline year 1997, are presented on the following pages.   The maps, along with details on various sites, will provide a quick, concise, easy way to demonstrate progress the parties have been making.  The parties will also attempt to track volumes of contaminated sediments removed in a given year, as well as the mass of GLBTS substances associated with those volumes.  Table 1 presents a draft format for reporting progress on sediment remediation in the Great Lakes.

The format builds upon the binational summary of sediment management actions taken in the Great Lakes, found in Table C of the Water Quality Board document, Overcoming Obstacles to Sediment Remediation in the Great Lakes Basin: White Paper by the Sediment Action priority Committee, produced in 1997. This establishes 1997 as the base year for reporting under the Binational Toxics Strategy.

EPA and EC have also committed to sponsoring a contaminated sediment technology workshop early in 2001. A draft workshop agenda was presented to the Integration Group at its September 22, 2000, meeting. The workshop, "Removing and Treating Great Lakes Contaminated Sediment," will focus on contaminated sediment technologies along with case studies and demonstration projects. Topics to be covered include: removal and treatment technologies; sediment clean-up; physical treatment (e.g., thermal destruction); biological treatment; sediment re-use; and ecological and economic benefits of sediment remediation.

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Table 1. Binational Strategy Proposed Sediment Reporting Format: Progress on Sediment Remediation in the Great Lakes

Site/Area of Concern (AOC)	GLBTS Substances Present aldrin/dieldrin; benzo(a)pyrene; chlordane; DDT (+DDD+DDE); hexaclorobenzene; alkyl-lead; mercury and compounds; mirex; octachlorostyrene; PCBs; PCDD (Dioxins) and PCDF (Furans); toxaphene		Progress Made Since April 1997 (cubic yards/meters removed; pounds/kilograms of contaminant removed)
Ashtabula River, Ohio
Black River, Ohio
Buffalo River, NY
Clinton River, Michigan
Cuyahoga River, Ohio
Deer Lake-Carp River, Michigan
Detroit River, Michigan
Eighteen Mile Creek, New York
Fox River/Green Bay, Wisconsin
Grand Calumet, Indiana
Kalamazoo River, Michigan
Manistique River, Michigan
Maumee River, Ohio
Menominee River, Mich/Wisconsin
Milwaukee Harbor, Wisconsin
Muskegon Lake, Michigan
Niagara River, New York
Presque Isle Bay, PA
River Raisin, Michigan
Rochester Embayment, New York
Rouge River, Michigan
Saginaw River/Bay, Michigan
Sheboygan Harbor, Wisconsin
St. Clair River, Michigan
St. Lawrence River, New York
St. Louis River/Bay, Minn/Wisconsin
Torch Lake, Michigan
Waukegan Harbor, Illinois
White Lake, Michigan

Canadian Summary of Sediment Issues In Areas of Concern (AOCs)

St. Lawrence River (Cornwall):

 St. Lawrence River bottom sediment is contaminated with mercury, copper, and lead in three zones along the Cornwall waterfront. Mercury concentrations in sediment from these areas decreased from the 1970s to the 1990s, likely in response to reductions in local discharges and the replacement of shore-based discharges with off-shore diffusers. The total volume of contaminated sediment is estimated at 20,000 cubic meters. Sediment remediation is under assessment, and the parties have agreed to develop a sediment management strategy for the Cornwall waterfront.

Bay of Quinte:

The Bay of Quinte is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, 135 kilometers east of Toronto. The bay is Z-shaped and about 100 kilometers long. Dredging of bay sediment is restricted because some heavy metals exceed Province of Ontario dredge spoil disposal guidelines for open waters. The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (RAP) recommended that remediation of the bay's sediment be left to natural processes.

Port Hope Harbour:

Port Hope Harbour is located at the mouth of the Ganasaska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario (approximately 100 kilometers east of Toronto). Approximately 90,000 cubic meters of sediment are located in the turning basin and west slip areas of the harbour. The sediment is contaminated by uranium and thorium series radionuclides, heavy metals, and PCBs. Any dredged material will have to be placed in a Government of Canada licensed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Sediment remedial options are under assessment.

Metro Toronto & Region:

The Remedial Action Plan (RAP) report – Clean Waters, Clear Choices – target is that suspended, transported, and in-place sediment contain levels of contaminants at or below the Provincial Sediment Quality Guidelines. The report also concludes that the knowledge of the distribution of contaminants in Toronto Harbour sediment is incomplete and the details of transport mechanisms require further investigation. Sediment quality around key pollution sources also needs clearer definition. As a result of ongoing studies, it is anticipated that it will be possible to develop a detailed map of sediment in the Toronto waterfront. The map will serve as a guide for future remedial measures, and a baseline against progress can be judged.

Hamilton Harbour:

The amounts and concentrations of heavy metals, PAHs, and PCBs in the Harbour are the result of discharges over several decades from the iron and steel industry in the Harbour. The Harbour is considered an excellent sediment trap, retaining about 85 percent of all suspended sediment discharged into it. Priority has been given to establishing standards, dredging techniques, risk analysis, and treatment technology for an area called Randle Reef. PAH concentrations are of greatest concern. Approximately 25,000 cubic meters of contaminated sediment in this area are under assessment for removal and treatment.

Niagara River:

The Canadian Niagara River RAP has identified the lower Welland River as the priority focus of sediment assessment work. A full-scale cleanup, within a portion of the lower Welland river, has been carried out.

Wheatley Harbour:

Wheatley Harbour is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Erie. Historically, industrial discharges to the harbour contained PCBs. Improved wastewater treatment at local fish processing plants effectively removed PCBs from their discharges. PCB-contaminated sediments in the harbour are being land disposed during dredging operations.

Detroit River:

The Detroit River is 32 miles long, linking Lake St. Clair and the upper Great Lakes to Lake Erie. The binational RAP established a Contaminants Sediments Technical Workgroup to address contaminated sediment issues and devise a strategy for their remediation.

Both the State of Michigan and the Province of Ontario have ongoing sediment investigations to identify hotspots in the Detroit River.

Severn Sound:

Severn Sound is a group of bays in southwest Georgian Bay, Ontario. Sediment bioassays have shown little sublethal toxicity. Extensive sediment clean-up is not warranted. However, since metals in sediment from Severn Sound are potentially available for transfer into the food web, the RAP recommended source control and natural sediment recovery.

Spanish Harbour:

Spanish Harbour is located in the North Channel of Lake Huron. Many of the impacts from historic log-driving operations and discharges from the pulp and paper mill at Espanola have been remediated. Sediment contamination from heavy metals still exists; the bioavailability of these metals, however, is low. Impacts due to historic and on-going milling and smelting activities in the Sudbury basin have been identified.

St. Marys River:

Contaminated dredged spoils from the local steel mill (Algoma Slip) must be disposed of in an approved waste disposal site. Dredged spoils from navigation channels are approved for open water disposal.

Peninsula Harbour (Marathon):

 Peninsula Harbour is located on the northeast shore of Lake Superior at Marathon. Sediments with elevated levels of mercury and PCBs extend approximately 3 kilometers from Marathon to a depth of 2 to 36 meters. This sediment exceeds guidelines for open water disposal of dredged materials. There is an estimated volume of 55,000 cubic meters of sediment in the shallow water areas of the Harbour (Jellicoe Cove) that exceeds Provincial Sediment Quality Guidelines, with approximately 26,000 cubic meters residing in the area of highest concentration. Assessment and remediation studies are underway.

Jackfish Bay:

Jackfish Bay is located on the north shore of Lake Superior, approximately 250 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay. The AOC consists of a 14 kilometer stretch of Blackbird Creek between a pulp and paper mill and Jackfish Bay. The RAP (Stage 2, October 1997) recommended a natural recovery strategy in which little or no outside interference occurs and the ecosystem is allowed to recover on its own.

Nipigon Bay:

Nipigon Bay is the northernmost area of Lake Superior. No significant contaminated sediment has been identified.

Thunder Bay Harbour:

The Thunder Bay AOC extends approximately 28 kilometers along the shoreline of Lake Superior and up to 9 kilometers offshore from the city of Thunder Bay. There are two areas within the AOC with significant sediment contamination.

1) Northern Wood Preservers.

Approximately 21,000 cubic meters of contaminated sediment (total PAH levels between 30 and 150 ppm) were contained within a rockfill berm and capped using clean fill. Approximately 11,000 cubic meters of the most highly contaminated sediment (above 150 ppm total PAH) were dredged and will be treated. The remaining 28,000 cubic meters of contaminated sediment (80% of which is less than 50 ppm total PAH) outside the berm will undergo natural recovery.

2) Provincial Papers.

 There are an estimated 18,000 cubic meters of mercury-contaminated sediment. Remediation options are under assessment.