Great Lakes Cleanup Could Take 77 Years

Toxic Sites Identified Decades Ago Have Barely Improved, EPA Says in Report

(AP)  Cleanup of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes is moving so slowly it will take 77 more years to finish the job at the existing pace, according to a federal report.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still does not know the full extent of the problem even though the highly contaminated spots were identified two decades ago, said the report by the agency's inspector general.

"Without improved management, coordination and accountability, EPA will not succeed in achieving the results intended" for the recovery program, said the report, issued Monday.

Toxic sediment cleanup is among the goals of a $20 billion Great Lakes restoration plan developed by government agencies and nonprofit groups in 2005.

President Barack Obama has pledged $5 billion toward carrying out the plan and requested $475 million in his 2010 budget. Roughly one-fourth of that amount would be devoted to the cleanups.

The plan estimates the total cleanup price at $2.25 billion in federal money, with state and local governments kicking in an additional $1.2 billion.

The inspector general's report analyzes the government's handling of Great Lakes "areas of concern" - rivers, harbors and other locations where bottomlands are laced with toxic chemicals such as mercury, PCBs and heavy metal wastes.

Forty-three of the areas were identified in the late 1980s, including 26 within U.S. territory; 12 entirely within Canada; and five that straddle the border. Only two Canadian sites and one in the U.S. - the Oswego River in New York - have been fixed and dropped from the list.

The areas range from less than 1 square mile to hundreds of square miles. Because of their location near river mouths and harbors that flow into the Great Lakes, they are considered a leading source of pollution systemwide.

Between them, they have 68 sites believed to contain more than 76 million cubic yards of contaminated sediments, according to state officials. But the report says accurate estimates have not been developed for more than 30 percent of the cleanup sites.

The EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office works with states and local communities in developing restoration plans.

The report says the program has had some successes, particularly since Congress enacted the Great Lakes Legacy Act in 2002 to provide a stable funding source. But it says the EPA has yet to establish a suitable framework for managing the cleanups, which often involve numerous offices responsible for carrying out laws.

"In the absence of coordinated planning, costs can escalate, resources are wasted, and risks to human health and the environment increase due to delays in site cleanups," it says.

Calls seeking comment were left with EPA officials.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a longtime supporter of the cleanup initiative, said the EPA's performance had improved since the legacy act was approved.

"Before that, they only had funding for planning for sediment cleanup," Levin said Tuesday.

The report also shows the importance of accountability as Congress ramps up federal spending on the lakes, said Joel Brammeier, acting president of the Chicago-based Alliance for the Great Lakes.

"We've got to have mechanisms in place so that when we go back for more money, we'll be able to tell Congress what a great job we did spending the money they've already given us," Brammeier said.

[cac1958]

Another example of corporation's and government's lack of concern for our environment. Profits are the priority and the ones running these companies do not want to forfeit any profits for a cleaner and safer environment. Wonder how they explain this to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren? Then our government does nothing and does not explain why they do nothing. We have known for decades that industralization is not good...yet we continue. How can we speak of China or other counties entering into the industralization age when we do not clean our own backyards.

[ibsteve2u]

Well, thank heaven China isn't making this mistake, now that they have our industry...they have the foresight to dump their far more massive (hard to believe, ain't it - when we have decades and decades left to clean up these hellholes?) toxin loads much closer to the ocean.

If they did as we did, why, we wouldn't get to share their toxins for YEARS yet.

[stryker54]

They should find the companies responsible for dumping their waste and fine them up the Kazoo!!!!

[kansas1946]

A number of years ago, I was in Green Bay Wisconsin with some friends. We hired a taxi driver to take us around and show us the site, and of course, we had to see Lake Michigan. When we got to the park and could see the shorline, there were skull and crossbone signs with no swimming or wading posted. We asked the driver about it and he said that people that were getting in the water were getting nasty sores and infections, etc., so no swimming.
I couldn't belive it. Those lakes have been there for thousands of years, pristine, and it just takes humans a few years to foul them beyond being usable. Very sad.

[ianlou]

It is sad, If you get a chance, revisit Lake Michigan far away from a city park. While swimming, you cans simply open your mouth if you get thirsty.

[ianlou]

This picture was taken in Grand Traverse Bay, Lake frontage lots, two years ago, was sold on this bay for an average of $5000 a front foot.

[ianlou]

The picture taken with this story shows what appears to be a dock poisoned into decay. This dock or break wall remnant may be 30 to 100 years old sitting on a lonely beach in paradise, miles from any other mark of man in Northern Michigan.

[ianlou]

Obama is from Chicago, he knows what a wonderful time you can have cooling off in Lake Michigan.

[ianlou]

I Love Michigan,

We Don?t Have:
Earth Quakes
Tidal Waves
Forest Fires
Floods
Mud Slides
Hurricanes
Draughts
Volcanoes
100 Degree Heat
Many Tornadoes
Alligators or Crocodiles
Sharks
Jellyfish
Poisonous Snakes
Poisonous Lizards
Scorpions
Killer Bees
or
Giant Cockroaches

Our most dangerous critter is the Mosquito.

We have the greatest amount of clean clear fresh water in the world with 2000 miles of beautiful beaches and millions of acres of forests.
We have comfortable summers and winters with enough cold and snow to scare off the riff raff.

The only thing we are lacking lately are good paying jobs.

[winslowe1]

While I agree that Michigan is a great state in which to live if one has a decent job, I must take exception to some of your assertions. My barber got flooded out of his basement shop in Niles about 60 years ago when the river overflowed and did considerable damage. During the drought around the same time the pond across the road from my home, where my folks ice-skated when they were kids and we stayed up late at night just to hear the frogs sing, dried up completely and was still dry as late as 2000. I know of many barns burned down by lightning strikes, which have also burned many acres of woods. I would much prefer to be bitten by a mosquito than a cottonmouth, copperhead or timber rattler, which were not at all uncommon. Lastly, I remember 90+ degree temperatures and 90+ percent humidity, at midnight, which is hardly comfortable when the air is like soup. There are pluses and minuses no matter where one lives.