|
Great Lakes
Article:
Groups criticize efforts to curb runoff
into Great Lakes
By John Myers
Duluth News Tribune
Published October 1st, 2004
The Great Lakes continue to receive daily doses of runoff
polluted with sediment, vehicle oils, pet feces, fertilizers
and other pollution that's harming fish and rendering
the water unsafe for people.
That was the claim Thursday by several environmental
groups that criticized efforts by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and state regulators for not moving
fast enough to curb runoff, often called stormwater.
"It's one of those major problems that doesn't seem
to get the attention of state or federal policymakers,"
Ilan Levin, counsel for the Environmental Integrity Project,
said in a telephone conference with reporters Thursday.
"The stuff has a devastating effect on ecosystems,
wildlife habitat... and human health."
Runoff from streets, parking lots and construction sites
is causing up to 15 percent of the Great Lakes' most serious
water quality problems, the report said.
Dirt, sand and sediment clog spawning beds, choke aquatic
ecosystems and cloud clean water. Bacteria cause beach
closings that prevent people from swimming or make people
sick. And heavy metals and other toxic pollution foul
waters and render fish uneatable, the report notes.
Entitled "Weathering the Storm," it cites an
International Joint Commission report earlier this year
that estimates 100,000 tons per year of polluted sediment
runs into the Great lakes.
Federal law requires cities and construction sites to
control stormwater runoff, but regulation has generally
been lax. The report said up to half of construction and
industrial sites don't have required permits for stormwater
runoff, and state and poorly funded federal regulators
aren't able to inspect many of them.
In the Twin Ports, several groups have formed the Regional
Stormwater Prevention Team trying to spread the word that
whatever runs off construction sites, yards and parking
lots often ends up in rivers and Lake Superior.
Little things -- such as keeping litter out of parking
lots, stopping oil leaks from our vehicles and ensuring
that any yard work keeps the gunk out of the street --
all can help keep pollution out of streams and lakes.
Other efforts will encourage people to reduce runoff,
such as rain gardens, which capture water and use it for
plants, rather than allowing it to gush down the hill
and into the lake.
In the Duluth area, there are 42 streams, including 12
designated trout streams, that carry water into Lake Superior
-- including polluted runoff from rain and snow melt.
"People are beginning to get it now. People realize
that anything we let run down the hill ends up in the
lake," said Marnie Lonsdale, stormwater runoff coordinator
for Duluth.
Lonsdale said state and local regulators are doing a
good job of ensuring all new projects have permits. But
she said it's difficult to check on the quality of the
stormwater prevention efforts at specific sites.
"There are so many projects and so many other ways
for things to get into the water, and we don't have that
kind of staff," she said. "We're really dependent
on people coming forward and telling us what they see
going into the water. What we really need is for the public
to make this a priority."
Environmentalists said more than just public education
is needed.
"It's important for the states and the EPA to actually
enforce the stormwater prevention plans and make that
information available," said Cindy Skrukud of the
Illinois Sierra Club. "Everyone can see the brown
water running off construction sites. We need to know
what's being done to stop it."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN MYERS covers the environment, natural resources and
general news. He can be reached at (218) 723-5344 or at
jmyers@duluthnews.com.
|
