GLIN==> BPAC Collects Signatures to Clean Up River

["GLIN Webmaster" <adminpst@great-lakes.net>]

Submitted by Mike Ripley <mripley@sault.com>



---



Press Release



St. Marys River Binational Public Advisory Council



Contact Mike Ripley

BPAC Chair

c/o Inter-Tribal Fisheries and Assessment Program

(906) 632-0072



BPAC Collects Signatures to Clean Up River





Prompted by reports of sewage washing up on Sugar Island and other areas of 
the river, the Binational Public Advisory Council (BPAC) for the St. Marys 
River Remedial Action Plan has been circulating a petition to the 
governments of Canada and Ontario requesting them to make good on promises 
to address remaining contaminated sediments.  Recent investigations indicate 
that plenty of contaminated sediments still exist on the bottom of the St. 
Marys River and periodically make their way to the surface to cause problems 
again.



Pollution problems in the St. Marys River, which is listed as one of 47 
Great Lakes Areas of Concern by the International Joint Commission, were 
first reported in a document published way back in 1992.  The second report, 
which was supposed to list the actions needed to address those pollution 
problems was not published until 10 years later in 2002 and was then found 
to be incomplete because it did not address clean up of the remaining 
contaminated sediments.



Canada and Ontario have the bulk of responsibility to clean up the river 
under an agreement with the State of Michigan and the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency.



Plans are in the works to dredge contaminated sediments this summer from the 
Algoma Steel slip which contains layers of pollution released in past years 
before the steel plant installed pollution control measures.  Dredging of 
this area will help to clean up one pocket of contamination in the upper 
river, however, these efforts will not address the layers of sewage below 
the outfall of the East End Sewage Treatment Plant nor will it address 
numerous other areas of contamination remaining such as the Belleview Park 
Marina and the north shore of Lake George.



The full text of the petition reads as follows:



We, the citizens of the St. Marys River Area of Concern, petition the 
Governments of Canada and Ontario to promptly complete a comprehensive plan 
to adequately identify and remediate contaminated sediments remaining in the 
St. Marys River, in cooperation with the Governments of the United States 
and Michigan, and that the plan be successfully executed in a timely manner. 
Further, the plan should especially focus on the removal or remediation of 
contaminated sediments related to the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario's 
East End Sewage Treatment Plant which continue to threaten the health of 
residents living downstream of that area.



The St. Marys River BPAC is composed of stakeholders from both sides of the 
river representing local agencies, American Indian tribes, municipalities, 
universities, industry and citizens concerned about the river ecosystem and 
health of its residents.  BPAC would especially like to thank the Sault Ste. 
Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians for collecting signatures and all the people 
who signed the petitions in our community on both sides of the border. 
Efforts to collect more signatures will continue with a public information 
session being planned in Sault, Canada for some time in February.



For more information on BPAC and the St. Marys River AOC see:

http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/stmarys.html

http://www.lssu.edu/bpac/



###


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
glin-announce is hosted by the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN):
http://www.great-lakes.net

To subscribe: http://www.glin.net/forms/glin-announce_form.html

To post a message: http://www.glin.net/forms/glin-announce_post.html

To search the archive: http://www.glin.net/lists/glin-announce/

All views and opinions presented above are solely those of the author or
attributed source and do not necessarily reflect those of GLIN or its
management.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *