AOCs

Gathering public input is a key part of the process to develop the action plan.

After implementing an extensive shoreline and wetland habitat restoration plan in Muskegon Lake and portions of its tributaries, the Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat and Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairments have been removed from the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern. There are two remaining BUIs in this AOC.

EPA and its federal partners are beginning to develop the next Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) five-year Action Plan for 2025-2029. The Action Plan will outline the Initiative’s priorities and goals.

After decades of declines, local fauna in the St. Louis River Area of Concern have sufficiently recovered to prompt the removal of the Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment. This achievement comes in response to extensive habitat restoration work by local, state, tribal, and federal partners.

Students from two schools, located on the east and west sides of the Maumee River, analyzed litter along the river before and after the annual walleye run. The investigation spurred students to think about the human impact on local watersheds.

U.S. EPA and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency substantially complete remediation of 55,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with legacy pollutants at Scanlon Reservoir in the St. Louis River Area of Concern.

A recent Great Lakes Commission video highlights its work to restore a former confined disposal site in the Maumee River Area of Concern in Ohio.

After extensive remediation work and monitoring led by the Buffalo River Restoration Partnership, levels of harmful industrial contaminants historically present in sediments within the Buffalo River AOC have been sufficiently reduced to remove the Restrictions on Dredging Activities BUI. This is the third BUI to be removed from the Buffalo River AOC.

Evidence of healthy mink reproduction and reduced contaminants in the AOC as a result of sediment remediation work has led to the removal of the Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproduction Problems Beneficial Use Impairment. One BUI remains in the Rochester Embayment AOC.

Improvements protect wetland by managing water flow, providing passive fish passage, and reducing threats of invasive species in Maumee Area of Concern.