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Targeting Environmental Restoration in the
Saginaw River/Bay Area of Concern
2001 Remedial Action Plan Update
July 2001
Prepared for
Great Lakes Commission
On behalf of
The Partnership for the Saginaw Bay Watershed
Executive Summary
The Saginaw River and Bay were designated by
the International Joint Commission (IJC) as one of the major
pollution areas in the Great Lakes in 1973, a year after the
first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United
States and Canada was signed-a commitment by both countries
to cooperatively manage their shared water resources and recommend
actions for protection. In the last 30 years major commitments
have been made by local, state, and federal interests to improve
the quality of Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay, resulting in
significant improvement to the environment; however, additional
work remains to be done.
Sources of the Problem
Contaminated sediments as a result of
toxic discharges, excessive nutrients such as phosphorus and
nitrogen runoff, soil erosion, combined and sanitary sewer
overflows (CSOs and SSOs), fish consumption advisories, degraded
fisheries, damage to fish and wildlife habitat, and the loss
of significant recreational opportunities were the primary
causes of impairment.
Restoration Activities
In 1988, a Remedial Action Plan (RAP)
was developed to carry out local, state, and federal actions
that would reduce these impairments in the area of concern.
In 1994 an update to the 1988 RAP indicated that over two-thirds
of the 101 initial cleanup activities, including 37 priority
actions, had been implemented, at least partially. In addition,
the 1994 update identified new activities needed to move forward
with the cleanup effort.
This 2001 RAP update has examined the
status of the existing conditions of natural resources and
impairments by reviewing and summarizing data currently available.
The update includes a scientific review of targets that were
established in a 2000 report entitled, Measures
of Success: Addressing Environmental Impairments in the Saginaw
River and Saginaw Bay, in which measurable targets
to assess restoration progress were developed. The goal was
to determine if these targets are reasonable, accurate and
achievable and to establish links between ongoing impairments
and the targets to ensure that they lead to restoration.
Where Are We Now?
The 2001 update concludes that the Saginaw
River/Bay RAP process has been very successful at identifying
key issues to achieve ecosystem restoration and that significant
remedial actions are being taken. The activities taking place
within the scope of the Saginaw River/Bay RAP indicate an
enhanced interest in this area since inception of the RAP
process, and a belief among stakeholders that these valuable
natural resources can be significantly enhanced and maintained
into the future. Recent activities include:
- Dredging contaminated sediments
in the Pine and Saginaw Rivers,
- Protecting more than 8,000 acres
of coastal wetland habitat in the Saginaw Bay watershed,
and
- Providing nearly $177 million for
the Michigan Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
for agricultural conservation practices in the Saginaw Bay
watershed.
These and other activities will help further
restore and protect the Saginaw Bay watershed for current
and future generations; however, a variety of sources continue
to contribute pollutants to the river and bay, including:
- Industrial and municipal discharges
- Combined and sanitary sewer overflows
(CSOs and SSOs)
- Contaminated sediments in the river
and bay
- Urban and agricultural nonpoint
runoff
- Waste disposal sites
- Atmospheric deposition of contaminants
As with most IJC-designated Areas of Concern,
available funds are not sufficient to support desired levels
of effort, especially in the area of contaminated sediment
remediation. While PCB levels in sediments from large areas
upstream of the Middlegrounds are low enough to meet standards,
dioxin levels throughout the channel still require confinement.
Although many actions are currently being implemented, few
of these are being implemented fully. Pollution prevention
activities, including agricultural projects to minimize nonpoint
source pollution, and educational outreach activities must
be continued. In addition, new issues related to urban sprawl
and landuse planning require greater attention. The support
of local communities, the general public, the private sector,
and local, state, and federal agencies for the RAP is encouraging.
Through continued cooperation, progress toward achieving restored
conditions will be met and a process to delist beneficial
use impairments in the Saginaw River and Bay can be initiated.
Progress of Cleanup, Restoration,
and Monitoring Activities
The 2001 RAP update concludes that significant
restoration progress is being made, but additional work remains.
For several of the targeted restored conditions, ongoing and
new monitoring requirements are needed to measure progress
over time. The targeted restored conditions have an endpoint
at which time de-listing may be possible and only periodic
monitoring becomes necessary. In 2000 the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency endorsed guidelines that offer various options
for demonstrating progress and will be used by The Partnership
for Saginaw Bay Watershed as a guidepost over the next
several years to consider delisting specific impairments.
Targets, progress toward meeting restored conditions, and
monitoring needs are highlighted below:
Bacteria
- Target: Three consecutive
years of testing for E. coli bacteria, an indicator
of the presence of harmful microorganisms, confirm that
the state water quality standards for full-body recreation
are being met in the Saginaw River.
Progress: Good. Target is being
met during dry weather; however, additional monitoring
is needed during dry and wet weather periods.
- Target (Saginaw Bay): Testing
for E. coli bacteria confirms that state water standards
have not been exceeded more than three times in any one
swimming season and that when exceeded did not last more
than two days.
Progress: Good.
Target is being met in some areas (e.g., the Kawkawlin
River); however, the frequency of monitoring at swimming
beaches around the bay is highly variable. Additional
monitoring is needed.
Contaminated Sediments
- Target: The level of contaminants
in Saginaw River/Bay sediments no longer imposes additional
costs due to requirements for the removal, confinement,
and remediation of dredge spoils.
Progress: Additional
assessment work needed. Identifying cost estimates
on a large scale is difficult until comprehensive sediment
assessment work is completed, including delineation of
hot spots, identification of disposal options, and development
of new remedial and treatment methods.
Fisheries
- Target: Levels of PCBs and
dioxin in walleye and other fish from the Saginaw River/Bay
indicate that the former sources of these contaminants have
been effectively controlled and/or remediated.
Progress: Fair. Results
of caged-fish studies at the mouth of the Saginaw River
indicate that PCB levels have declined significantly since
the mid-1980s; however, fish consumption warnings are
likely to continue into the distant future due to the
slow degradation of these chemicals in the environment.
- Target: Taste and odor problems
reported by anglers for any species taken from the Tittabawassee
River downstream from Midland and the Saginaw River/Bay
are minimized.
Progress: Excellent.
Information indicates that the severity and number of
fish tainting reports have substantially decreased since
the early 1970s, and that the target is being met; however,
additional surveys are needed.
- Target: Dissolved oxygen
levels in the river meet or exceed the minimum state water
quality standard of 5.0 mg/l during the critical summer
months.
Progress: Very Good.
Targets for warm-water fish of 5.0 mg/l are being met;
however, additional and continuous monitoring is needed
to confirm this condition.
- Target: Walleye—Increase
abundance in the bay, ultimately through natural reproduction,
such that growth rates approximate more closely statewide
averages and reflect improved use of available forage.
Progress: Fair.
Limited progress is being made. Additional stocking of
fish that compete with walleye for food, as well as providing
access to and restoration of habitat in order to foster
natural reproduction are needed.
- Target: Yellow Perch—A
sustained annual harvest of 750,000 pounds per year with
increasing abundance of larger, faster-growing individuals.
Progress: Fair.
No direct management of yellow perch will be required
to achieve the target if forage species that directly
compete with yellow perch for food or prey on their young
are reduced by increases in predator species in the bay.
However, the long-term impacts of harmful nonindigenous
species are unknown at this time.
- Target: Lake Sturgeon—Documented
evidence of natural reproduction in the Saginaw River.
Progress: Additional monitoring
needed. Sturgeon spawning has not been documented.
Wildlife
- Target: Bald Eagles—The
reproductive success of bald eagles in the Saginaw Bay area
is equivalent to that found in other Lake Huron costal areas
in Michigan.
Progress: Very Good.
Bald eagle reproduction is above the goal set for recovery
in the Saginaw River, yet there appear to be differences
in the ability to successfully reproduce along the bay.
Additional monitoring needed.
- Target: Herring Gulls—PCB
levels in herring gull eggs taken from Saginaw Bay area
nest sites are not significantly higher than those found
in other Lake Huron sampling locations.
Progress: Poor. Target
is not being met, with continued impairment at highly
contaminated sites. Additional monitoring is necessary.
- Target: At least 60 percent
of the coastal marsh areas (below the 585-foot contour)
and adequate upland buffers representing essential fish
and wildlife habitat is preserved through public ownership,
covered under conservation easements, or otherwise protected
under agreements with landowners, and the most vulnerable
portions of the remaining 40 percent of the essential coastal
marsh areas have been identified so that governmental agencies,
local conservation/environmental organizations, and concerned
citizens can monitor their status, enforce existing laws,
and conduct public educational programs to better protect
these areas.
Progress: Good.
Recent studies carried out by Ducks Unlimited suggest
that approximately 20–30 percent of coastal wetlands
are protected.
Bay Ecosystem
- Target: The N:P ratio measured in Saginaw Bay is
at least 29:1 for three successive years, indicating that
conditions once favoring blue-green algal populations responsible
for former taste and odor problems in drinking water withdrawn
from the bay are no longer present.
Progress: Very Good. Progress is being made
with dramatic decreases in certain bluegreen algal species
in recent years. Additional monitoring is necessary.
- Target: The average concentration of total phosphorus
for three consecutive years is 15 ug/l or less, in accordance
with the supplement to Annex 3 of the 1978 Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement.
Progress: Fair. Annual monitoring indicates
that the target is not being met; however, considerable
progress has occurred since the early 1970s. Additional
nonpoint source control and monitoring activities are needed.
- Target: Samples of mayfly nymphs
collected in the open waters of Saginaw Bay exceed 30/m2
for two consecutive years, based upon established sampling
methods.
Progress: Additional monitoring
needed. Anecdotal evidence suggests occasional “hatches”
of mayflies occurring in the bay, although such observations
have not been verified by benthos sampling.
What can you do?
- Join the Partnership for the Saginaw
Bay Watershed to learn more and participate in restoration
activities.
- Support community and municipal
efforts, including local drain commission efforts, to develop
a watershed-based plan to address storm water runoff.
- Join and support local land conservancy
efforts.
- Participate in community-wide collections
of hazardous household supplies (e.g., cleaners, paints,
etc.).
- Participate in local recycling efforts.
- Support state and federal programs
that target cleanup efforts in the watershed.
Conclusion
There are many reasons to look favorably
toward the future for Saginaw River and Bay. The local communities
and industries over the years have committed millions of dollars
toward wastewater treatment facilities and the results of
these commitments are being realized today. The river and
bay have improved considerably from what they were 30 years
ago, with ever more attention being given to the watershed.
The 1988 Saginaw River/Bay RAP, the 1994 RAP update, the Measures
of Success project completed in 2000, and the 2001 RAP update
provide the necessary framework and bring the concept of delisting
impairments one step closer to the Saginaw River/Bay AOC.
With new and ongoing restoration activities and periodic review
of the progress being achieved, the Saginaw River/Bay AOC
can proceed toward delisting and ecosystem recovery.
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