Friday, December 10, 2010

Great Lakes Mayors Support Industry "Green Marine" Program

Dec 10: Canadian and U.S. mayors from cities around the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River passed a resolution to support "Green Marine," an environmental program established by the marine shipping industry. Green Marine is a bi-national, voluntary program that aims to improve participants' environmental performance beyond regulatory compliance by introducing best practices, reduction targets and/or new technologies to improve their record in areas such as invasive species, air emissions and greenhouse gases, cargo residues, oily waters, conflicts of use within Ports and environmental leadership.
 
    The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a bi-national collaboration of mayors and local officials dedicated to the protection and restoration of the waterways, today endorsed the program and agreed to become an official supporter of Green Marine. David Bolduc, executive director of Green Marine, said the resolution would help foster greater communication between the marine shipping industry and cities and communities around the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region on its environmental improvements and would also aid in his efforts to recruit new participants.
 
    Bolduc said, "We have over 100 industry participants, partners and supporters and we are now working to extend that participation even deeper into the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system and beyond. This endorsement further enhances the credibility of the program. We have already had federal and provincial governments as supporters and we are pleased to add mayors from cities around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to that list." Established in 2008, the Green Marine program has been nominated for a Sustainable Shipping Award and has received formal support from environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund and Ducks Unlimited. 
 
    Access a release from American Great Lakes Ports Association (
click here). Access the Green Marine website (click here). Access the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative website for more information (click here).

EPA & Partners Finish Ottawa River Legacy Act Cleanup

Dec 9: U.S. EPA announced that the Great Lakes Legacy Act project to clean up a 5½-mile stretch of the Ottawa River and Sibley Creek is finished. The completion of this project marks further progress in the cleanup of the Maumee River Area of Concern (AOC), a key priority under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The Agency and officials will make the official announcement at an event scheduled for Monday, December 13, at 11:30 AM.
 
    The project involved the removal of some 250,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with heavy metals, PCBs and PAHs (polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons). About 10,000 cubic yards were removed from Sibley Creek and another 240,000 cubic yards was removed from the Ottawa River in Toledo, OH. The sediment from the river will be hydraulically dredged and transported through a pipeline to the nearby Hoffman Road Landfill. Some "hot spots," with excessive levels of PCBs, about 7,000 cubic yards of sediment, were dredged and taken to a specially licensed facility for disposal.
 
    Access an announcement from EPA (click here). Access the project website (click here). Access more information on the GLRI (click here).