Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Lakes – Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in assessing remedy effectiveness assessments at Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). These AOCs suffer from a legacy of sediment contamination by legacy pollutants such as organic contaminants, mercury, and trace metals.  Remediation of AOCs is managed through the US EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO). Each AOC is listed for a defined set of Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) such as restrictions on fish consumption, degraded fish and wildlife populations, and loss of fish and wildlife habitat.  In order for EPA to petition for delisting an AOC, all BUIs have to be removed, indicating that the AOC has recovered to some baseline, reference or pre-defined condition.  GLNPO, under the Great Lakes Legacy Act, is responsible for managing and remediating AOCs in order to remove BUIs.  However, many questions remain regarding the best ways to assess the effectiveness of remedies and habitat restorations employed at AOCs.