The President's 2010 Budget provides $475 million to the Envrionmental Protection Agency's (EPA) budget for a new EPA Great Lakes National Program Office-led interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which will target the most significant problems in the region, including invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution, and contaminated sediment. NOAA's Mussel Watch Program, part of the National Status and Trends Program (NS&T) has a long history of monitoring non-point source pollution in this area. In cooperation with EPA, the Mussel Watch Program will expand their field sampling effort to included additional locations requested by the EPA along with analyses of additional contaminants.
The scientists of the Mussel Watch field team began their effort for the GLRI on September 8th.
The effort includes:
1) 12 long-term Mussel Watch sites from western Lake Erie east to Cape Vincent where Lake Ontario ends and the St. Lawrence River begins.
2) 9 new locations to be established in the Areas of Concern (AOCs) identified by the EPA.
The field team will be collecting both mussels and sediment to assess a variety of indicators to include:
Our partners include:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) has maintained the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program since 1984. This nationwide program of environmental monitoring, assessment and related research is designed to describe the current status of, and detect changes in, the environmental quality of our Nation’s estuarine and coastal waters. NS&T’s Bioeffects Studies are conducted to provide comprehensive assessments of environmental toxicity in selected regional water bodies, ranging from small bays to large sounds.
Project Manager:
Ed Johnson, Ph.D.
1305 East West Highway
SSMC-IV, N/SCI-1
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-713-3028 x149
