Lake Erie Programs

The Ashtabula River from the upper turning basin to the 5^th St.Bridge was dredged under the Great Lakes Legacy Act Program in 2006 and 2007. Approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sediments contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals and a myriad of organochlorine compounds were removed and pumped upland to a confined disposal facility built specifically to contain the river dredgings.

The river from the 5^th St.  Bridge to the outer harbor was dredged under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorities in 2008 and additional dredging is planned for 2011-2012. Removal of contaminated sediments from the river is needed to delist the BUI for dredging and degradation of benthos, fish tumors and fish consumption restrictions.

To address the remaining BUIs, Ohio EPA received a GLRI grant for a habitat restoration project on the 5 ½ Slip property and began construction of over 1,400 feet of fish shelf habitat in September 2011. The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2012. It is anticipated that this restoration project will lead to the removal of three BUIs (degraded fish populations, degraded benthos and loss of fish habitat).

Successful completion of the habitat project and proposed dredging would represent a significant milestone for this AOC where all management actions have been completed. Once monitoring indicates that the river has responded as anticipated and restoration targets have been achieved, the Ashtabula River will be delisted as an area of concern.

For information about Ohio EPA's Ashtabula AOC program, please contact the division at (614) 644-2001. See U.S. EPA's website for more information.

The incidence of fish tumors and deformities in Black River brown bullheads, as well as the deformities, fin erosions, lesions and tumors (DELT) percentage for all fish, has decreased significantly, prompting the lifting of a contact advisory and the re-designation of the tumor BUI as being “in recovery.”  A review of recent sediment data in the lower river allowed the Corps of Engineers and Ohio EPA to approve open lake disposal for most of the material dredged from the federal navigation channel in 2009. In 2008, RAP members and other local stakeholders, including the City of Elyria, developed the Lower Black River Ecological Restoration Master Plan. The City of Lorain has been very successful in securing funding for significant remediation and restoration efforts along the lower Black River, including removal of over a million cubic yards of slag from riverbanks, restoration of more than 50 acres of riparian habitat and construction of thousands of feet of underwater habitat shelves. Lorain County has also made progress in the upper watershed with development of watershed action plans for the French Creek and West Branch sub-basins.

Black River Remedial Action Plan

The Black River is the only river system in Ohio where the entire watershed has been designated as an Area of Concern. Because the Black River RAP is a unique community-based public/private initiative, the Black River RAP Coordinating Committee has recently changed their motto to, "Our River, Our Responsibility."

Contaminant loadings from point source dischargers (typically industries and waste water treatment facilities) within the Black River watershed have seen significant reductions within the last decade. The RAP now aims to combat nonpoint source impacts through precision farming techniques, the utilization of best management practices during construction, and the restoration, enhancement, and protection of the Black River riparian corridor. The Black River RAP projects and educational activities address a wide variety of these issues.

Properly managing urban, suburban, and rural land use practices throughout the Black River plus the enhancement and protection of natural riparian corridors will improve the quality and productivity of this valuable natural resource.

If you would like more specific information please contact the division at (614) 644-2001. 

What's Happening?

The Black River RAP Coordinating Committee meets from 1:30 to 3:30, usually on Monday of the second full week of January, March, May, July, September and November. Meeting information can also be found on the NOACA Web site at www.noaca.org/calevents.html. If you have any environmental events you would like added to this page, please contact the division at (614) 644-2001. 

What's Needed?
The Black River RAP is looking for enthusiastic individuals and organizations with a desire to help improve the quality of the Black River as well as the life associated with it. The Black River is "Your River" and you can make it part of "Your Responsibility" to help clean it up. The RAP relies on public involvement and education as a long term solution to many of the remaining problems in the river. Your involvement and input are extremely important to the RAP process and its success. Please see the list of activities and events under the What’s Happening section and contact the person listed if you are interested in finding out more about a specific action group or program within the RAP.

Donations are also welcome. Donations from business, industry, and local citizens, the time and resources of local, state, and federal agencies as well as the time given by many dedicated volunteers are what makes the Black River RAP a success. If you or your organization are interested, please contact the division at (614) 644-2001.

RAP Publications and Documents

• Virtual Tour of the Black River Watershed (NOACA Web site)
• 2006 Black River RAP Annual Report [PDF 992K]
• Biological and Water Quality Study of the Black River Basin [PDF 2,817K], MAS/1998-11-4
• Biological and Water Quality Study of the Black River (with selected tributaries) and Beaver Creek [PDF 685K], EAS/1993-12-8
• Assessment of Sediment Quality in the Black River Watershed (USEPA Web site)
• Health of Bullhead in an Urban Fishery After Remedial Dredging Final Report, January 2000  (USEPA Web site)
• Living Along French Creek, A User's Guide [PDF 763K]
• East Branch Benthos Delisting Request Document [PDF 160K]
• USEPA East Branch Decision Letter [PDF 71K]
• Press Release, August 18, 2005: [PDF 97K] East Branch of Black River Recognized for Water Quality Improvements
• French Creek Report: Black River Area of Concern/Remedial Action Plan, French Creek Watershed Survey, Lorain County, Ohio. US Army Corps of Engineers. Note: the report is quite large and has been split into sections of approximately 5MB or less. If you prefer, you may download the file as a single report PDF 35 MB). See the note at the top of this page if you have problems with the download.
  • French Creek Report Main report text. [PDF 1,993K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix A. [PDF 21K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 1 [PDF 4,144K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 2 [PDF 4,350K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 3 [PDF 2,963K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 4 [PDF 4,338K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 5 [PDF 4,999K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 6 [PDF 4,981K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 7 [PDF 4,622K]
  • French Creek Report Appendix B, part 8 [PDF 5,394K]
• 2007 Black River RAP Annual Report [PDF 1,222K]
• Living Along The East Branch, A User's Guide [PDF 871K]
• Living Along The West Branch, A User's Guide [PDF 813K]
•  [PDF 1,154K]
• Black River related videos (Lorain County Black River RAP Web site)

Comprehensive Black River RAP Information

Reduction and elimination of the discharge of toxic chemicals and sewage has greatly improved the quality of the Cuyahoga River AOC.  Federally funded sediment characterizations are currently underway at two locations in the Cuyahoga River AOC under the Great Lakes Legacy Reauthorization Act (GLLRA).  Funding was received locally in 2010 under GLRI to complete a habitat restoration project in the ship channel area and construction will begin on the Scranton Road Peninsula Project in 2012.  GLRI funding was also awarded in 2011 for construction of a debris harvester to remove floating debris in the shipping channel.  Fish and benthos populations are in attainment for all but a small portion of the mainstem segment of the AOC.  Efforts to remove two small dams just upstream from the AOC have been successful, leaving only two dams impeding the Cuyahoga River flow for the lower 59 miles down to Lake Erie.

Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan

The Cuyahoga River, located in Northeast Ohio, was designated as one of fourteen "American Heritage Rivers" in 1997. It is recognized worldwide as "the river that burned" and started the environmental movement in the United States. Since that time significant progress has been made in cleaning up and restoring the river’s function and value, but much more remains to be done. If you or your organization have an interest in the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, and would like to get involved in an innovative environmental effort, then the Cuyahoga Remedial Action Plan (RAP) might be the program for you. The Cuyahoga RAP is a cooperative effort of citizens, businesses, municipalities, and industry working together with governmental agencies to restore the river’s waters to "fishable and swimmable" condition.

The public-private partnership of the Cuyahoga RAP began in September of 1988. In the first few years of existence, the RAP focused on problem identification and definition. Since then, the Cuyahoga RAP and its stakeholder partners have initiated several programs and projects to address some these issues and problems. Innovative educational programs have been developed to broaden public awareness and involvement. Identification and implementation of remedial measures to further improve the biological and water quality of the region remain to be completed. Many of these programs, projects, and initiatives are discussed through the links below.

If you would like more information, please contact Ed Wilk.

What's Needed?

The Cuyahoga RAP is looking for enthusiastic individuals and organizations with a desire to improve the quality of the Cuyahoga River and the life in and around it. The RAP relies on public involvement and education as a long term solution to many of the remaining problems in the river. Your involvement and input are extremely important to the RAP process and its success.

The Cuyahoga RAP and its local stakeholder members are looking for volunteers and interested groups for the following:

• Local Watershed Groups — get involved by participating in local group activities or aid in creating your own organization.
• Habitat/wetland restoration and protection — programs and information is available for residents interested in improving or protecting stream banks and wetlands on their property.
• Stream Monitoring — training is available on how to monitor river quality by identifying the organisms that live there and by recognizing potential problems.
• Speakers Bureau — your organization may be interested in hearing about the Cuyahoga River, its successes and challenges, and opportunities for local involvement.
• River/stream Litter Clean-ups — improve our river by picking up the trash!
• Storm Drain Stenciling — educating neighborhoods about storm drains and what should and should not go into them — this is a great group of scout activity!
• "Adopt-A-Spot" on the river or its tributaries — especially in your own neighborhood — for litter clean-ups, stream monitoring, etc.

Please contact Peter Bode, Watershed Coordinator for the RAP at (216) 241-2414 ext 307 or Ed Wilk, Ohio EPA RAP Coordinator at (330) 963-1172 if you would like more information or volunteer for these opportunities.

RAP Publications and Documents

• Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan State of the River Report and Proceedings of the October 25, 2001 Symposium [PDF-2599K]
• Cuyahoga RAP Program Strategies, 1999-2003 [PDF-89K]
• AHR Application [PDF-97K]
• AHR Press Release [PDF-5K]
• AHR Fact Sheet [PDF-47K]

Comprehensive Cuyahoga RAP Information

In the Maumee AOC, GLLRA and Natural Resource Damage (NRD) remediation and restoration projects were completed on the Ottawa River.  This included the removal of contaminated sediment and implementation of habitat restoration projects.  A dam was modified on Swan Creek to allow fish passage and improve stream flow.  In coordination with the Maumee RAP, a Balanced Growth Plan has been developed for Swan Creek.  A large habitat restoration project on the upper portion of the Ottawa River received GLRI funding and construction will begin in 2012.  Other GLLRA site characterization work was conducted in 2011 and additional work is planned, laying the groundwork for future sediment remediation efforts.  In conjunction with the Ottawa River TMDL, Ohio EPA expanded water quality monitoring in 2011 to assess the current condition of the lacustrine influenced portion, including fish tissue and sediment sampling conducted to re-evaluate the current fish consumption and contact advisories.

Maumee River Remedial Action Plan Program

If you or your organization have an interest in Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan and would like to get involved in an innovative environmental effort, the Maumee RAP might be the program for you. The Maumee Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is a cooperative effort of citizens, businesses, and industry working together with governments to restore the areas waters to “fishable and swimmable” condition.

The public-private partnership of the Maumee RAP began in October of 1987. During the first few years problem identification and definition was the task. Since then, the Maumee RAP has focused on the implementation of projects to improve the water quality of the region. The projects and educational activities address a wide variety of issues. Many of these are discussed through the links below.

For more information, please contact Cherie Blair.

• Maumee RAP & AOC Information
• History and Structure of the Maumee RAP
• Maumee AOC Resources & Publications
• Local Maumee AOC Facilitating Organization - Partners for Clean Streams
• U.S. EPA Maumee AOC Information

• New! December 2017 Version 3 Ohio AOC Delisting Guidance and Restoration Targets Now Available

  The Delisting Guidance and Restoration Targets for Ohio Areas of Concern were developed by Ohio EPA to clarify on how the Ohio EPA and local AOC groups will work together to delist Ohio’s four Areas of Concern (AOCs). This version of the document includes general updates and edits, new conditions for BUI removal, and locally developed targets. The local AOC Advisory Committees and AOC facilitating organizations are working with Ohio EPA and our federal partners to evaluate current delisting plans and accelerate restoration efforts in the Maumee, Black, Cuyahoga and Ashtabula River AOCs. This December 2017 Guidance (Version 3) is now available online.​

• A Framework for Reorganizing and Implementing Ohio’s Remedial Action Program

  A new program framework document was recently released to improve the overall effectiveness and Ohio’s Areas of Concern (AOC) program and to accelerate the pace of progress toward delisting Ohio’s AOCs.  Ohio EPA is working with the designated local AOC Facilitating Organizations to re-energize the local AOC Advisory Committees and to enhance community involvement in the AOC process.  This new framework will also improve transparency, accountability and increase opportunities for public engagement.  The new program framework document is available online.

• Post-dredging Habitat Enhancement Plan Report for the Lower Ashtabula River, Ashtabula, Ohio.  MBI Technical Report MBI/08-04-2.  March 30, 2008 [PDF 287K].  Submitted by: Center for Applied Bioassessment & Biocriteria, Midwest Biodiversity Institute, Inc.  Prepared under a grant from U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office to Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Surface Water.

There are four Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) in Ohio: Ashtabula River (USEPA), Black River, Cuyahoga River, and Maumee River.  Ohio EPA is responsible for ensuring RAPs are implemented in Ohio.  These areas are the State's most polluted and environmentally impacted rivers which empty into Lake Erie.  Ohio's Remedial Action Plan Program (GLIN)addresses the restoration of beneficial uses (GLIN) in Ohio's four Lake Erie Areas of Concern (AOC) (GLIN).  As requested in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, (IJC) the RAPs take an ecosystem approach and incorporate active public involvement.

Why are Ohio's RAPs being done?

Year after year, the same locations were identified as the most contaminated areas around the Great Lakes.  The adoption and implementation of environmental laws and regulations significantly reduced the discharge of pollutants, but these areas continued to experience severe environmental degradation.  In 1985, the Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission (IJC) recommended the development of comprehensive remedial action plans (RAPs) to concentrate on the cleanup and restoration of these areas.  New, creative, innovative, collaborative and wide-reaching approaches would be needed to achieve this goal.  The eight Great Lakes states and Ontario agreed to the challenge and Ohio EPA took the lead for the program in Ohio.

How are Ohio's RAPs set-up?

Neither the State nor Federal Governments had sufficient resources, the historical knowledge, or even the authorities to restore all the impairments identified.  Ohio EPA invited the local communities to become active participants in the decision-making involved with the RAPs.  Initial public meetings on the RAP process and the outstanding environmental problems in each AOC were held in 1987.  At those meetings, the local communities showed a great interest in taking a strong role in restoring their rivers.

Local committees have been created in each of the areas to coordinate the development and implementation of the RAP.  Ohio EPA works with these committees as an equal partner in the RAP process.  The local committees have been built with the intention of obtaining representation from all of the local agencies, organizations, and unaffiliated citizens with an interest or a stake in river remediation.

Each of Ohio's RAPs has been organized somewhat differently, depending on the unique characteristics of each AOC.  These characteristics include: environmental problems in the AOC, sources and causes of the problems, available resources - both technical and financial, political climate, public interest, and the volunteer base.

What makes Ohio's RAP program work?

The ecosystem approach and the public involvement requirements of the RAP process have allowed us to be as flexible and innovative as we need to be to restore all beneficial uses to each AOC.  With funding from U.S. EPA and the State, Ohio EPA has been able to support a full-time coordinator for each RAP.  However, much cross-program technical assistance has been provided by staff from several divisions and districts.  This agency-wide cooperation has been invaluable to the RAP program.  Promotion of the following concepts by Ohio EPA have lead to an effective RAP program in Ohio.

• Empowering the local communities with Ohio EPA as an equal partner.
• Community participation promotes local ownership.
• Participation of professional planners.
• Top-down commitment.
• Keeping RAP needs and accomplishments high profile.
• Creating a separate identity.
• Staff enthusiasm, dedication, and creativity.
• Volunteer enthusiasm, dedication, and creativity.
• Developing partnerships with existing programs.
• Constant communication at all levels.
• Extensive efforts to seek funding.
• Setting milestones to encourage enthusiasm rather than unrealistic goals that generate frustration.
• Strategic planning.
• Numerous efforts to keep the public informed, aware and involved.
• Keeping state and U.S. elected officials apprised of RAP efforts.

• 2013 Lake Erie LaMP Annual Report
• Great Lakes National Program Office LaMP site
• Binational LaMP site

One of the most significant environmental agreements in the history of the Great Lakes was the signing of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 (GLWQA), between the United States and Canada.  The GLWQA committed the U.S. and Canada (the Parties) to address the water quality issues of the Great Lakes in a coordinated joint fashion.  The purpose of the GLWQA is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem." One of the recommended actions of the GLWQA is the production of Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) for lake waters, to identify critical pollutants that impair beneficial uses and to develop recommendations, strategies, and policy options to restore these beneficial uses.  A systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach is to be used to develop LaMPs, including ecosystem objectives, where the state of knowledge permits.  LaMPs are currently underway for Lakes Ontario, Erie, Michigan and Superior.

The Lake Erie LaMP process began in 1995 with the publication of the Lake Erie LaMP Concept Paper (U.S.EPA 1995) that outlines the scope and organizational framework for the LaMP.  The LaMP process has proven to be a resource intensive effort and taken much longer than expected.  In the interest of advancing the rehabilitation of the Great Lakes, and getting information to the public in a timely manner, the Binational Executive Committee (BEC) passed a resolution in 1999 to accelerate the effort.  Accelerate meant that there should be an emphasis on taking action and adopting a streamlined approach to the LaMP document review and approval process.  Steering away from the four-stage process outlined in the GLWQA, BEC recommended a LaMP be prepared every two years based on the current body of knowledge and the remedial actions that can be implemented now.  The concept of adaptive management will be applied to the LaMP so that it can continue to adjust over time to highlight and address the most pertinent issues in Lake Erie.

The result of the BEC decision is a working LaMP 2000 document.  Some sections and the background reports used to produce them have been extensively reviewed, while others have not.  But, it provides a baseline against which to measure the future progress of Lake Erie beneficial use protection and restoration.  The LaMP 2000 contains the following key components:

• PROBLEM DEFINITION - only 3 beneficial use impairments were not identified in Lake Erie: tainting of fish and wildlife flavor; restrictions on drinking water consumption or taste and odor problems; and added costs to agriculture and industry.  The causes of impairment to date have been identified as: PCBs, mercury, PAHs, lead, chlordane, dioxins, DDE, DDT, mirex, dieldrin, phosphorus, nitrates, E. coli, fecal coliform, non-indigenous species, especially zebra mussels, habitat loss, and sediment loading.
• POLLUTANTS - mercury and PCBs have been designated as critical pollutants for priority action.  A number of other chemicals, metals, nutrients, bacteria and suspended solids have also been identified as Lake Erie LaMP pollutants of concern.  Existing databases containing information on these substances were reviewed to determine their utility for calculating loads or tracking ambient water column concentrations.  Some of the nutrient data may be sufficient for calculating loads.  But, for the remaining pollutants, LaMP 2000 recommends a source track down approach versus a mass balance approach for reducing contaminant loads to Lake Erie.  Once the most seriously contaminated areas and major sources are identified, the Lake Erie LaMP recommends that available resources and remedial actions be focused immediately on those areas, rather than on further attempts to estimate total loads.
• HUMAN HEALTH - The GLWQA requires that LaMPs define the threat to human health posed by critical pollutants, singly or in synergistic or additive combination with another substance.  LaMP 2000 describes pathways of exposure, the weight of evidence approach linking environmental exposure to health effects, and suggests a preliminary suite of indicators to measure human health impacts.
• ACTION PLANS - LaMP 2000 describes several programs already underway that the Lake Erie LaMP can coordinate with to help restore the lake.  These include RAPs, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the Binational Toxics Reduction Strategy, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and the Lake Erie in the Millennium initiative.  The last of these is a binational, coordinated effort to identify the management and research needs of the lake, link them, and obtain the resources to complete the most needed research efforts.  In addition, LaMP 2000 outlines preliminary action plans for habitat restoration and PCB and mercury reduction.
• EMERGING ISSUES - LaMP 2000 addresses significant ongoing and emerging issues including: non-indigenous invasive species, climate change impacts, long range transport of air pollutants, endocrine disrupters, and the concept of overall phosphorus management versus limiting our efforts strictly to managing phosphorus loads.

• Binational Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan
• Ohio Lake Erie Office
• Ohio Sea Grant, Lake Erie Programs
• Ohio Coastal Management Program
• Lake Erie Millennium Network
• Great Lakes Information Network-Great Lakes
• U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
• Environment Canada, Great Lakes
• Great Lakes Fishery Commission
• Binational Toxics Strategy
• International Joint Commission

In consultation with Heidelberg University, Ohio EPA convened the Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorus Task Force in 2007 to review and evaluate the increasing dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) loading trends and the connection to the deteriorating conditions in Lake Erie. The Task Force was charged to identify and evaluate potential point and nonpoint sources and related activities that might be contributing to the increasing trends in DRP. The Task Force included a wide range of participants and presentations by invited experts in a variety of disciplines. This report presents the findings of the Task Force along with recommendations for future management actions for Ohio. 

• News Release
• Executive Summary, April 2010
• Final Report, April 2010

• Analysis of Effectiveness of Ohio NRCS Practice Standards in Addressing Five Leading Causes of Water Quality Impairment, Rick Wilson Environmental Specialist, Ohio EPA -Division of Surface Water, March 1, 2010.
• Slide Show: Soil Organic Matter and Nutrient Recycling With Cover Crops and Manure. James J. Hoorman & Dr. Rafiq Islam, The Ohio State University-Extension
• Slide Show: Nitrogen and Phosphorus Risk Assessment Tools, Nitrogen Leaching Index, Phosphorus Soil Test Method, Phosphorus Index USDA-NRCS
• Slide Show: Managing Manure in no-till. Peter Kleinman USDA ARS, Douglas Beegle Penn State, Joel Myers USDA-NRCS (retired)
• Slide Show: Phosphorus Transport From the Soil to Surface Water, Field Observations Supported by a Review of Current Literature. Rick Wilson, Ohio EPA-Division of Surface Water
• Slide Show: Phosphorus and Water Quality (beyond erosion control). Peter Kleinman, USDA-ARS
• Slide Show: Targeting Best Management in Contrasting Watersheds. Andrew Sharpley, Tommy Daniel, Sheri Herron & Bil Gburek. University of Arkansas, BMP’s Inc. & USDA-ARS
• Poster: Ohio Fertilizer Flow Chart. Heidelberg College National Center for Water Quality Research
• Agricultural Phosphorus & Eutrophication
• Association Between Nutrients, Habitat, and the Aquatic Biota in Ohio Rivers and Streams Ohio EPA Technical Bulletin MAS/1999-1-1
• Lake Erie Trophic Status Colloborative Study