|
In 1985, the Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission (IJC) listed four Ohio Areas of Concern (AOC) in the Lake Erie watershed which it identified as the river segments suffering the most severe environmental degradation and contributing the most to the pollution of Lake Erie. Ohio EPA accepted the challenge to develop comprehensive Remedial Action Plans (RAP) for each of the four Ohio AOCs - the Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Black and Maumee Rivers.
The near-term goal of the Cuyahoga River RAP is to get the lower Cuyahoga and its AOC off the list. The long-term goal is to keep it off the list. In practical terms, that means meeting the Delisting Targets - milestones - set by the OEPA specifically for its AOC.
The 14 targets are listed as Beneficial Use Impairments (BUI) as describe below, and are assigned a status of either Impaired, Unknown or Not Impaired. A beneficial use was listed as impaired if it existed anywhere in the AOC. In some cases, stream segments or tributaries may be delisted, incrementally raising the status of the AOC.
Cuyahoga River Delisting Status
BUI 1: Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption - Impaired
BUI 2: Tainting of Fish and Wildlife Flavor - Unknown (Change of status from "unknown" to "not impaired" has been requested for the entire AOC.)
BUI 3: Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations - Impaired (Delisting has been requested for fish populations in most of the mainstem, excluding the seven river miles around the Route 82 dam and the last seven miles that are the shipping channel, and in all tributaries except the first five miles of Tinkers Creek. Change of status from "unknown" to "not impaired" has been requested for Degradation of Wildlife Populations throughout the entire Area of Concern.)
BUI 4: Fish Tumors or Other Deformities - Impaired
BUI 5: Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproductive Problems - Unknown (Change of status from "unknown" to "not impaired" has been requested in the entire Area of Concern.)
BUI 6: Degradation of Benthos (macroinvertibrate health) - Impaired (Delisting has been requested for most of the mainstem, excluding the seven river miles around the Route 82 dam and the shipping channel, and excluding Furnace Run and three other streams.)
BUI 7: Restrictions on Dredging Activities - Impaired
BUI 8: Eutrophication of Undesirable Algae - Impaired
BUI 9: Restrictions on Drinking Water Consumption or Taste & Odor Problems - Not Impaired
BUI 10: Beach Closings (Recreational Contact) - Impaired
BUI 11: Degradation of Aesthetics - Impaired
BUI 12: Added Costs to Agriculture or Industry - Not Impaired
BUI 13: Degradation of Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Populations - Unknown
BUI 14: Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat - Impaired (Delisting has been requested for most of the mainstem, excluding the seven river miles around the Route 82 dam and the shipping channel, and excluding Brandywine Creek and five other streams.)
Green indicates impairments that the Cuyahoga River RAP and OhioEPA have requested be delisted in some or all of the AOC. Blue indicates that a change of status from "unknown" to "not impaired" has been requested.
|
