Data and Information Management program
Project Updates: Spring 2007

1. Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) Submits Large-Scale Funding Request
   The GLOS Regional Association (GLOS-RA), incorporated as a non-profit organization, has coordinated the submittal of a $2.7 million proposal to NOAA to fund strategic projects across the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River region. This proposal was submitted under a call for proposals to implement key regional activities under the Integrated Oceans Observing System (IOOS) in March 2007. The proposal reflects a consensus input of stakeholders and subject matter experts across the region. It is anticipated that grant awards will occur by early June 2007 with work to be initiated starting in October 2007.

   The GLC has been providing secretariat support to the GLOS Board of Directors, as part of three-year NOAA grant. It is anticipated that the GLC will receive additional funding in May 2007 through this grant to continue staffing the GLOS-RA through June 2008. The GLOS web pages (www.glos.us) have been continuously updated to reflect on-going activities. For further information, contact: Roger Gauthier at gauthier@glc.org.

2. Lake St. Clair Management Plan High Priority Projects
   GLC staff has continued to provide technical and policy support to local stakeholders for the Huron to Erie Corridor (HEC), including Lake St. Clair. The development of the Lake St. Clair Management Plan was coordinated by the GLC for several years earlier this decade. Implementation of high priority projects are being addressed under an authority that will likely be included in a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill that hopefully will be passed by Congress in 2007. These projects include substantial data collection and management and new product development. These include: a) creation of a continuous 3- dimensional model for the corridor facilitated by the GLOS-RA; b) enhancements to the Lake St. Clair Coastal Habitat Assessment to promote habitat restoration and protection projects; and c) Phragmites eradication demonstration activities. For further information, contact Roger Gauthier at: gauthier@glc.org.

3. Inland Sensitivity Atlas (ISA) and Regional Response Plans
   The GLC remains an active partner in the development of map products and contingency plans for regional and local emergency preparedness, prevention and response. These products address potential oil and extremely hazardous substance spills in the Great Lakes region. The program is funded and led by the U.S. EPA Region 5 Oil Planning and Response Section to meet objectives of the Clean Water Act. The Region 5 Regional Response Team (RRT) and local, state and federal agencies and organizations use project materials for preparedness activities across the region, including response planning, training and drills. GLC staff continues to update the Inland Sensitivity Atlas (ISA) series that was initiated through this project. Map creation for a statewide update to the Michigan portion of the atlas began this winter. Data development for the State of Indiana has begun and will become the focus for the project as Michigan updates are completed.

   The GLC is contributing to updates of the Regional Response Plan for Region 5, which involves document development and information coordination between state and federal agencies. GLC staff is working with EPA Region 5 and the US Coast Guard throughout this process. In conjunction with that work, the Region 5 Regional Response Team website is being updated and enhanced. Staff expertise in both regional response planning and in web design and internet technology will be used to re-establish and enhance this communication tool. Project staff is involved in planning for a large-scale oil spill response exercise scheduled to take place in June. During the Spill of National Significance (SONS) 2007 exercise, oil spill and emergency response personnel from state and federal agencies throughout the region will react to simulated oil spills and other emergencies caused by a major natural disaster. The GLC has been providing data to support development of the exercise and will provide logistical assistance during the event.

   Project staff continues to help experts refine response plans for specific sensitive areas by facilitating workshops with local responders and natural resource specialists. These workshops, referred to as “Net Environmental Benefit Analyses” (NEBA), are designed to evaluate the benefits and impacts specific response methods have within specific ecosystems. The NEBA process results in recommended response strategies for select sites, including inventories of preparatory actions that response agencies and resource managers can undertake. The workshops also routinely open new and better channels of communication between the key response entities in a sensitive area. The next NEBA workshop is expected to take place along the Lake Erie coast in northeast Ohio. For further information on these projects see: www.glc.org/spills or contact Stuart Eddy at: seddy@glc.org.

4. Coastal Wetlands Consortium Data Management and Landscape Monitoring Protocol
   The GLC has supported development of a data management system and landscape-scale protocol for monitoring Great Lakes coastal wetlands under the Consortium. The database will allow scientists and regulators across the region to enter and retrieve field survey data and satellite and airborne remote sensing of the extent and composition of coastal wetlands. The project draws heavily from the GLC’s expertise in geospatial information handling, web programming and database design. It ties closely with other support the GLC is providing to the Corps’ Great Lakes Habitat Initiative and the Wetlands Subcommittee of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. For further information, contact Stuart Eddy at: seddy@glc.org.

5. Regional Air Toxic Emissions Inventory special report & software re-design
   The Great Lakes Regional Toxic Air Emissions Steering Committee has published a special report reflecting a wide range of updates made based on a special assessment of benzo[a]pyrene (b[a]p) emissions within the region. B[a]p is one of twelve “Level I Substances” targeted for emission reductions under the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy. Because its transport in the environment is limited to a smaller distance than most other persistent toxic substances, the regional inventory is an extremely valuable tool to regulators, policy makers and industry in pursuing emission reductions that are protective of human and wildlife health in the basin. The special assessment and report take a detailed look at the emissions reported by each of the nine participating jurisdictions and make several corrections and updates to improve accuracy and consistency across the region. While the overall result is a decreased emission estimate of about 70% of the original total, the more important result is a dramatic improvement in the quality and usability of the regional emission inventory for this substance. An intern from Ecole Polytechnique du Montreal, sponsored by the Quebec Government, is currently working at the Great Lakes Commission on a project to model the regional fate and impacts of b[a]p emissions.

   The project Steering Committee has continued the task of re-designing its project software, RAPIDS, and the corresponding database. Over the course of the 15-year project, advances in computing abilities have caused the original software to become obsolete and incapable of taking advantage of the latest technological advantages. A redesign of the software will both improve performance and reduce costs over the long term. A contractor has been retained for this purpose and the project Steering Committee, comprised of representatives from the participating state and provincial air quality control agencies, have been guiding the work to redevelop the software. For further information on these items, see: www.glc.org/air or contact Jon Dettling at: dettling@glc.org.

   The GLAD grants program, initiated by the Commission in 2003, continues to support innovative research projects to assist the region’s state air quality control agencies in addressing the impacts on water quality from toxic air pollution. The program provides a forum for information exchange among scientists, managers and policymakers. This program is funded by the U.S. EPA Air and Radiation Division and is coordinated in close cooperation with the eight Great Lakes states air agencies. Under the 2007 program, the GLC is supporting five new projects to take place at the region’s universities and research centers, for a combined amount of more than $680,000, bringing total awards since the program began in 2003 to 24 projects totaling more than $3.5 million. The Commission staff has been working with the GLAD Program Management Team (comprised of representatives from the state air quality control agencies) to determine program directions, select projects for funding and review project outcomes. Within the next 12 months, a large majority of the 24 active projects will reach conclusion and the GLC and GLAD PMT will focus on efforts to distribute the project findings and find ways to integrate these scientific efforts with regulatory and policy actions.

   In addition, the staff has begun facilitating a dialogue among state air agency staff regarding mercury monitoring activities. Several states have expressed interest in expanding or augmenting their existing mercury monitoring activities. Coordination and collaboration at the regional level will be critical to seeing that such activities are efficient and well integrated to provide consistent information across the region. The Commission is hosting a series of conference calls among state agency staff to explore possibilities and reach some level of consensus regarding future directions. The result is a report on the region’s current mercury deposition monitoring systems and recommendations for future regional actions in this area. The report will provide guidance on future GLAD Program activities, as well as those of partnering agencies.

   The GLAD Project Management Team continues to pursue a multi-tiered approach to addressing issues of atmospheric deposition of toxic substance to the Great Lakes. The four areas of program focus are: a) monitoring of atmospheric deposition; b) emissions inventories and emissions factor development; c) atmospheric and multi-media modeling; and d) assessment of effects to human and wildlife health. In the coming year, the program will seek to sponsor additional work in pursuit of the program goals, will expand efforts to coordinate regional efforts in this area and will begin disseminating the findings of soon-to-becompleted projects. For more information on the Great Lakes Air Deposition Program and the newlysponsored research projects, see: www.glc.org/glad, or contact Jon Dettling at dettling@glc.org.