The Canadian Remedial Action Plan Implementation Committee (CRIC) for the St. Clair River Area of Concern (AOC) is proud to announce a ‘Not Impaired’ status has been granted for three Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) – Restrictions on Dredging Activities, Beach Closings and Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproduction Problems.
Comprehensive surveys and monitoring confirm restoration targets have been successfully achieved, group officials said in a press release.
The ‘Not Impaired’ designation of these BUIs represents significant progress towards the restoration of the St. Clair River.
The St. Clair River is one of 43 AOCs originally designated in 1987 under the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
AOCs are sites in the Great Lakes system where environmental quality has been significantly degraded and beneficial uses are impaired.
Currently, there are nine such designated areas on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, and five AOCs shared by both the United States and Canada, including the St. Clair River.
The ‘Restrictions on Dredging Activities”’ BUI was initially deemed ‘Impaired’ because dredged material from the navigational channel of the St. Clair River and Sarnia Bay (which was federally owned and serviced freighters) often contained concentrations of metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), oil and grease that exceeded the Provincial guidelines for open water disposal, Remedial Action Plan Implementation Committee officials say.
This added a significant cost for dredging proponents who were required to transport the dredged material to an inland disposal facility instead of disposing within the open water.
Today, open water disposal is no longer an acceptable method of disposal due to adverse impacts on fish and fish habitat and dredged materials are clean enough to be reused for beach nourishment and in-fill for construction.
Since 2000, most dredged material from the St. Clair River has been re-used and none has required special handling or treatment due to contaminant levels.
Maintaining safe depths for navigation in the St. Clair River is the main purpose of ongoing dredging in the St. Clair River.
Both the federal and provincial governments provide comprehensive control and oversight around the dredging and the disposal of dredged material. The procedures for navigational dredging and disposal of dredged material within the St. Clair River AOC are consistent with those that that occur throughout the Great Lakes.
The ‘Beach Closings’ BUI was originally deemed ‘Impaired’ due to excessive levels of bacteria at swimming areas along the St. Clair River.
Major sources were identified as combined sewer overflows (CSOs), Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) effluent, and agricultural runoff.
Since that time, all local municipalities in the AOC have invested in WPCP upgrades and sewer separation.
The City of Sarnia alone has invested $35 million dollars since 2012 for WPCP upgrades and $60 million in sewer separation projects.
Communities along the river have been connected to municipal sewers and Wallaceburg has successfully separated 95% of their combined sewers.
In addition, best management practices have been implemented in rural communities including thirty-seven riparian buffer projects that have mitigated the input of bacterial pollution from the surrounding areas, Remedial Action Plan Implementation Committee officials say.
These combined efforts have dramatically reduced bacteria levels and improved overall water quality of the river.
Bacteria levels observed at beaches and swimming areas in the AOC are no different than those recorded at locations outside of the AOC.
In most cases, bacteria levels recorded at AOC locations were below the Provincial Water Quality Guideline for safe swimming.
Where exceedances were observed, waterfowl and other non-anthropogenic sources were identified as the primary inputs.
The ‘Bird or Animal Deformities or Reproduction Problems’ BUI for the St. Clair River AOC was initially identified as ‘Requiring Further Assessment’.
The re-designation of this BUI to ‘Not Impaired’ status is the culmination of several exposure and field studies conducted between 2006 and 2014 by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
These studies assessed the prevalence of deformities and reproductive success in two aquatic indicator species, the Northern Leopard frog and the Common Snapping turtle.
Based on the studies conducted and the results they revealed, there was sufficient evidence for the designation of ‘Not Impaired’ status, Remedial Action Plan Implementation Committee officials say.
The CRIC is a multi-agency and partner committee that includes representation from Walpole Island First Nation, Aamjiwnaang First Nation, federal, provincial and municipal governments and local community groups.
The Binational Public Advisory Council supported the CRIC’s recommendation to re-designate these three BUIs to ‘Not Impaired’ status.
Final approval of the re-designations was received from the federal agency overseeing the Great Lake’s Area of Concern program.
