Fall 2008
| Newsletter |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
In the apparent belief that a loophole big
enough for an ore boat to pass through,
Minnesota has joined eight other states in
suing the Bush administration over its federal
rules on ballast water. The province of
Manitoba has joined in the litigation.
Minnesota's position, headed by Attorney
General, Lori Swanson is in line with the other
states in rejecting legislation that would allow
ships coming from waters outside of inland
America to dump, in our fresh water, the salt
water they took on while in the ocean.
This routine practice, legal since the Seaway
opened, didn't arouse much attention or
objection around the Great Lakes until invasive
marine species numbers became a major
problem.
The Attorney General is quoted as stating, "Federal regulators jeopardize our economy and our fishing, boating and outdoors way of life by
allowing polluted water to be diverted into Minnesota lakes and rivers."
The suit was filed on October 2 and a response from the administration is not expected in the immediate future.
read more.....
Savelakesuperior.org utilizing paypal
The Save Lake Superior Association is now equipped to accept donations through our website!
Users with a paypal account or any major credit card can now make contributions with a simple click of the mouse.
Setback on cargo sweeping controls
A trail of limestone, coal debris, iron ore waste and grain will continue to form on the lake beds now that the Coast Guard has been told by
the federal government that it need not honor pleas from the environmentalists to halt the practice.
It's estimated that the lake carriers deposit about a million pounds of "sweepings" a year when they get rid of the spillage on the decks of
their boats.
ftp//ftp.glerl.noaa.gov/publications/tech_reports/glerl-114/tm-114.pdf
With hoses or brooms the waste is dumped over the side after the dry cargo is taken on board or off loaded in port.
As one might suspect, the shipping industry's Lake Carriers Association wants to keep the status quo, believing there's no harm being done
by ejecting the "leftovers" into the lakes.
The Carriers claim that finding an alternative to overboard disposal is too costly and may result in a hazard for crew members.
Great Lakes water not for export!
Exactly a decade ago an Ontario company had made a deal with an Asian customer to ship 158 million gallons of Lake Superior water each
year to the un-named thirsty nation.
In response to the uproar from Canadians and alarmed Americans, the permit was withdrawn. President Bush, not frequently seen as a
supporter of positive environmental issues, not only signed the agreement but also mustered bi-partisan in doing so.
It seems to be an acceptable pact from an environmental standpoint but an imperfect one in the eyes of some who examined the exceptions
to the restrictions, albeit a small one (at least on the surface)
The framers of the agreement allow for diversion of the lake waters but the containers must be no larger than 5.7 gallons—a size chosen to
accommodate the bottled water industry.
We were unable to find out whether there might be a loophole in which thousands of gallons in 5.7 gallon capacity might be exported in
ocean ships.
read more.....
New mission for the Aquarium?
There are no concrete plans [and probably no dollars] for a takeover of the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth by UMD—only a look at that
possibility by the University.
Chancellor Kathryn Martin, in an interview with the Duluth News-Tribune, said "more research-oriented activities" at the Aquarium would be a
good idea in her opinion.
Duluth City Council President Roger Reinert initiated the UMD/Aquarium concept but he hastened to note "there are no plans in the works."
McQuade not yet a dead issue!
You've read so much in the newsletter about our years-long battle to prevent a public boat launch from being built on the scenic North Shore,
you might well admonish us to "let the sleeping dog lie." We can't do that and here's why.
A long range goal of a segment of boaters on Lake Superior is to build "safe harbor" boat launches "every six to eight miles" from Duluth to
the Canadian border! This would translate into 18 to twenty-five new harbors.
Using the nine million dollar cost of the McQuade, this would mean a taxpayer burden of 200 million dollars, not including inflation. Pure
fantasy!
We believe it's important for you and the public to become aware of the status of the McQuade.. {still less than a year old and touted to be
extremely popular.}
In now what appears to be a grossly over- estimate of the use of the McQuade, the projected number of launches for the five month season
would be 24,000!
Such ballooned figures made the argument favoring the project sound more palatable for the public.
Further, the EAW (environmental assessment work-sheet by the DNR) claimed the "launches per weekend day" was estimated at 270. With
only 50 spaces now available for vehicle/boat parking, the units would have been piled up five deep.
The DNR has since downscaled the 270 launch estimate to 54 per day. SLSA members have been going to the McQuade launch site
several times a week at various times of day and are taking photos of usage (see the above)to verify the statistics we are gathering.
Our preliminary data suggests the 54 launches a day is far too high. We will pass on the final figures in the winter edition of this news letter.
By that time the McQuade will lie inert under ice and snow!
Click here for high resolution picture of McQuade safe harbor
Non-native salmon bring grief to gulls
Another good reason for ending the planting of exotic fish in the Great Lakes was found in a study
of the eggs of herring gulls.
The study , quoted in the publication Ecology, found that the introduced salmon {steelheads,
kamloops, browns, etc.} fed voraciously on smelt and alewife populations, a principal food source
for the gulls until the salmon appeared in the Great Lakes.
With ever decreasing numbers of smelt and alewives, due to heavy predation by the non-native fish,
gulls were drawn to garbage dumps to avoid starvation. This resulted in an accumulation of harmful
transfats from processed food refuse.
This translated into considerable weight loss in the gulls and smaller eggs were laid and a reduction
in fledgling's survival is now obvious.
In western Lake Superior herring gulls, though once very common, have been overtaken by the ringbilled gulls. They are less likely to have
the fatty acid problem.
The report notes that three quarters of a billion non-native fish have been stocked in the Great Lakes in the past forty-three years. SLSA has
sought an end of such stocking for the past decade.
Poly Met's EIS Delayed Again
The Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Polymet Northmet copper-nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes, MN has been rescheduled for
release in December or early 2009 after a two year delay. {There will be a very short 45 day public comment period on the huge document.
The company has yet to provide convincing evidence that the mining plan will either prevent water pollution or have any hope of final closure
without perpetual treatment of polluted seepage and runoff from waste storage.
Dilution in streams or sequestration in wetlands are being offered as acceptable solutions to avoid the expense of perpetual treatment of
polluted water. In a similar case, the state has ceased treatment of the polluted seepage from the 30 year old Dunka mine waste pile in the
same area using this same reasoning.
In previous articles our Board has discussed the unavoidable harm to water quality from the mining and processing of metallic sulfide ores
containing copper, nickel and other toxic metals. Heavy metals such as lead and nickel plus mercury inevitably pollute streams and
groundwater in watersheds hosting these operations. Small amounts of these elements cause large amounts of damage to the nervous
systems of infants and the unborn.
Federal, State and local officials have fallen into step with company propaganda offering "reasonable assurance" that the mining plan will
prevent pollution. This has never been done, anywhere, on this scale.
The threat is especially high in wet habitats such as NE MN as explained by our consultant, Dr. David Chambers, to a joint session of the
MN House and Senate. Representative Oberstar and Senator Klobuchar have gone so far as to introduce federal legislation to expedite the
sale of 6700 acres of wetlands to facilitate a ship mine where only underground mining would normally be permitted.
Contact local, state, federal and provincial officials to remind them of their mandate to protect the unborn and our natural resources from this
unproven and dangerous mining venture.
The environment emerged as the winner, at least for a while, in the protracted effort by the company to start mining. The Minnesota Center
for Environmental Advocacy, invoking an open request for access to DNR decisions, learned of the agency's oversight in not requiring a full
evaluation of the underground mining option. They notified the agency of this omission.
It's assumed that underground mining would be less harmful in terms of the amount of pollution escaping in runoff water. SLSA believes
that this assumption cannot be automatically applied in this case. Pollutant laden waste rock would be generated in either scheme.
PolyMet's Northmet metallic sulfide ore deposit is located at depths varying from near the surface to about 800 feet below. The company
claims that underground mining is not financially feasible for this site and prefers a strip mine operation that would destroy 1200 acres of
wetlands in its initial phase.
learn more of sulfide mining.....
Want warmer weather? Be careful what you wish for—it's likely to happen.
Some years ago an Australian guest told me it was hard for her to understand why people here talk so incessantly about the weather. After a
month of experiencing changing conditions, almost daily, she understood very well.
We've now learned that last year's temperature figures averaged out to be 1.7 degrees higher than normal. (Shipping operations could have
continued all year long.)
Major environmental changes in and around Lake Superior are already happening and will probably accelerate.
On the bright side, however, we've seen a rise in the lake's water level—it's now close to normal.
This welcomed increase may be reversed with the forecast for an increase in evaporation from the current 7% to as much as 17% by 2030!
Builders/developers — take note!
Serious concern appears to be growing and action taken by municipalities in curbing runoff of pollution from developed sites into lakes,
streams and groundwater.
In a publication titled Building Superior Coastal Communities, MN Sea Grant, in cooperation with other regional environmental agencies,
explains the “relationship between the Imperviousness
and Water Quality."
Impervious surfaces include rooftops, parking lots, gravel or paved roads and
sidewalks that keep water from infiltrating through them.
• .Water flowing over natural ground cover will lose 40% of its volume by evaporation. 10% will run off this surface.
The remaining 50% will infiltrate o the
subsurface.
• With a 10 to 20% impervious surface, evaporation will be 30% and the runoff 20% and 42% ends up as infiltration.
• An impervious surface of 35 to 50% will lose 35% to evaporation but 35% of the water will run off and 35% of it is infiltration.
The dangers of uncontrolled removal of the forest cover became obvious in research on land around Fish Creek on the Bayfield Peninsula.
The study suggests that clear cutting led to a sediment buildup five times larger than average.
The creek banks also showed a decrease in stabilization from the rapid drainage.
Other research on the value of old growth forests indicated that their removal by half or greater in the watershed would be reflected in
diminished water quality. Along with the sediment increase, warmer temperatures in the rivers, nutrients changed and the degrades fish
and aquatic life habitat. Forest floor vegetation may hold almost an inch of rain and tree roots create pathways allowing water to penetrate
the soil. Roots are invaluable in retaining soil and thus prevent erosion.
What's eating steel pilings in our harbors?
Initially the pitting of the pilings was believed to be confined to the ports of Duluth and Superior. Now it's apparent that the bizarre corrosion
is much wider spread in western Lake Superior.
Two Harbors, Thunder Bay, Ashland, Bayfield, Ontonagon and Houghton also report this problem. Micro-organisms may be a possible
cause.
As the study of the perplexing problem goes on, researchers from Minnesota Sea Grant and the U.S. Army Corps of engineers have made
observations of interest—it appears that corrosion seems to speed up where pilings are bathed in river water. Cold water, conversely,
seems to slow the process.
Randall Hicks of UMD, funded by Sea Grant, has established the presence of iron-oxidizing bacteria and said “it’s similar to the type that
have been implicated in the corrosion of steel in other environments."
read more.....
Your SLSA Board Members
LeRoger Lind (Pres,) Nancy Paisley, Glenn Maxham (VP)
Will Munger, Jr., Deb Ortman, Alice Pierce (Treasurer)
Arnold Overby, Todd Ronning, Mary Jo Keefe (Twin Cities
Rep,) Alison Contos-Member Emeritus.
SLSA membership is still only $5.00 per year per person.
The lifetime membership is $100.00 per person
enough for an ore boat to pass through,
Minnesota has joined eight other states in
suing the Bush administration over its federal
rules on ballast water. The province of
Manitoba has joined in the litigation.
Minnesota's position, headed by Attorney
General, Lori Swanson is in line with the other
states in rejecting legislation that would allow
ships coming from waters outside of inland
America to dump, in our fresh water, the salt
water they took on while in the ocean.
This routine practice, legal since the Seaway
opened, didn't arouse much attention or
objection around the Great Lakes until invasive
marine species numbers became a major
problem.
The Attorney General is quoted as stating, "Federal regulators jeopardize our economy and our fishing, boating and outdoors way of life by
allowing polluted water to be diverted into Minnesota lakes and rivers."
The suit was filed on October 2 and a response from the administration is not expected in the immediate future.
read more.....
Savelakesuperior.org utilizing paypal
The Save Lake Superior Association is now equipped to accept donations through our website!
Users with a paypal account or any major credit card can now make contributions with a simple click of the mouse.
Setback on cargo sweeping controls
A trail of limestone, coal debris, iron ore waste and grain will continue to form on the lake beds now that the Coast Guard has been told by
the federal government that it need not honor pleas from the environmentalists to halt the practice.
It's estimated that the lake carriers deposit about a million pounds of "sweepings" a year when they get rid of the spillage on the decks of
their boats.
ftp//ftp.glerl.noaa.gov/publications/tech_reports/glerl-114/tm-114.pdf
With hoses or brooms the waste is dumped over the side after the dry cargo is taken on board or off loaded in port.
As one might suspect, the shipping industry's Lake Carriers Association wants to keep the status quo, believing there's no harm being done
by ejecting the "leftovers" into the lakes.
The Carriers claim that finding an alternative to overboard disposal is too costly and may result in a hazard for crew members.
Great Lakes water not for export!
Exactly a decade ago an Ontario company had made a deal with an Asian customer to ship 158 million gallons of Lake Superior water each
year to the un-named thirsty nation.
In response to the uproar from Canadians and alarmed Americans, the permit was withdrawn. President Bush, not frequently seen as a
supporter of positive environmental issues, not only signed the agreement but also mustered bi-partisan in doing so.
It seems to be an acceptable pact from an environmental standpoint but an imperfect one in the eyes of some who examined the exceptions
to the restrictions, albeit a small one (at least on the surface)
The framers of the agreement allow for diversion of the lake waters but the containers must be no larger than 5.7 gallons—a size chosen to
accommodate the bottled water industry.
We were unable to find out whether there might be a loophole in which thousands of gallons in 5.7 gallon capacity might be exported in
ocean ships.
read more.....
New mission for the Aquarium?
There are no concrete plans [and probably no dollars] for a takeover of the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth by UMD—only a look at that
possibility by the University.
Chancellor Kathryn Martin, in an interview with the Duluth News-Tribune, said "more research-oriented activities" at the Aquarium would be a
good idea in her opinion.
Duluth City Council President Roger Reinert initiated the UMD/Aquarium concept but he hastened to note "there are no plans in the works."
McQuade not yet a dead issue!
You've read so much in the newsletter about our years-long battle to prevent a public boat launch from being built on the scenic North Shore,
you might well admonish us to "let the sleeping dog lie." We can't do that and here's why.
A long range goal of a segment of boaters on Lake Superior is to build "safe harbor" boat launches "every six to eight miles" from Duluth to
the Canadian border! This would translate into 18 to twenty-five new harbors.
Using the nine million dollar cost of the McQuade, this would mean a taxpayer burden of 200 million dollars, not including inflation. Pure
fantasy!
We believe it's important for you and the public to become aware of the status of the McQuade.. {still less than a year old and touted to be
extremely popular.}
In now what appears to be a grossly over- estimate of the use of the McQuade, the projected number of launches for the five month season
would be 24,000!
Such ballooned figures made the argument favoring the project sound more palatable for the public.
Further, the EAW (environmental assessment work-sheet by the DNR) claimed the "launches per weekend day" was estimated at 270. With
only 50 spaces now available for vehicle/boat parking, the units would have been piled up five deep.
The DNR has since downscaled the 270 launch estimate to 54 per day. SLSA members have been going to the McQuade launch site
several times a week at various times of day and are taking photos of usage (see the above)to verify the statistics we are gathering.
Our preliminary data suggests the 54 launches a day is far too high. We will pass on the final figures in the winter edition of this news letter.
By that time the McQuade will lie inert under ice and snow!
Click here for high resolution picture of McQuade safe harbor
Non-native salmon bring grief to gulls
Another good reason for ending the planting of exotic fish in the Great Lakes was found in a study
of the eggs of herring gulls.
The study , quoted in the publication Ecology, found that the introduced salmon {steelheads,
kamloops, browns, etc.} fed voraciously on smelt and alewife populations, a principal food source
for the gulls until the salmon appeared in the Great Lakes.
With ever decreasing numbers of smelt and alewives, due to heavy predation by the non-native fish,
gulls were drawn to garbage dumps to avoid starvation. This resulted in an accumulation of harmful
transfats from processed food refuse.
This translated into considerable weight loss in the gulls and smaller eggs were laid and a reduction
in fledgling's survival is now obvious.
In western Lake Superior herring gulls, though once very common, have been overtaken by the ringbilled gulls. They are less likely to have
the fatty acid problem.
The report notes that three quarters of a billion non-native fish have been stocked in the Great Lakes in the past forty-three years. SLSA has
sought an end of such stocking for the past decade.
Poly Met's EIS Delayed Again
The Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Polymet Northmet copper-nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes, MN has been rescheduled for
release in December or early 2009 after a two year delay. {There will be a very short 45 day public comment period on the huge document.
The company has yet to provide convincing evidence that the mining plan will either prevent water pollution or have any hope of final closure
without perpetual treatment of polluted seepage and runoff from waste storage.
Dilution in streams or sequestration in wetlands are being offered as acceptable solutions to avoid the expense of perpetual treatment of
polluted water. In a similar case, the state has ceased treatment of the polluted seepage from the 30 year old Dunka mine waste pile in the
same area using this same reasoning.
In previous articles our Board has discussed the unavoidable harm to water quality from the mining and processing of metallic sulfide ores
containing copper, nickel and other toxic metals. Heavy metals such as lead and nickel plus mercury inevitably pollute streams and
groundwater in watersheds hosting these operations. Small amounts of these elements cause large amounts of damage to the nervous
systems of infants and the unborn.
Federal, State and local officials have fallen into step with company propaganda offering "reasonable assurance" that the mining plan will
prevent pollution. This has never been done, anywhere, on this scale.
The threat is especially high in wet habitats such as NE MN as explained by our consultant, Dr. David Chambers, to a joint session of the
MN House and Senate. Representative Oberstar and Senator Klobuchar have gone so far as to introduce federal legislation to expedite the
sale of 6700 acres of wetlands to facilitate a ship mine where only underground mining would normally be permitted.
Contact local, state, federal and provincial officials to remind them of their mandate to protect the unborn and our natural resources from this
unproven and dangerous mining venture.
The environment emerged as the winner, at least for a while, in the protracted effort by the company to start mining. The Minnesota Center
for Environmental Advocacy, invoking an open request for access to DNR decisions, learned of the agency's oversight in not requiring a full
evaluation of the underground mining option. They notified the agency of this omission.
It's assumed that underground mining would be less harmful in terms of the amount of pollution escaping in runoff water. SLSA believes
that this assumption cannot be automatically applied in this case. Pollutant laden waste rock would be generated in either scheme.
PolyMet's Northmet metallic sulfide ore deposit is located at depths varying from near the surface to about 800 feet below. The company
claims that underground mining is not financially feasible for this site and prefers a strip mine operation that would destroy 1200 acres of
wetlands in its initial phase.
learn more of sulfide mining.....
Want warmer weather? Be careful what you wish for—it's likely to happen.
Some years ago an Australian guest told me it was hard for her to understand why people here talk so incessantly about the weather. After a
month of experiencing changing conditions, almost daily, she understood very well.
We've now learned that last year's temperature figures averaged out to be 1.7 degrees higher than normal. (Shipping operations could have
continued all year long.)
Major environmental changes in and around Lake Superior are already happening and will probably accelerate.
On the bright side, however, we've seen a rise in the lake's water level—it's now close to normal.
This welcomed increase may be reversed with the forecast for an increase in evaporation from the current 7% to as much as 17% by 2030!
Builders/developers — take note!
Serious concern appears to be growing and action taken by municipalities in curbing runoff of pollution from developed sites into lakes,
streams and groundwater.
In a publication titled Building Superior Coastal Communities, MN Sea Grant, in cooperation with other regional environmental agencies,
explains the “relationship between the Imperviousness
and Water Quality."
Impervious surfaces include rooftops, parking lots, gravel or paved roads and
sidewalks that keep water from infiltrating through them.
• .Water flowing over natural ground cover will lose 40% of its volume by evaporation. 10% will run off this surface.
The remaining 50% will infiltrate o the
subsurface.
• With a 10 to 20% impervious surface, evaporation will be 30% and the runoff 20% and 42% ends up as infiltration.
• An impervious surface of 35 to 50% will lose 35% to evaporation but 35% of the water will run off and 35% of it is infiltration.
The dangers of uncontrolled removal of the forest cover became obvious in research on land around Fish Creek on the Bayfield Peninsula.
The study suggests that clear cutting led to a sediment buildup five times larger than average.
The creek banks also showed a decrease in stabilization from the rapid drainage.
Other research on the value of old growth forests indicated that their removal by half or greater in the watershed would be reflected in
diminished water quality. Along with the sediment increase, warmer temperatures in the rivers, nutrients changed and the degrades fish
and aquatic life habitat. Forest floor vegetation may hold almost an inch of rain and tree roots create pathways allowing water to penetrate
the soil. Roots are invaluable in retaining soil and thus prevent erosion.
What's eating steel pilings in our harbors?
Initially the pitting of the pilings was believed to be confined to the ports of Duluth and Superior. Now it's apparent that the bizarre corrosion
is much wider spread in western Lake Superior.
Two Harbors, Thunder Bay, Ashland, Bayfield, Ontonagon and Houghton also report this problem. Micro-organisms may be a possible
cause.
As the study of the perplexing problem goes on, researchers from Minnesota Sea Grant and the U.S. Army Corps of engineers have made
observations of interest—it appears that corrosion seems to speed up where pilings are bathed in river water. Cold water, conversely,
seems to slow the process.
Randall Hicks of UMD, funded by Sea Grant, has established the presence of iron-oxidizing bacteria and said “it’s similar to the type that
have been implicated in the corrosion of steel in other environments."
read more.....
Your SLSA Board Members
LeRoger Lind (Pres,) Nancy Paisley, Glenn Maxham (VP)
Will Munger, Jr., Deb Ortman, Alice Pierce (Treasurer)
Arnold Overby, Todd Ronning, Mary Jo Keefe (Twin Cities
Rep,) Alison Contos-Member Emeritus.
SLSA membership is still only $5.00 per year per person.
The lifetime membership is $100.00 per person
