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· Lake Michigan - Both the USEPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) and
the Region 5 Lake Michigan Team contribute to activities which promote the clean-up,
restoration and protection of Lake Michigan, with GLNPO focusing at a Great Lakes
Basin-wide level. USEPA's Great Lakes Program brings together federal, state, tribal,
local, and industry partners in an integrated, ecosystem approach to protect, maintain, and
restore the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes. The Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement with Canada and LaMP 2000, provide the agenda for
Great Lakes ecosystem management: reducing toxic substances; protecting and restoring
important habitats; and protecting human/ecosystem species health. These objectives
closely align with Region 5 and IEPA's joint environmental priorities and certain GLNPO
activities may be described in those sections as appropriate. The Lake Michigan Lake-wide
Management Plan (LaMP) 2002 will include a strategy for Total Maximum Daily
Load (TMDL) development for Lake Michigan.
Highlights of Federal activities not covered elsewhere include:
Monitor Lake ecosystem indicators. GLNPO will assess and report on the state of key
Great Lakes ecosystem components, make status and trend information available to great
Lakes environmental managers, and coordinate measurement of a limited number of
environmental indicators applicable to the entire Great Lakes Basin. Select data from the
Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study will be reported, including atrazine and PCB
information, enabling the Agency and its partners to further LaMP implementation and
determine how to further reduce Great Lakes pollutants in the most cost effective way.
GLNPO will also lead indicator development pursuant to the State of the Lakes
Ecosystem Conferences. Lake Michigan Basin indicators are proposed to be developed
by the LaMP.
Manage and provide public access to Great Lakes data. USEPA's integrated Great
Lakes information system, developed by GLNPO and its state and federal partners, will
deliver LMMB, and other, scientifically sound, easily accessible environmental
information to decision makers and the public by traditional means and via the Internet.
GLNPO will pilot techniques to provide public access to LMMB data via the Internet.
Provide and promote community-based environmental protection, especially in
Areas of Concern (AOCs). USEPA will work with local communities to address the
environmental problems they determine to be of the highest priority.
IEPA will continue to give priority to restoration and long-term protection of Lake
Michigan. We will support and participate in activities of Region 5's Lake Michigan
Team including development of the Lake Michigan lakewide management plan (LaMP)
and participation in the Lake Michigan monitoring coordinating council, a revised 5-year
Great Lakes Strategy, and the LaMP environmental indicators workgroup. The Agency
is also actively pursuing numerous other Great Lakes activities including completion of
Waukegan Harbor remediation, ecosystem restoration and ultimately its delisting as an
AOC, and participation in multi-state activities (IJC, Council of Great Lakes Governor's
