----- Forwarded by Richard
L Whitman/BRD/USGS/DOI on 09/06/2006 11:11 AM -----
"Kirschner, Bruce
A." <KirschnerB@windsor.ijc.org>
09/06/2006 08:41 AM
To
<Richard_Whitman@usgs.gov>
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Subject
Fyi -article with mention of Joan Rose
Stupak points finger of blame at East
End plant By JACK STOREY/The Evening
News Story created Sep 05, 2006 - 11:51:11 EDT.
SUGAR ISLAND - Congressman
Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) recently concluded that a study of E. coli and
other bacteria in the North Channel off Sugar Island was coming from the
East End sewage treatment plant in Sault, Ont.
In a statement, Stupak referred to a report issued by Dr. Joan Rose of
Michigan State University that apparently points a finger at the East End
plant.
“Dr. Rose is a widely respected expert in the field of water quality research.
Her work shows that improperly treated sewage originated from the Sault,
Ont. waste treatment plant,” Stupak said in his statement.
While other leaders appear somewhat reluctant to blame the East End sewage
plant as the culprit for dramatically higher E. coli and other bacterial
counts in the North Channel, Stupak did not withhold his judgment of the
responsible party.
In the Stupak statement, he said Dr. Rose's report shows high levels of
several bacteria closely related to untreated sewage at the discharge point
and downstream of the Sault, Ont. sewage plant. Among the elevated bacteria
counts mentioned by the Rose report are: E. coli; Enterococci; Coliform
and Clostridium.
While the Rose report was labeled as preliminary,
Stupak said it clearly demonstrates a need for the Canadian government
to more closely monitor discharges from the Sault, Ont. plant to prevent
harmful bacteria from entering the St. Marys River. Stupak also cited a
recent letter from the International Joint Commission (IJC) seeking the
same vigilance.
“After looking into this issue at my prompting, the International Joint
Commission wrote the Canadian government and asked them to more closely
monitor what comes out of the Sault, Ont. plant,” Stupak said. The congressman
called for the Canadian federal government and the Province of Ontario
to, “... meet their obligations to the local environment in the Sault
region by monitoring what they are discharging into the St. Marys River,
stopping untreated waste from flowing into the river and taking steps to
clean up pollutants that are already there.”
Stupak's cleanup demand is the first from a governmental leader apparently
seeking treatment or removal of contaminated sediments from the outfall
of the East End sewage plant.
The congressman's statement said Dr. Rose's study did not find that “solid
human waste” recently found in the St. Marys River and on Sugar Island
originated at the Sault, Ont. plant. However, the report did find levels
of bacteria much higher at the discharge point of the Sault, Ont. plant
that is generally considered acceptable.
The report based its findings on a series of regular water samples collected
from several points upstream and downstream of sewage plant outfalls of
both the Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. sewage plant and the East End plant in
Sault, Ont. by the Chippewa County Health Department.
In June, water samples from the old sewage
plant outfall in the North Channel and tests of material deposited on downstream
beaches on Sugar Island exceeded 2419.6 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters.
“This is more than eight times the standard for closing a beach...” Stupak
said in his statement.
That June report prompted Stupak to contact a number of international,
federal and state agencies on the U.S. side to draw attention to the problem.
Stupak toured the contaminated portion of the North Channel and met with
Canadian officials to seek resolution of the sewage contamination.
Throughout the several months of high bacterial counts and washed-up materials
on the North Channel, local officials in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. have denied
the East End plant is the culprit. The City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. recently
completed a new outfall pipe and added secondary sewage treatment processes
at the East End plant.
E. coli counts from continuing water sampling at eight sites on the North
Channel by the Chippewa County Health Department varied by location through
several weeks of testing, though readings well over the limit for human
contact were taken each week of the sampling period.
On July 20, Aug. 3 and again on Aug. 10 E. coli samples from the since-retired
outfall of the East End plant registered from 1,119 to 1,558, all in the
very high range for E. coli testing.
With the opening first of the new outfall pipe downstream of the old outfall
in mid-August, readings fell off somewhat. Then on Aug. 23, E. coli counts
fell into double digits at all locations, following introduction of secondary
sewage treatment at the East End plant two days before.
Since the new plant and outfall were placed in operation last month, E.
coli readings remained in a lower range, except for the Sugar Island Township
beach, where a count of 232 approached the limit for human contact. Another
high reading was taken at the old sewage outfall pipe location on Aug.
29, apparently caused by ongoing outfall removal operations and disturbance
of contaminated sediment by heavy equipment working on that project.
The township beach has been closed throughout the summer season due to
high E. coli counts offshore.
Despite the dramatic reduction in E. coli counts with start-up of secondary
sewage treatment at the East End plant, Health Department testing continues
to find elevated levels of other bacteria associated with sewage throughout
the North Channel area.
While Sault, Ont. officials adamantly deny the very-high bacterial counts
on the North Channel are caused by the East End sewage plant, they acknowledged
that sediments downstream of the old outfall pipe are contaminated from
discharges in an earlier era. Currently there is no plan to clean up the
contaminated sediments that officials from both sides of the international
border acknowledge as a result of earlier East End plant operations.