J a n u a r Y f e b r u a r Y m a r c h a p r i l m a Y J u n e J u l Y a u g u s t s e p t e m b e r o c t o b e r n o v e m b e r d e c e m b e r

May 5–6, 2010Session highlighting RAP and panel discussion on governance at River Institute’s Annual Conference

May 4, 2010RAP Public Evening Session held as part of the River Institute’s Annual Conference.

2010

Summer 2010River Institute scientists carry out field work on mercury contamination of sediments.

October 26–28, 2010Public consultations held

CurrentlyMohawk Consultations ongoing

December 14, 2010First meeting of the Canada-Ontario Agreement Technical Review Team for the draft Stage 3 document. September 23, 2010

St Lawrence River Restoration Council passes a motion that a roundtable discussion should be organized to address the future of the St Lawrence River.

September 23, 2010St Lawrence River Restoration Council passes a motion to forward the member organizations’ individual positions on de-listing or not, rather than formulate one main recommendation to the government.

June–August 2010Consultations with member organizations and committees: 10 presentations delivered on the de-listing topic

March 22, 2010St Lawrence River Restoration Council passes a motion to seek out various positions on de-listing from representative organizations, committees and communities.

Were you thinking about the state of the St. Lawrence River twenty-two years ago? A group of concerned citizens were and so they attended a meeting. Many got involved in the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) process to work with government agencies on what should be done to im-prove the quality of our river. Multiple successes have been celebrated through the years, yet the future of our river re-mains unclear.

This Area of Concern will soon be either changing its status to an Area of Recovery, or taken off the list of the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes/St. Law-rence basin. There are pros and cons to either decision. However, what happens next, regardless of official status? That is what I would like to discuss with you.

First, no matter which status we are assigned, the government’s responsibili-ties will change. As the Remedial Action Plan process is completed, the level of government-related RAP activities in this area of our River may decrease, although they will still have a responsibility to pre-vent a backslide in the health of the river.

This means that we citizens of Stor-mont, Dundas & Glengarry will have a greater responsibility to keep watch over

our river.We must continue to oversee the long-

term protection/restoration of the river. We must monitor the government agen-cies, encourage continuing remediation of the problems that still exist, and, if necessary, lobby to make sure our river continues to improve.

Having been involved in the RAP pro-cess since 1988, I would like to share my vision for the future.

I hope that interested citizens, repre-sentatives of municipalities and organi-zations will join a proactive, energetic and fearless group to oversee the long-term protection/restoration of our river. I would hope that the number of citizens in-volved will outnumber the representatives of municipalities. This group will have a long-term mandate and means to keep ac-tive people involved.

As citizens, we must be willing to plan with more long-term vision than politi-cians can. As citizens, we have the re-sponsibility to continue the Remedial Ac-tion Plan process with our own vision, not one controlled by the different levels of government. As citizens, we must make sure that our river never again is held hos-tage by pollution.

A Vision for the Futureby ElainE KEnnEdy, Cornwall and district Environmental Committee

St. Lawrence River (Cornwall) Area of Concern (AOC) includes an 80 kilome-ter stretch of river (including the smaller tributaries that flow into the St. Lawrence) from the Moses Saunders Dam in Corn-wall to the Beauharnois Dam in Quebec. A St. Lawrence River Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was developed in consultation with the local community over 20 years ago. The Remedial Action Paln takes an ecosystem approach to solving environ-mental problems by considering the health and needs of fish and wildlife as well as people in the AOC. The implementation of the RAP is coordinated by the St. Law-rence River Restoration Council (SLRRC) which includes members from Cornwall and area, Mohawks of Akwesasne and the provincial and federal governments.

In order for the St. Lawrence River (Cornwall) AOC to be removed (or delist-ed) from the list of most environmentally degraded areas in the Great Lakes a three stage process must be completed.

Once the three stage process is com-

plete, the federal and provincial govern-ments, in consultation with the local com-munity, make a decision to either delist the AOC, or recognize the AOC as an Area in Recovery. All priority actions have been completed and additional time is required for the environment to recover.

In 2007, under the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem, the St. Lawrence River (Cornwall) Area of Concern was identified as one of four AOCs targeted to complete all priority remedial actions for delisting by 2010. In 2007, a workplan was developed with input from the SLRRC that outlined the schedule to complete the water qual-ity and fish and wildlife actions required

to de-list this AOC. The Stage 3 Report outlines the goals that have been achieved throughout the AOC as a result of the RAP actions, summarizes the environmental im-provement in the AOC, and outlines future monitoring and research needs.

The SLRRC was successful in com-pleting the remaining priority RAP actions and a draft Stage 3 Report was completed in December 2009. Presentations on the status of the RAP were made to SLRRC member organizations and Mohawks of Akwesasne from June to August 2010, and these organizations were asked for their input on whether they believe there is ad-equate information to delist the AOC, or whether the AOC should be designated an Area in Recovery.

Three public evening sessions were also held in October 2010 in Alexandria, Lancaster and Cornwall. Members of the public and local environmental groups

were invited to attend and provide com-ments on the removal of the AOC from the list of Great Lakes environmental hotspots. The evenings included a presentation on local environmental issues and a poster session showcasing environmental accom-plishments under the RAP program.

A report is currently being prepared by the SLRRC on all the feedback from the consultation sessions. This report will be provided to the federal and provincial gov-ernments, and it will be taken into account in their decision on whether to delist the AOC or re-designate the AOC as an Area in Recovery. Regardless of which designa-tion is made for the AOC, the federal and provincial governements have commit-ted to ongoing environmental monitoring to ensure there is no backsliding of envi-ronmental conditions in the AOC. It is ex-pected that a government decision will be available in the Fall of this year.

The Community is Consulted on the ‘De-listing’ Questionby KathErinE BEEhlEr, St lawrence river raP implementation Coordinator

Stage 1: Problem definition

completed

Stage 2: Selection ofremedial actions

completed

Stage 3: Final report

draft

Decision to delist or move to Area in Recovery?

currently being evaluated

The St. Lawrence River Restoration Council Septic Re-Inspection Program will continue in 2011 for its final year. This free voluntary educational-based program is of-fered as part of the Remedial Action Plan for the St. Lawrence River (Cornwall) Area of Concern. Residents along the South Glen-garry waterfront and those living within the vicinity of Westley’s Creek, Pattingale Drain and McIntosh/ Ferguson Drain are eligible for the Septic Re-Inspection Program.

Limited funding is available to assist home-owners with covering the cost for sep-tic and holding tank pump-outs. Email or call Katherine Beehler at katherine.beehler@rrca.on.ca or 613-938-3611 for more information.

The 2010 survey osprey results are in and continue to show positive signs to-wards the recovery of this species within the AOC. A total of fourteen active nests were surveyed this past summer—one more than in 2009. The number of young that survived to fledge was up from previ-ous years to a total of twenty young, mak-ing for an average total of 1.4 young per nest.

Mythical Kings Continue to Soar Over Lake St. Francisby BrEndan JaCoBS, raisin region Conservation authority

Septic Re-inspection Program Continues

Mercury contamination of fish and sediments has been a critical issue in the St. Lawrence River (Cornwall) AOC. The areas with the highest sediment con-tamination are found along the Cornwall waterfront, buried in three defined zones which have been covered over time by cleaner material. A sediment manage-ment strategy is in place to ensure those sediments remain undisturbed so that they continue to be isolated from the river’s water and aquatic life. In developing the sediment management strategy, sampling of the depositional areas along the Corn-wall waterfront did not include sediment from shallower depths in all of the zones sampled. Limited information was avail-

able on the concentrations of mercury in shallow (2–3m), nearshore sediment in the Lamoureux Park area.

To fill this gap, a scientific team from the St. Lawrence River Institute of Envi-ronmental Science, with funding support provided by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, undertook sampling and analysis of the mercury concentrations in water, bottom sediments, river bottom or-ganisms and small yellow perch from se-lected areas along the Cornwall waterfront in the summer of 2010. With the help of Stephanie Eveno, an international student visiting from Hogeschool Zeeland in the Netherlands, the scientists are now analys-ing the data collected over the summer to

decipher the mercury story in these shal-low sediments.

To date, results show that overall lev-els of mercury in the shallow water bot-tom sediments near the shore are similar to those in deeper water bottom sediments, but concentrations of mercury are signifi-cantly higher in organisms that live in the shallower areas. Since young fish start their lives in the protected shallow areas and feed on these organisms (amphipods), these nearshore sites may be an important pathway for mercury transfer to small fish.

Analysis of the results will look at sources and pathways of mercury to determine if there is a significant link to young fish in the shallow areas. This information will add to the ongoing effort in support of scientifically-based decision-making un-der the Cornwall Sediment Strategy.

Nearshore Sediments: Sources of Mercury to Fish? by dr. JEff ridal, St. lawrence river institute

St. Lawrence River RAP Update

One does not have to look far into the past to recall the state of the environment within the AOC which included impair-ments to both fish and wildlife popula-tions and their habitats. It is known that the lower reaches of tributaries are very pro-ductive zones and are critical habitat for a number of important fish species. Within the AOC, historical land use practices con-tributed heavily to the degradation of water quality, fish habitat, and the fish communi-ties that relied upon the tributaries for food, shelter, and reproduction. For example,

species and density data from 1992 shows that the lower reach of Sutherland Creek was home to 18 species of fish at a den-sity of 1.6 fish/minute of shocking. Since that time improvements in the quality and quantity of fish habitat have dramatically reversed this slide. Recent data gathered in 2009 and 2010 for Sutherland Creek and other tributaries such as Finney, Fraser, Gunn, and Wood Creeks suggests that the fish community is responding positively to better management practices within these watersheds. In contrast to the 1992 results,

the lower Sutherland is presently occupied by 26 species at densities equalling 12.9 fish/minute of shocking. These results are encouraging and suggest that the lower tributaries are playing a larger role in the sustainability and health of the local fish community than previously was thought possible. Presently, the next step in this re-search is being designed to determine the overall habitat quality and quantity within the lower reaches, and what role they are playing in the production of the Lake St. Francis fish community.

Tributaries— Supporting a Robust and Vigorous Fish Community by BrEndan JaCoBS, raisin region Conservation authority

• April16–26th Annual Spring Clean-up Challenge. http://www.cornwall.ca/en/municipalworks/SpringCleanUp.asp

• April23rd RRCA Earth Day and Tree Giveaway Celebration, contact Normand Genier at 613-938-3611 ext. 228 or check hwww.rrca.on.ca

• May3rd Evening Public Roundtable on the Future of the St. Lawrence River at NavCANADA. To participate, contact Katherine Beehler at 613-938-3611 ext. 229

• May4th–5th The River Institute presents the 18th Annual International River Conference www.riverinstitute.ca

• May4th Michael Runtz Presenting “Life in the Wetland” at NavCANADA. Contact Christina Collard for ticket information, 613-936-6620 ext 222

• May7th River Institute family environmental workshop at OPG Visitor Centre. Check www.opg.com/stlawrencevisitorcentre

• May8th Nature Walk for kids at Gray’s Creek 10 am–11 am. Contact Elizabeth Boileau at 613-936-6620 ext.224 or eboileau@riverinstitute.ca

Get Involved!

Photo by Jim Leblanc