Public Hearing

Toxic Disposal in Lake Erie

Tuesday, February 24th @ 6pm.

Cleveland MetroParks Watershed Stewardship Center at Westcreek

2277 West Ridgewood Drive, Parma, OH 44134

Ohio EPA is expected to oppose the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) plan to dispose toxic Cuyahoga River sediments in Lake Erie just offshore of Cleveland.  Please turn out to support Ohio EPA and to testify that toxic, PCB-laden sediments do not belong in Lake Erie.

Ohio EPA will accept written and oral testimony at the hearing on February 24 and will continue to accept written comments on the application through the close of business on March 3, 2015.  Written comments may be submitted to:dswcomments [at] epa [dot] ohio [dot] gov or to: Ohio EPA-DSW, Attention: Permits Processing Unit, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049. 

Dredged Cuyahoga River sediments belong in Confined Disposal Facilities (CDFs) and should NOT be dumped into the open waters of Lake Erie.  Some suggested talking points:

• Open lake disposal near Cleveland will increase PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyl) accumulation in benthic organisms (base of food chain); PCBs will then rise up the food chain to accumulate in sport fish and then humans and birds who consume those fish.
• PCB exposure can have devastating neurological effects on babies developing in the womb – resulting in lowered IQ, hyperactivity, delayed development and other problems.  PCBs also tend to concentrate in the breast milk of nursing mothers
• Sediments from DMMU-1 (a Cuyahoga River dredge site) led to 70% more PCB bioaccumulation in benthic organisms at CLA-1 (the 2015 proposed disposal site).
• Corps estimates maximum PCB bioaccumulation increase for Yellow Perch and Walleye would be 10% and 20%, respectively.  This is a significant increase.
• Poly-aromatic hydrocarbon contaminants (PAH) was found to be 3.5 times as high in dredged sediments than proposed disposal sites; 45 times as high compared to 2007 references.  The PAH levels at issue would to be toxic to benthic life.

Feel free to contact OEC attorney Nathan Johnson, NJohnson [at] theOEC [dot] org, if you have questions or would like additional information.