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Areas of Concern
According to the EPA, “Areas of Concern are designated by the International Joint Commission as geographic areas in the Great Lakes basin having severe environmental degradation. There are 43 Areas of Concern with 26 in the United States, 17 in Canada, and five shared by the two countries.”

Background on Green Bay Area of Concern
Lower green Bay Area of Concern was designated in 1987 under the Great Lakes Water Quality agreement.

It was designated by these sources of pollution:


 * Affected by runoff pollution from urban and rural areas, municipal and industrial wastewater discharges and degraded habitats.


 * Industrialization was a major factor in this becoming contaminated


 * High turbidity, sedimentation, fluctuating dissolved oxygen, frequent algal blooms, degraded fish/wildlife/plant populations and adverse toxicant impacts.


 * This AOC is a shallow environment that has a rapid recycling system which also contributes to water quality issues

Beneficial Use Impairments
Beneficial Use Impairments (BUI) are a change in the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the Great Lakes system sufficient to cause significant environmental degradation. The International Joint Commission identified 14 BUIs listed below. All BUIs that have been designated for an AOC, must be removed for the AOC to be considered restored and begin the delisting process.

Green Bay BUI's:


 * Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption
 * Tainting of fish and wildlife flavor
 * Degradation of fish and wildlife populations
 * Fish tumors or other deformities
 * Degradation of aesthetics
 * Restriction on dredging activities
 * Loss of fish and wildlife habitat
 * Bird/animal deformities or reproductive problems
 * Excess of nutrients from pollutants
 * Restrictions on drinking water consumption, or taste and odor
 * Beach closings
 * Degradation of microorganism populations

Timeline of Restoration
Since 1988 over three quarters of the 120 remedial actions recommended by the lower green bay remedial action plan have been implemented or initiated.

Industrialization was a major factor regarding the Lower Green Bay becoming contaminated.

Significant Contributors to Negative Impacts: Land water use(agriculture, logging, industry), High turbidity, sedimentation, frequent algal blooms, degraded fish/wildlife/plant populations and adverse toxicant impacts.


 * 1988: First stage of action plan is released
 * 1993: Update to action plan, current progress is released and future goals are identified
 * 2003: USFWS releases an environmental assessment and restoration plan for the AOC
 * 2003-2008: E.Coli measured consistently on beaches, shows overall health is good, but more projects needed to delist
 * 2009: Wisconsin DNR identifies delisting targets for each of the BUI’s
 * 2010-2011: Laws passed to reduce/ban phosphorus in household materials, reduce phosphorus runoff from farms, and set new water quality standards.
 * 2011: Stage 2 action plan update is released, describing key actions taken since 199, and identified future projects associated with the different BUI’s
 * 2012: Update action plan, US army Corps of Engineers begins Cat ISland restoration project, and 360,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments are dredged
 * 2013: UofW extension released fact sheet of BUIs status in the AOC, judge rules that all companies EPA considers responsible for PCB contamination must complete the required cleanup work

Past & Present Cleanup
Current: 2019 marks the 16th year of clean up of the lower Green Bay. River clean up is scheduled for late March depending on ice conditions. Monitoring will continue to study fish, water, and PCB Concentrations. Once the lower GreenBay clean up is complete long term monitoring will still be done on the entirety of the river.

Past Emergency Clean Up: In 1999 and 2000, EPA oversaw a dredging project done by some of the paper companies about 3 miles upstream from the mouth of the Lower Fox River. It removed 80,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment, containing 3,400 pounds of PCBs.

Rules and Enforcement