Posted on March 10, 2022
Last year, I wrote about the effects of industrial growth in Monroe County on the health of both the River Raisin and Lake Erie. The unregulated degradation of the River Raisin from the 1900s to the 1980s made the waterway and its environs one of the most polluted rivers in Michigan.
Tom Adamich:Cleaning up the River Raisin over the years
This led to the designation of the River Raisin as an Area of Concern (AOC) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1987 as part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of that year.
Thankfully, through the efforts of several regulatory committees (one based at the City of Monroe level and the others based at the state/national levels), the River Raisin AOC designation may be removed soon.
Longtime Monroe citizen Dick Micka, along with Daniel Stefanski (who once served as the Drain Commission for the City of Monroe) and Frank Nagy joined the River Raisin Public Advisory Council (formed in 2003). They wanted to continue the work of the River Raisin AOC studied by the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR).
As profiled in the IAGLR’s 2012’s Stage Two Remedial Action Plan – River Raisin AOC, “Prior to the late 1940’s, the River Raisin AOC contained over 800 acres of wetlands and was considered a renowned hunting and fishing destination. However, recognizing the potential for industrial development in the lower reaches, the Monroe Port Commission allowed the filling of most of the wetlands. Industrialization of this area resulted in several contaminated waste sites on both sides of the river. Today, the remaining wildlife habitat, especially the Eagle Island Marsh (formerly the Ford Marsh) and the Port of Monroe Landfill lagoons adjacent to Plum Creek (in the immediate vicinity of the AOC), are home to nesting eagles, a colony of ring billed and herring gulls, a number of wintering bald eagles, and other aquatic birds.“
Micka recently provided this historical background on why the River Raisin AOC designation may be lifted soon, “We had been able to do some remediation prior with regards to the removal of the paper plants and other things using Clean Michigan Initiative (CMI) money (The Governor’s Environmental Bond Fund $600 million); but, the more aggressive clean up activity didn’t begin until the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) legislation was passed by Congress. Then we got into some serious money along with what Ford Motor Company provided to clean up the “Hot Spot” at the foot of E. Elm Avenue.
Micka continues: “This is where we are now. All Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) have been removed or management actions have been completed. [According to the U.S. EPA’s Beneficial Use Impairments of the Great Lakes AOC document, an impairment of beneficial uses means a change in the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the Great Lakes system sufficient to cause significant environmental degradation.]The total cost approaches $150 million including close to $100 million from Ford Motor Company.
In preparation of the River Raisin AOC being delisted, the City of Monroe has passed an ordinance creating the Commission on the Environment and Water Quality (COTE). It will work in cooperation with International Wildlife Refuge in Monroe Harbor (the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the River Raisin National Battlefield Park operated by the National Park Service), Sterling State Park operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, who maintain the Federal Navigation Channel in Monroe Harbor They hope to repeat successes of the recent lifting of the Ashtabula River AOC in Ohio.
Tom Adamich is President – Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is Project Archivist for the Greening Nursery Company and Family Archives.
