Contaminated Sediment Management in the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem

Contaminated sediment remains a pervasive problem to the restoration and delisting in all of the Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Like many other problems, both identification and implementation of ecologically and economically acceptable solutions is complex. Recognizing the scope of this issue and perceiving that limited progress had been achieved, the International Joint Commission (IJC) asked its Great Lakes Water Quality Board to review the magnitude of the problem and what progress had been made in managing contaminated sediment by Canada and the United States. In addition, the Commission also asked for an identification of obstacles to remediation and recommendations for solutions.This paper provides a synopsis of this work and a summary of an IJC workshop held in June of 1997, in Collingwood, Ontario. Six categories of obstacles to sediment remediation are discussed, potential solutions are identified, and a series of recommendations are proposed. A plan of action to further develop approaches to sediment management and to stimulate additional remediation throughout the basin is also presented.