NIAGARA RIVER TOXICS MANAGEMENT PLAN PROGRESS REPORT AND WORK PLAN October 2001 BY THE NIAGARA RIVER SECRETARIAT TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary......................................................................................................................ii PROGRESS REPORT 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 THE UPSTREAM/DOWNSTREAM MONITORING PROGRAM..................................... 2 Chlorobenzenes (CBs)....................................................................................... 3 Organochlorines (OCs)...................................................................................... 3 Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).................................................. 4 Industrial By-Product Chemicals ...................................................................... 4 Metals..................................................................................................................... 4 Trend Graphs ................................................................................................................... 4 3.0 STATUS AND TRENDS RELATIVE TO ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES................ 5 The Significance of Niagara River Sources.................................................................. 5 COMPARISON WITH WATER QUALITY CRITERIA .......................................................... 7 FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES .................................................................................... 9 New York State Advisories .................................................................................... 9 Ontario Advisories .................................................................................................. 9 Upper Niagara River ................................................................................... 9 Lower Niagara River .................................................................................10 4.0 THE BIOMONITORING PROGRAM................................................................................10 Young-of-the-Year (YOY) Forage Fish Contaminant Monitoring.............................11 5.0 SYNTHESIS OF DATA FOR U.S. TRIBUTARIES AND POINT SOURCES................11 Contamination in Sediments, Biota and Water of U.S. Tributaries........................12 Contamination in Point Sources...................................................................................13 6.0 SUMMARY...........................................................................................................................14 7.0 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................15 WORK PLAN i 2001 NRTMP Annual Work Plan.......................................................................................... W-1 ii Niagara River Toxics Management Plan Progress Report and Work Plan October 2001 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Niagara River flows 60 kilometres or 37 miles from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It serves as a source for drinking water, fishing grounds, and vacation spots. It generates electricity and provides employment to millions of people. Unfortunately, the River is also the recipient of toxic wastes that pollute its waters and prevent us from fully enjoying its beneficial uses. Since 1987, the Niagara River has been the focus of attention for the four environmental agencies in Canada and the U.S. In February 1987, Environment Canada (EC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II (USEPA), the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)---the “Four Parties”--- signed a Declaration of Intent (DOI). The purpose of the DOI is to reduce the concentrations of toxic pollutants in the Niagara River. Eighteen “priority toxics” were specifically targeted for reduction, ten of which, because they were thought to have significant Niagara River sources, were designated for 50% reduction by 1996. The Niagara River Toxics Management Plan (NRTMP) is the program designed to achieve these reductions. In December 1996, the Four Parties signed a “Letter of Support”, pledging their continued commitment to reduce toxic chemical inputs to the Niagara River, to achieve ambient water quality that will protect human health, aquatic life, and wildlife, and while doing so, improve and protect water quality in Lake Ontario as well. This Progress Report continues to focus on concerns related to water use in addition to presenting the results from the Upstream/Downstream and Biomonitoring Programs. Included are discussions on comparison of ambient water concentrations to water quality criteria, fish consumption advisories, contaminant concentrations in juvenile fish, and U.S. efforts to determine if there are sources of “priority toxics” to the Niagara River that may require further attention. The Work Plan, also included as part of this Progress Report, outlines the activities to be undertaken by the Four Parties to achieve the goals expressed in the Letter of Support, and to monitor and report progress towards attainment of these goals. iii The primary method of assessing progress is the Upstream/Downstream Program. This program collects water and suspended sediment samples once every two weeks from the head and mouth of the river to measure the changes in the concentrations and loads of about 70 chemicals. An advanced statistical model was used to determine trends for the eighteen “priority toxics” for the period 1986/87 to 1998/99, and to determine with more certainty, the effectiveness of reductions of chemical loads to the river. The most recent results show continuing, statistically significant reductions in the concentrations/loads of most of the “priority toxics” for which there are data. The reductions since 1986/87 have, in many cases, been greater than 60%. For some chemicals, the reductions observed are due, in part, to the effectiveness of remedial activities at Niagara River sources in reducing chemical inputs to the river. In 1998/99, the upper 90th percentile concentrations of NRTMP “priority toxics” for which there are data at Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL), with the exception of the DDT metabolite TDE, arsenic (As) and lead (Pb), exceeded their most stringent agency criterion. At Fort Erie (FE), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dieldrin, and some of the DDT metabolites exceeded their most stringent agency criteria. This can be contrasted with the information in last year’s Progress Report which indicated that most of the “priority toxics”, with the exception of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and the PAHs, were below their relevant most stringent agency criteria. The Four Parties have traditionally applied the most stringent surface water quality criteria as part of their assessment of water quality in the Niagara River. In February 1998, NYSDEC adopted new standards pursuant to the U.S. Great Lakes Initiative. For some chemicals, these new standards, in addition to being the most stringent of the Four-Party water quality criteria, are also more stringent than the NYSDEC standards existing prior to 1998. Now Upstream/Downstream Program data are available for the period for which the new standards were in effect. The increases in exceedences in 1998/99 are the result of comparing the data to the more stringent standards rather than significant increases in the water concentrations of these chemicals in the river. As noted above, the continuing decreasing trends in the concentrations/loads for most of the NRTMP “priority toxics” attest to the continuing improvement in Niagara River water quality. While there were no changes to New York State fish consumption advisories, re- testing of several species of fish from the upper and lower Niagara River by Ontario (MOE) resulted in less restrictive consumption advisories for several species. It also resulted in a new consumption advisory for rock bass, and a more restrictive advisory for freshwater drum due to mercury levels exceeding guidelines. iv PCB and DDT were detected in juvenile fish from all nine sites sampled by MOE in the upper and lower Niagara River in 1999. PCB concentrations have decreased at each of the sites since monitoring was started (around 1980). Concentrations at Fort Erie and Frenchman’s Creek in the upper Niagara River are now less than the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) aquatic life guideline (100 ng/g). Concentrations at all four sites in the lower Niagara River were below or only slightly above the guideline. As the Four Parties have previously reported, despite the successes to date and the continued improvements now being reported, more work needs to be done. With the adoption of new standards by NYSDEC, most of the NRTMP “priority toxics” now exceed their most stringent agency water quality criteria in the river. Advisories to limit consumption of sportfish caught in the Niagara River continue due to contamination by toxic substances. There is evidence of continuing sources of chemical contamination in the river. Inputs from Lake Erie are also important for some chemicals. In the past year, much work has been done to define the actions necessary to assure continued reductions of toxic chemicals in the Niagara River, and there are substantial new action commitments to address current concerns. For example, the U.S. parties have recently completed three assessments based on a variety of Niagara River data with the objective