Help clean Lac Courte Oreilles, other Wisconsin waters

This has been, regrettably, a year of attention to water pollution in Wisconsin.

And there is an approaching December 29 comment deadline on a pollution matter which needs more publicity, particularly as it involves the need for a strong public response to spur the clean-up of a key waterway system - - Lac Courte Oreilles in Sawyer County - - by pressuring officials to aggressively facilitate clean water there.

In a nutshell: the DNR, as I noted some weeks ago, here, has proposed adding 240 more waterways to the official list of impaired waterways in Wisconsin, while proposing the removal of a lesser number, 35. 

These impairments are principally due to the discharge or runoff of phosphorous that leads to the growth of algae which rots, clogs the water, harms fish and otherwise degrades the water and its surroundings.

The DNR in a news release last month put a positive spin on the growing number of impaired waters statewide without mentioning that Walker in 2014 signed a bill extending for many years a previously-agreed-upon schedule for aggressive phosphorous discharge prevention:

The legislation gives a municipal permit-holder the option to delay stricter limits on phosphorus if it can show financial hardship. That delay or variance could last as long as 20 years, but during that time, the permit-holders would have to gradually reduce their discharges.

But the DNR release did explain that the up-side of a phosphorous-impaired designation is that it makes the polluted river or stream or lake eligible for crucial improvement funding. 

And the agency showed how the public could comment on the new listings:

Public comments may be submitted by December 29, 2017, and can be emailed to DNR at DNRImpairedWaters@wisconsin.gov, or sent by U.S. mail to Ashley Beranek, DNR, Water Evaluation Section (WY/3), Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. 

Comments postmarked or received by December 29, 2017, will be considered before submitting the final draft list to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval. 

The 2018 list and other materials can be found by searching the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, for keywords "impaired waters" and clicking on the link for the "2018 impaired waters list."

Which brings us to the Courte Oreiiles Lakes Association, (COLA) and the Lac Courte Oreilles Chippewa band, (LCO), which are urging comments before the December 29 deadline specifically aimed at making more than 5.100 acres of Sawyer County waters' eligible for needed improvement funding.

Of note: this is not a new issue. 

From a COLA email:

On November 15, 2017, the WI Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) issued a notice soliciting public comments on its proposed 2018 list of Impaired Waters. 

The WDNR is proposing to list all of Lac Courte Oreilles as impaired—which is a good thing. But, they are proposing to list “low dissolved oxygen” (DO) as an indicator of that impairment without citing Total Phosphorus as the cause of the impairment. 

We just need a final push from COLA members to get that correct cause listed as well. Most of the other 240 impaired waters have a cause listed, but not Lac Courte Oreilles. Letters from COLA members can help correct this.

Here is the full email. Read on,and follow through: 

Courte Oreilles Lakes Association

COLA and the LCO Tribe Need Your Help RE: Need Your Help Getting Cause of “Impairment” listed for Lac Courte Oreilles Action Requested: Send letter to WDNR Deadline: December 29, 2017 Dear COLA Members, COLA really needs your help, which is why we are sending this message to you once again. If you've already sent your comments to the WDNR, many, many thanks! If you haven't sent your comments, please read on! On November 15, 2017, the WI Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) issued a notice soliciting public comments on its proposed 2018 list of Impaired Waters. The WDNR is proposing to list all of Lac Courte Oreilles as impaired—which is a good thing. But, they are proposing to list “low dissolved oxygen” (DO) as an indicator of that impairment without citing Total Phosphorus as the cause of the impairment. We just need a final push from COLA members to get that correct cause listed as well. Most of the other 240 impaired waters have a cause listed, but not Lac Courte Oreilles. Letters from COLA members can help correct this. *The deadline for this “public comment” is December 29, 2017. See details under “What you can do” below. Why it’s GOOD to be designated as impaired This is also a good time to repeat that COLA welcomes the designation for Lac Courte Oreilles as an impaired water because it qualifies the lake for both attention and improvement by the U.S. EPA and WDNR under both federal and state law. Now this focus will apply to the whole lake, not just Musky Bay. What happens in Musky Bay happens to the lake as a whole. We know this, and now the WDNR acknowledges it as well. For background, in 2014 Musky Bay was included on the list of Wisconsin impaired waters based on phosphorus levels exceeding state standards. As we know, this was a partial solution to a much bigger problem. Now the full solution is in the works. See the 2018 WisCALM Assessment for Lac Courte Oreilles. One remaining issue – and how to fix it Again, while the WDNR will list all of Lac Courte Oreilles as an impaired water, it still will not identify Total Phosphorus in the lake as the cause of the low DO impairment. Instead, WDNR proposes to list “low DO” as an indicator of impairment. But, if the WDNR does not list the correct cause of the impairment, it cannot act to correct it. It is documented and verified that too much phosphorus, a nutrient, discharged into the lake is causing the massive growth of algae and algal mats and excess aquatic plant growth, including invasive species like curly leaf pond weed. Dissolved oxygen is then “depleted” from the water when the algae and other plants die and “consume” all the DO in the decomposition process. When this happens, fish species—particularly the cisco and whitefish—literally suffocate and die off. Remember the huge fish kill in Aug/Sept 2016 and the algae bloom in November. What you can do: . Send the WDNR the attached letter or email This letter does two things: (1) Supports the WDNR proposal to list the entire lake as impaired and (2) Asks the WDNR to list the real reason our lake is impaired—Total Phosphorus. . Meet the Deadline—Send your letter or email by December 29, 2017 The following is from the WDNR: “Public comments may be submitted by December 29, 2017, and can be emailed to DNR at DNRImpairedWaters@wisconsin.gov, or sent by U.S. mail to Ashley Beranek, DNR, Water Evaluation Section (WY/3), Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.  Comments postmarked or received by December 29, 2017, will be considered before submitting the final draft list to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.” If you have any questions Please contact Gary Pulford, COLA Vice President, at garylindapulford@charter.net. P.S. Let’s double our success from the first time! COLA members sent emails to the Wisconsin Department of Resources in 2012 to get Musky Bay declared as an impaired water. This was a great success—it got us to this next important step. This time let’s double that. Send the attached letter or email to the WDNR at the addresses listed above to request that impairment of—and attention for—our lake include Total Phosphorus as the leading cause. Contact: Jim Coors COLA Communications Dir. Email: communications@cola-wi.org Mobile: 608-628-0694 RE: Need Your Help Getting Cause of “Impairment” listed for Lac Courte Oreilles Action Requested: Send letter to WDNR Deadline: December 29, 2017 Dear COLA Members, COLA really needs your help, which is why we are sending this message to you once again. If you've already sent your comments to the WDNR, many, many thanks! If you haven't sent your comments, please read on! On November 15, 2017, the WI Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) issued a notice soliciting public comments on its proposed 2018 list of Impaired Waters. The WDNR is proposing to list all of Lac Courte Oreilles as impaired—which is a good thing. But, they are proposing to list “low dissolved oxygen” (DO) as an indicator of that impairment without citing Total Phosphorus as the cause of the impairment. We just need a final push from COLA members to get that correct cause listed as well. The other 240 impaired waters have a cause listed, but not Lac Courte Oreilles. Letters from COLA members can help correct this. *The deadline for this “public comment” is December 29, 2017. See details under “What you can do” below.

COLA Mission: 1) to protect, preserve and enhance the quality of Lac Courte Oreilles and Little Lac Courte Oreilles, their shorelands and surrounding areas, while respecting the interests of property owners and the rights of the general public; and 2) to consider, study, survey and respond to issues deemed relevant by COLA's membership. This notice was sent to jer45y@yahoo.com  Unsubscribe from future COLA notices COLA P.O. Box 702 Hayward, WI 54843 communications@cola-wi.org