WASHINGTON - People who fish or swim in the Great Lakes get inconsistent information about whether their activities are safe because water standards and testing vary from state to state, an environmental group said yesterday.
Researchers examined how Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin assess aquatic health and determine when to issue fish consumption advisories or no swimming warnings.
The report found, for example, that people fishing on Lake Erie for carp, catfish and whitefish will get different information from Ohio and Michigan about whether the catch is safe to eat.
The report said states do not report their waters are unswimmable even after health authorities have closed beaches because of pathogens. States also test for different bacteria when determining whether it is safe to swim.
Since 1986, the Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that states test for E. coli, but only Ohio, Michigan and Indiana have E. coli standards, the report said. Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin determine whether it is safe to swim based on testing for fecal matter.
New York and Pennsylvania, which border the Great Lakes, were not included in the report. It said that besides different standards, the states also use different testing methodologies.
None of the states now tests the water quality of wetlands, and only three states - Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota - have standards for assessing the health of wetlands, the report said.
State testing on the lakes and rivers that make up the Great Lakes basin are submitted every two years to the EPA, which then releases its water quality inventory. The environmental group challenged the accuracy of that report, saying state standards are not uniform enough to put together an accurate federal assessment. The next EPA report is expected later this year.
The environmental group was founded by Eric Schaeffer, a former EPA enforcement official who resigned in 2002 to protest White House policy on anti-pollution efforts at power plants that violate clean air laws. Also contributing to the report was the Joyce Foundation, a Great Lakes environmental group based in Chicago.
Messages for an EPA spokeswoman were not immediately returned yesterday.
17 Archives
The Associated Press
200403111345midsize.jpg
A sign warns of high bacteria levels at Edgewater Beach in Cleveland on July 19, 2003.
