St. Louis River Citizens Action Committee Quarterly Board Meeting
May 26, 2004

Louis Cafe in Superior

Minnesota Co-Chair Phil Monson called the meeting to order.

Business Meeting:
Minutes of the March 24, 2004 meeting were approved as distributed.

St. Louis River/Interlake/Duluth Tar (SLRIDT) Superfund Site Comment Letter: Today is the last day of the 15-day comment period on the restoration plans. Lynelle has drafted a letter to clarify our position. We don't want to outright oppose it as we do want something to finally get done. A motion was passed to approve sending the letter to the Jane Mosel, MPCA, clarifying our concerns with the proposed SLRIDT remediation plan and allowing Lynelle to send copies to appropriate people at her discretion.

Restoration Goals and Milestones: This meeting was the second of two working sessions to continue development of restoration goals and milestones. Four tables were designated for each of the beneficial use impairments (BUI) addressed: A) BUI #1 Fish Consumption Advisories/ BUI #3 Fish Tumors and Other Deformities/ BUI #6 Excessive Loading of Sediments and Nutrients to Lake Superior/ BUI #7 Beach Closings/Body Contact; B) BUI #8 Degradation of Aesthetics; C) BUI #2 Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations and BUI #9 Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat; and D) BUI #4 Degradation of Benthos. Participants chose their area of interest and each group began working. Pertinent information was available for each table. A brief overview of the process to date and the available information was followed by discussion of the general guidance for restoration goal development. The following points were again stressed: All restoration goals are advisory in nature, Editing of BUIs will not be done at this time, Goals are developed by consensus, compromises may be necessary, Timetables must be realistic, Local ownership of goals is preferred, and Goals will be forwarded to technical advisors for review. Each group facilitator presented a summary of the results at the end of the meeting. Their recommendations are as on the blue sheets. Once the goals are finalized we could consider an addendum to the Remedial Action Plan to include these goals. This might make it easier for the states to adopt as they could adopt by reference similar to the way the Basin Plan references the RAP. The goals must be submitted to the EPA by Oct 1, 2004 as part of the grant agreement. It is important that the states are familiar with the goals before we submit to EPA. It may not be possible to have them adopted by the states before then, however we can continue to encourage their adoption after submission of the goals. A motion was made to hold a special meeting of the CAC on Wednesday August 25th to approve submission of the goals.

Diane Thompson, secretary