It is recommended that the Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption BUI be redesignated to “Not Impaired” for the Canadian side of the St. Marys River AOC.
This recommendation is due to the fact that the established BUI delisting criteria: “This BUI will no longer be impaired when the fish consumption advisories in the AOC are no more restrictive than the advisories in suitable reference sites. Comparisons shall be based on samples collected in the same timeframe for a minimum of two consecutive sampling events,” as endorsed by BPAC, have been fulfilled and is based on the following:
- The outcome of the multi-tiered analysis framework supports the redesignation to “not impaired” status. Based on examination of fish consumption advisories, analysis of Tier 1 indicates that restrictions within the AOC are generally non-restrictive. Results from the Tier 2 analysis highlight that the advisories within the AOC are similar to or better than regional advisories in Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
- A community fish consumption survey was completed and the results confirm the critical assumption of 8+ meals/month as a “non-restrictive” diet of fish used in the tiered assessment analysis.
- The one remedial action (PS-1) and the two monitoring actions (FFM-3 and FFM-4) recommended in the Stage 2 RAP report (2002) are either ongoing or complete.