Thunder  Bay  Area  of  Concern  Beneficial  Use  Impairment  Redesignation   Bird  or  Animal  Deformities  or  Reproduction  Problems     Welcome  Islands,  Thunder  Bay                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Environment  and  Climate  Change  Canada       January,  2017         The  attached  technical  report  “Assessment  of  the  Wildlife  Reproduction  and  Deformities  Beneficial   Use  Impairment  in  the  Thunder  Bay  Area  of  Concern”  sets  out  that  the  status  of  the  BUI:  Bird  or   Animal  Deformities  or  Reproduction  Problems  should  be  redesignated  to  NOT  IMPAIRED.    This  is  a   positive  change  from  the  initial  designation  of  REQUIRES  FURTHER  ASSESSMENT,  as  sufficient   research  and  monitoring  has  been  carried  out  to  make  conclusions  about  the  health  of  colonial   waterbird  populations  in  the  AOC.       Based  on  various  contaminant,  health  effect  and  population  studies  from  1989  to  2007  and  a  further   three  years  (2012,  2014  &  2015)  of  focused  study  by  the  Ecotoxicology  &  Wildlife  Health  Division  of   Environment  and  Climate  Change  Canada  (ECCC),  there  is  no  evidence  of  deformities  or  reproduction   problems  in  colonial  waterbirds  attributable  to  local  contamination  effects  within  the  Thunder  Bay   AOC.    The  approach  used  here  has  been  implemented  in  the  St.  Marys  River  (Ontario)  and  Hamilton   Harbour  AOCs  for  similar  assessments  of  this  BUI.      The  technical  report  details  the  methods,  field  and  laboratory  analysis,  results,  discussion,  and   conclusions  of  the  three  year  focused  study.    Deformities,  reproduction  and  development  were   examined  in  herring  gulls  (Larus  argentatus)  by  collecting  freshly-­‐laid  eggs  from  two  colonies  within   the  AOC  and  one  reference  colony  outside  the  AOC,  in  2012,  2014  and  2015.  The  double-­‐crested   cormorant  (Phalacrocorax  auritus)  was  also  included  for  assessment  of  contaminant  burdens  in  these   years.     Key  findings  include:   • No  evidence  of  contaminant-­‐induced  impairment  of  reproduction  within  the  Thunder  Bay  AOC   Thunder  Bay  Area  Of  Concern  Beneficial  Use  Impairment  Redesignation   Bird  or  Animal  Deformities  or  Reproduction  Problems   November  2016     • • • Zero  percent  deformity  rate  of  herring  gull  embryos  in  the  lab  or  chicks  at  study  sites     Limited  differences  in  contaminant  concentrations  between  AOC  and  reference  colonies  and   TEQs  lowest  across  Great  Lakes   Current  contaminant  concentrations  are  below  thresholds  established  for  impairment  of   reproduction  and  protection  of  avian  fish-­‐eating  wildlife     The  study  results  were  presented  and  discussed  with  the  AOC’s  Public  Advisory  Committee  in  March   2016.  The  committee  voiced  positive  response  to  the  conclusions  and  supported  the  proposal  to   redesignate  the  beneficial  use  impairment  to  NOT  IMPAIRED.     When  Thunder  Bay  was  listed  as  an  AOC,  discharges  of  pollutants  from  local  pulp  and  paper  industries   and  wastewater  treatment  plants,  as  well  as  atmospheric  deposition  and  urban  runoff,  had  impaired   water  quality  and  ecosystem  health.  At  the  time,  contaminants  of  concern  included  dioxins  and   furans,  mercury,  and  polychlorinated  biphenyls  (PCBs),  which  the  Stage  1  Remedial  Action  Plan  (1991)   noted  as  a  potential  risk  for  causing  deformities  and  reproduction  problems  in  birds  and  animals.     Since  no  formal  study  had  been  conducted,  the  beneficial  use  impairment  was  designated  as   “requires  further  assessment”.      In  the  years  following  the  Stage  1  Remedial  Action  Plan,  observations   suggested  that  waterfowl  populations  were  at  normal  levels  and  there  were  no  reports  of  bird  or   animal  deformities  in  the  AOC.  The  BUI  status  was  changed  to  “not  impaired”  in  the  Stage  2  Remedial   Action  Plan  (2004).    When  study  results  from  2000  and  2001  subsequently  showed  possible  health   effects  compared  to  a  non  AOC  site,  the  RAP  team  decided  that  further  assessment  was  still  required   to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  health  of  colonial  waterbirds  in  the  AOC  (Thunder  Bay  Remedial   Action  Plan  Update,  2012).    In  2012,  ECCC  initiated  the  BUI  focused,  three-­‐year  study  attached  here.     This  study  concluded  there  is  no  evidence  of  deformities  or  reproduction  problems  in  colonial   waterbirds  attributable  to  local  contamination  effects  within  the  Thunder  Bay  AOC.  As  a  result  of  this   robust  and  thorough  study  of  this  impairment,  the  RAP  Team  recommends  the  status  of  the  Bird  or   Animal  deformities  or  reproduction  problem  BUI  be  changed  from  REQUIRES  FURTHER  ASSESSMENT   to  NOT  IMPAIRED.         Prepared  by:     Claudia  Dias  and  Kate  Taillon   Great  Lakes  Areas  of  Concern   Regional  Director  General’s  Office  –  Ontario   Environment  and  Climate  Change  Canada       Based  on  assessments  by:     Kim  Hughes,  Doug  Crump,  Kim  Williams,  and  Pam  Martin   Ecotoxicology  &  Wildlife  Health  Division   Environment  and  Climate  Change  Canada