Phase II GIS-Based Sediment Quality Database for the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC) - Help Section for Database Users

In 1987, concerns over environmental quality conditions prompted the International Joint Commission (IJC) to designate 43 Areas of Concern (AOCs) in the Laurentian Great Lakes region between the United States and Canada (IJC 1989). The lower 72 nautical kilometers of the St. Louis River from Cloquet, MN to the Duluth, MN and Superior, WI entries to Lake Superior were designated as one of these AOCs. Contaminated sediments contribute to several use impairments in the St. Louis River AOC, including the issuance of fish advisories, restrictions on dredging, and habitat impairments to bottom-feeding organisms. A number of ecosystem health indicators have been selected to support the assessment of sediment quality conditions within the St. Louis River AOC, including sediment chemistry, sediment toxicity, benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, tissue chemistry, the physical characteristics of sediments, and biomarkers in fish (Crane et al. 2000). Investigations conducted using data on multiple indicators provide a weight-of-evidence approach for assessing the effects of contaminated sediments on the beneficial uses of this aquatic ecosystem.