Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>The U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 1 of the 2012 Protocol) defines AOCs as "geographic areas designated by the Parties where significant impairment of beneficial uses has occurred as a result of human activities at the local level." An AOC is a location that has experienced environmental degradation. EPA and other federal and state agencies are working to restore the 27 remaining U.S. AOCs in the Great Lakes basin. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">Ashtabula River: </SPAN><SPAN>The Ashtabula River was designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Of the six environmental impairments that were originally present, three remain. EPA will support monitoring and evaluation to determine when environmental conditions have been restored so that the AOC can be delisted. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">Black River: </SPAN><SPAN>Originally called the “river of fish tumors”, the Black River in Ohio now boasts sport fishing, kayaking and tour boats eager to view the Great Blue Heron rookery. Since 2010, more than $23.5 million from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been used to fund 20 projects to remediate and restore this AOC. In June 2015, the boundary of the Black River AOC was modified. The geographic extent is the entire Black River mainstem from Lorain to Elyria, the French Creek watershed, the Outer Harbor, and the nearshore of the Lake Erie area including two Lake Erie beaches, Lakeview Park Beach and Century Park Beach. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">Cuyahoga River: </SPAN><SPAN>Cuyahoga River is one of 43 contaminated sites designated as an Area of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The Cuyahoga River has been transformed from an environmentally degraded natural resource into a living, revitalized asset to the Great Lakes region. Since 2010, more than $13 million from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been used to fund more than 40 projects to remediate and restore this AOC. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">Maumee River: </SPAN><SPAN>The Maumee River was designated as an Area of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The environmental problems were primarily due to sediment contamination and agricultural runoff. The runoff was causing large amounts of phosphorus to enter the river, ultimately leading to cultural eutrophication in Lake Erie.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>