The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (BQ-RAP) will be pumping extra dollars into its efforts to have the bay’s status changed from an internationally-recognized pollution hotspot.

Experts behind the efforts to transform the waterway into a pollutant-free atmosphere had set an ambitious goal, to rid the bay of some of the pollutants that garnered it an International Joint Commission on Great Lakes water quality “area of concern” designation in 1986.

Sarah Midlane-Jones, a spokeswoman for the RAP, admitted the orgnization will be unable to achieve the 2011 cleanup benchmark set several years ago.

She said the process has proven more daunting than initially projected.

“I would add another year or two to it,” she said. “We still need to do probably a couple years worth of monitoring to get the scientific data that we need. We certainly are getting very close to the goal of delisting the bay.”

The bay’s watershed is the largest in southern Ontario, covering more than 18,000 square kilometres, and includes lands drained by the Trent, Moira, and Napanee rivers and a host of smaller tributaries.

In 1986, the International Joint Commission (a Canadian- American Great Lakes watchdog) identified the Bay of Quinte as one of 43 Great Lakes “Areas of Concern”… a pollution hotspot.

Midlane-Jones said the Bay of Quinte RAP will be channelling about $60,000 towards funding approved projects being done by area residents to rejuvenate their shoreline. This year, as the BQRAP ramps up its efforts towards creating a healthy bay, more than $400,000 will have been spent.

She said the organization will be releasing information next week about how people can apply for funding for their BQRAP approved projects.

She said as long as people meet the habitat and location criteria, the organization will assign staff to meet with them to determine their project eligibility.

She said with the additional cash infusion the Bay Of Quinte RAP will be able to boost its habitat enhancement program.

The project will feature several categories including shoreline naturalization, fencing to keep livestock out of water courses and wetlands and planting native plants along the bay.

In the process, area residents will be experiencing a rejuvenated Bay Of Quinte RAP website along with a new logo and tagline.

“We needed a new look,” she said.

The website will conjure a plethora of user friendly features including links to subscribe to newsletters along with photo and video galleries. There is also space for residents to post coming events. There is also an ongoing photo contest aimed at increasing community engagement. The contest which runs until January will culminate with a showing at a local gallery.

Midlane-Jones said the staff has been working feverishly in recent years to combat the ongoing challeges confronting the bay cleanup project. She said many of the ongoing programs include marsh and open water monitoring.

The project has taken more than 20 years to get to this point. She said in 1990 a stage one report was done to define the environmental conditions and problems. Three years later, stage two of that report was tabled, outlining recommendations to address the litany of issues plaguing the bay.

“We’ve been working in the stage two ever since and have made significant progress towards meeting the criteria to delist the bay,” she said. “It’s certainly taking a long time to get it there.”

via RAP won’t make Bay target – Belleville Intelligencer – Ontario, CA.