Areas of Concern

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Areas of Concern (AOC)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started the GLRI program in 2010 to identify AOCs around the Great Lakes Basin. An AOC is an area that has been contaminated with high levels of chemicals and needs to be cleaned up. Currently, Michigan has 11 active AOCs. With funding provided by the GLRI project, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is able to assist in efforts to clean up AOCs while the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) educates the public on these areas. 

Below is a list of current GLRI AOCs in Michigan. Click each area for more information on that AOC, including fish consumption guidelines for the area.

Clinton River

Detroit River Area

Kalamazoo River Area and the Enbridge Oil Spill

Manistique River Area

River Raisin

Saginaw River and Bay Area

St. Clair River Area

St. Mary’s River

Torch Lake

Fish consumption guidelines for other areas of Michigan not listed as an AOC can be found in the Eat Safe Fish Guides.

Learn more about how places become AOCs at the Michigan's Areas of Concern factsheet.

Learn more about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by visiting GLRI.US.

Delisted Areas of Concern

EPA has announced that the following areas were “delisted” or removed from the international list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern following successful restoration efforts.

Deer Lake

Menominee River Area

Muskegon Lake

White Lake

Learn more about AOC delisting on the EPA Restoring the Great Lakes Areas of Concern page.

Superfund Sites

MDHHS has issued specific guidelines for some areas with unique issues. Sites become "Superfund" sites through an evaluation process called "Superfund Site Assessment." Superfund Site Assessment work consists of discovery, evaluation and nomination of contamination sites to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

Kalamazoo River Area and the Enbridge Oil Spill

St. Clair Shores

Some AOCs can also be designated as superfund sites or have superfund sites overlapping a part of the AOC. Learn more about Superfund sites by visiting the EPA's Superfund page or the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's (EGLE) Superfund Program page.

Additional Resources

EGLE

Michigan Areas of Concern Frequently Asked Questions (factsheet)

Areas of Concern Program

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

National List of Fish Advisories

GLRI

2015 Final Report - Measuring Perfluorinated Compounds in Michigan Surface Waters and Fish

2016 Final Report - Assessing Michigan's Beneficial Use of Sport-Caught Fish in Areas of Concern

Case Studies of Community-based Fish Consumption Advisories at Three Michigan Great Lakes Areas of Concern

Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

Family Friendly Fishing Waters

Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART)

Michigan PFAS Response Fish and Wildlife

Other Great Lake States’ Fish Advisories

Illinois

Indiana

Minnesota

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Wisconsin