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Muskegon Lake
Muskegon Lake Area of Concern
In the 1980s, the United States and Canadian governments identified 43 places in the Great Lakes region that had severe, long-term environmental problems. These places are called Areas of Concern (or AOCs). People in federal, state, and provincial government environmental remediation programs are working to address the problems in these areas. Funding and expert guidance are provided to AOCs to help local groups, known as Public Advisory Councils (PACs), work on these environmental problems, as well.
Muskegon Lake is one of the fourteen AOCs located in Michigan. A lot of people are working to clean up Muskegon Lake and get rid of the problems (called Beneficial Use Impairments or BUIs). Over the years, several BUIs have been removed from Michigan's AOCs as citizens, industries, and government joined together to improve our state's environmental health. In fact, after decades of hard work, some Michigan AOCs only have one or two BUIs remaining and are getting closer to being delisted.
Learn about the Area of Concern and some of the clean-up efforts:
- EGLE: Muskegon Lake AOC
- EPA: Great Lakes Legacy Act (external site)
Beneficial Use Impairments vs. Fish Consumption Guidelines
Thanks to this work, one of these impairments, the Restrictions on Fish Consumption, was recently removed from Muskegon Lake. Removing this BUI shows that Muskegon Lake fish are no longer more contaminated than other fish in Michigan, but this does not mean that the fish in the lake will be free of chemicals and fish consumption guidelines. All lakes and rivers in Michigan have fish consumption guidelines. If you would like to learn more about this the difference between the Restrictions on Fish Consumption BUI and the Michigan Department of Community Health fish consumption guidelines, visit:
Eat Safe Fish
- Eat Safe Fish in Muskegon County brochure - For more information about fish from the Muskegon County area and the complete Eat Safe Fish guidelines for Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan.
- Eat Safe Fish Guide - To get the current fish consumption guidelines for other lakes and rivers in Michigan, check out the Eat Safe Fish Guide.
Learn more about our partners and the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern:
Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership
Muskegon Conservation District
Michigan Great Lakes Areas of Concern Program
To get free print copies of any of these flyers or brochures, please call MDHHS at 1-800-648-6942.