Rouge River Area of Concern

Background 

The oldest and most heavily populated and industrialized area in southeast Michigan is located within the Rouge River Watershed. The Rouge River has four main branches totaling 125 miles of waterways primarily flowing through Wayne and Oakland counties, with some headwaters in Washtenaw County. The Rouge drains a 438 square mile area that includes more than 400 lakes and ponds, and more than 50 miles of parkland along its banks. The river winds its way through 48 communities and provides recreational opportunities for more than a million people. The lower four miles of the river are maintained as a shipping channel from the turning basin to the river's mouth at the south end of Zug Island.

Rouge River Remedial Action Plan (RAP) priorities include the elimination of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), nonpoint source pollution control, industrial discharge pretreatment, peak storm water discharge reductions and contaminated site restoration.

Beneficial Use Impairments 

The Rouge River Watershed covers 1,210 km2 in southeastern Michigan. It includes sections of three counties and encompasses 48 municipalities with a population of 1.5 million people. Degradation of the Rouge River is representative of that found in many urbanized and industrialized areas within the Great Lakes Basin. Over 50% of the land-use is residential, commercial, or industrial, with increasing development pressures in the headwaters. Despite the urbanized and industrial areas within the watershed, there are over 80 km of publicly-owned riparian (i.e., land/bank adjacent to a watercourse) parklands within the northern and western portions of the watershed consisting mainly of suburban and rural land uses. Urban storm water discharges, CSOs, nonpoint source pollution, and municipal and industrial discharges all contribute to the Rouge River Area of Concern (AoC) beneficial use impairments (BUIs).

For further information on Rouge River BUIs, see the RAP documents listed in the Significant RAP Milestones section below.

Oil and gas slicks, debris and other pollutants are some of the causes of several beneficial use impairments in the Rouge River Area of Concern.

Delisting Targets 

The 2004 Rouge River RAP Revision (PDF 3.88Mb 153 pages) includes initial delisting criteria for several of the identified BUIs, some of which may be ready for formal delisting in the near future. The Rouge River RAP Advisory Council (RRAC) has received funding from the Great Lakes Commission to refine delisting criteria to reflect knowledge of the BUIs. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is working with the RRAC to evaluate the current delisting criteria for consistency with Michigan's statewide delisting guidance (PDF 508Kb 61 pages) RAP Development and Status
 

RAP Development and Status  

The Rouge River RAP was completed in 1989 and has been heralded as a model for community involvement and public support. The RAP was updated in 1994 and 1998, and revised in 2004. Since 1999, the RRAC has also been using a progress report card as a mechanism to help celebrate implementation of remedial projects, make mid-course corrections, provide public accountability, and further develop the RAP. The RRAC released the 2005 Rouge River Report Card in October 2005.

Significant RAP Milestones

• 2004: Rouge River RAP Revision (PDF 3.88Mb 153 pages) completed.
• 1998: Rouge River RAP Progress Report (PDF 7.12Mb 120 pages) completed.
• 1994: Rouge River RAP Update (PDF 8.37Mb 156 pages) completed.
• 1992: Rouge River RAP Progress Report (PDF 1.48Mb 33 pages) completed.
• 1990: Remedial Action Plan for the Rouge River Basin (PDF 4.95Mb 146 pages) completed.

RAP Implementations

There are still fragments of viable habitat remaining in the Rouge River watershed.

Recent Progress and Achievements

• In 2004, the Rouge River RAP was updated. The plan defined an ambitious 20-year program of actions needed to realize the vision of: “A Rouge River that is aesthetically pleasing, clean and safe, that supports a healthy, diverse fish and wildlife community, and that provides an enriching variety of recreational experiences.”
   
• Rouge River monitoring has continued to show improved water quality and overall ecosystem health. Dissolved oxygen levels are higher at most monitoring stations compared to five years ago. Bacteria counts are declining. There have been numerous habitat restoration and streambank stabilization projects conducted throughout the watershed.
   
• All 10 of the CSO retention/ treatment basins planned under Phase 1 of the Rouge watershed CSOs control program are in operation and are removing a significant source of untreated sewage overflow to the Rouge River. A total of 77 of the 83 Phase I CSO outfalls are now under control or have been eliminated by sewer separation. The City of Dearborn also continued work on its CSO control program by initiating construction of innovative deep shaft storage and treatment facilities in the West Dearborn area (Phase A) and continuing design of projects in the West Dearborn Phase B and East Dearborn areas. The City of Detroit Upper Rouge Tunnel is under design.
   
• Thirty-six new grant-funded community projects were awarded in 2004, 32 of which were completed, and all are consistent with the seven Rouge subwatershed management plans.
   
• More than 120 illegal sanitary sewer connections to storm drainage systems and other illicit discharges have been identified and eliminated in the watershed.
   

Current Projects and Outlook

• In 2005, the Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) received a U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office grant to develop a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) database of critical habitat areas to use as a tool to set measurable restoration and delisting goals for habitat.
   
• The FOTR received a MDEQ volunteer monitoring grant in 2004 to continue its Rouge River Benthic Monitoring and Frog and Toad Survey programs; this work is ongoing.

RAP Related Publications

• 2005: Rouge River Report Card (PDF 8.60Mb 4 pages)
• 2004: Review of Year 2004 – Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project Report (PDF 3.88Mb 153 pages)
• 1999: Rouge River Report Card. (PDF 2.65Mb 49 pages)

The Rouge River RAP is a watershed-wide effort that is led by the MDEQ in partnership with other stakeholders. The institutional structure includes: MDEQ staff with responsibilities to implement the RAP and assess restoration progress; a Rouge Program Office created for the Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project; technical advisory groups; a Rouge River Steering Committee to oversee implementation activities with the Voluntary Stormwater Permit; and the RRAC to advise the MDEQ and assist in updating and implementing the RAP. The RRAC includes representatives of industry, environmental interests, citizens, universities, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, local and county governments, and parks and health departments

• Assembly of Rouge Communities (ARC)
• Friends of the Rouge
• Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG)

U.S. EPA RAP Liaison:
John Haugland
U.S. EPA, GLNPO
77 West Jackson Blvd. (G-17J)
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Tel:  (312) 886-9853
Fax: (312) 353-2018
Email: haugland.john@epa.gov

State RAP Contact:
Michelle Selzer
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality – Water Bureau
525 W. Allegan Street
P.O. Box 30273
Lansing, MI 48909
Tel:  (517) 241-3731
Fax: (517) 373-9958
Email: selzerm@michigan.gov

Rouge RAP Advisory Council Chair:
Bill Craig
20050 Milburn
Livonia, MI 48152
Tel:  (248) 476-5127
Email: envirowhc@sbcglobal.net

Local Coordinator:
Rich Badics
Michigan Statewide Public Advisory Council Representative
5611 Wagoneer Court
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Tel:  (734) 995-5869
Email: rbadics@yahoo.com