The draft plan was prepared by trustees of the natural resources injured during the spill, including the State of Ohio, the State of Indiana, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, acting on behalf of the Department of Interior. A settlement negotiated under the Oil Pollution Act among the trustees and the owners and operators of the ruptured pipeline makes available approximately $2.5 million to the trustees to restore, rehabilitate or replace the natural resources of Fish Creek affected by the spill. The draft plan outlines alternatives for restoration, identifies a preferred strategy, and suggests specific activities to return water quality, wildlife, and fish to pre-spill conditions.
Fish Creek is regarded as one of the areas most pristine waterways, supporting the highest diversity of aquatic life in the Great Lakes drainage. Although only 30 miles long, Fish Creek is a haven for rare and endangered freshwater mussels, including the white cats paw pearly mussel, which is found nowhere else on earth. Other rare mussels include the federally endangered clubshell and northern riffleshell, along with a number of state-protected species. Mussels, which are filter feeders and extremely sensitive to pollutants, are important indicators of water quality.
The spill of diesel fuel into Fish Creek had far-reaching effects on the creeks resources. Investigators found dead fish, mussels, amphibians, birds, mammals, and invertebrates and estimate many more died undiscovered. Fish and wildlife directly in the path of the spill were killed quickly. Some species were affected by fumes released by the fuel, and others, such as mussels, by toxins that eventually collected in streambed sediments where they live.
"Indiana considers Fish Creek a very high priority watershed conservation effort," said Patrick R. Ralston, Director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. "We were extensively involved in a public/private partnership to conserve this rare natural area even before the spill occurred. Since the spill, we have made every effort, along with trustee partners, to recover damages and restore this area."
"This cooperative approach among state and federal agencies for this unique watershed exemplifies IDEMs strategy of addressing environmental problems by forging partnerships," said Michael OConnor, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. "This benchmark settlement will facilitate continued efforts to restore and preserve the integrity of the Fish Creek ecosystem."
The draft plan outlines three alternatives to restore Fish Creeks resources. The first, identified by the trustees as the preferred alternative, is a comprehensive approach to restoring resources within the watershed, combining protection and enhancement measures for Fish Creeks resources. Other alternatives include "no action," under which no restoration or enhancement would occur, and "instream remediation" which involves dredging and sediment removal within the creek.
The preferred approach includes strategies for temporary or permanent protection of habitats, habitat enhancement, and mussel recovery activities. Activities to improve water quality are suggested, including encouraging conservation tillage, reforestation, and wetland restorations within the watershed. Protection of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian habitat along Fish Creek would be achieved through voluntary easements, leases, or covenants, or land acquisition from willing sellers, combined with habitat restoration activities. Restoration of mussels would involve expanded life history investigations, reintroduction of mussels in suitable areas, and surveying for additional populations.
"The goal of the Fish and Wildlife Service, as with the other trustees, is to bring Fish Creek back as close as possible to where it was before the 1993 spill," said the Fish and Wildlife Services Cindy Chaffee, project biologist in the Bloomington, Indiana field office. "We believe the combination of protection and enhancement activities recommended in the draft restoration plan is the most effective way to achieve that goal."
"No action" was not recommended because recovery of resources without active restoration programs would be slow and uncertain. In addition, endangered mussels may never be able to recover to pre-spill conditions without protection and restoration activities. The third alternative, instream remediation, was not recommended because dredging Fish Creeks streambed to remove pollutants would further harm already imperiled endangered mussels by destroying their habitat.
Interested individuals and groups can learn more about the draft restoration plan at an informational meeting hosted by the trustees November 14, 1996, at the Miller Park Shelter House, Miller Park Drive, Edgerton, Ohio, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Information on Fish Creek, the resources affected by the spill, and suggested strategies to restore the creek will be provided, and representatives of the co-trustee agencies will be available to answer questions and accept written comments.
Copies of the draft restoration plan are available for review at public libraries in Angola, Indiana; Auburn, Indiana; Bryan, Ohio; Butler, Indiana; Edgerton, Ohio; Edon, Ohio; and Fremont, Indiana. Copies are also available at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Office, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47403; the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 402 West Washington, Room 273, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204; the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, 2525 North Shadeland Avenue, Room 202, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206; the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, P.O. Box 1049, 1800 Watermark Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43216 or the OEPA Northwest District Office, 347 North Dunbridge Road, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402; and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 1930 Belcher Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43224.
Comments or suggestions may be submitted to: Fish Creek Restoration Plan, David Hudak, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47403 (812-334 4261 x 216). Deadline to receive comments is December 16, 1996. The trustees will make the final restoration plan available to the public.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
