Lacey Act
This act, enforced by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, is designed to control environmental releases of injurious
fish and wildlife. This law includes species that threaten non-agricultural interests.
Lake Carriers Association
This organization, established in 1880, represents U.S. maritime shipping
companies throughout the Great Lakes. Its mission
includes: safe, efficient shipping procedures; Great Lakes shipping statistics;
consultation on ice-breaking issues; harbor and channel dredging; sediment
disposal; and environment and commerce regulations and legislation.
Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study
This mass balance research project, begun in 1994,
is part of the Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan
and is designed to develop a sound, scientific base of information that
will guide future toxic pollutant load reduction
and prevention activities. Related Programs - Great
Lakes Toxic Reduction Effort, Lakewide Management
Plan, Clean Air Act, Clean
Water Act
Lake Superior
At the head of the Great Lakes System, Superior
is the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area and long considered
the cleanest and most pristine of the Great Lakes.
Industrial activity, shipping, and atmospheric inputs of persistent
and bioaccumulative toxic substances have raised concerns about
the lake's water quality.
Lake Superior Basin
Used to describe Lake Superior and the surrounding watersheds
emptying into the lake. Lake Superior Binational Forum
This international program consists of a cross-section of basin
stakeholders, including representatives from environmental and native groups,
industries, and municipalities in the Lake Superior Basin.
It provides citizen input into the Binational Program
concerning reductions in the use and discharge of toxic substances
into the basin. The forum identifies barriers to reductions in pollutant
use and proposes alternatives for overcoming those barriers. Related Programs
- Binational Program Lake Superior
Binational Program to Restore and Protect the Lake Superior Basin
See Binational Program. Lake Superior Biosphere Reserve
An international undertaking that would identify portions of the lake
for special protection or study. Proposals to create a binational Lake
Superior Biosphere Reserve as part of the United
Nations' Man and the Biosphere program are under review by the United
States and Canada.
Lake Superior Center
LSC
An education/exhibition facility on freshwater systems
and Lake Superior, located in Duluth, MN. Home of Superior
Lakewatch. Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan LaMP
A binational plan to address threats to the Lake Superior ecosystem. The LaMP
embodies a systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach
to restoring and protecting beneficial uses. It will be
developed in four stages. The Stage I LaMP (current version) applies only to the
nine designated critical pollutants from the zero
discharge demonstration program for point source
discharges. Later stages of the LaMP will address these and additional critical
pollutants that are designated during the LaMP process, for point
and nonpoint sources. See also State
of the Lake Superior Basin Reporting Series. Related Programs - Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Binational Program
Lake Superior Partnership
A partnership between
the state of Minnesota and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary
District in Duluth that conducts multi-media inspections
to insure compliance and identify pollution prevention
opportunities for dischargers. Lake Superior Pollution Prevention
Strategy P2 Strategy
A federal/state action plan consisting of recommendations for achieving
the goal of eliminating pollution at its source and evaluating recycling,
treatment, and disposal options where source reduction is not possible.
The focus of the Pollution Prevention Strategy is the nine critical
pollutants identified by the Zero Discharge Demonstration
Program. Commonly called the P2 Strategy. Related Programs - Binational
Program, Great Lakes National Program Office
Lake Superior Pollution Prevention Team
An organization that developed
the Lake Superior Pollution Prevention Strategy. The
team is made up of regulatory staff from Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the
Great Lakes National Program Office. Related Programs
- Binational Program Lake Superior
Project
An EPA-administered program that
establishes a strategy and implementation plan for pollution prevention technical
assistance for small and medium-sized businesses in the Lake
Superior Basin. Related Programs - Council of Great Lakes
Governors Lake Superior Research Institute LSRI
A University of Wisconsin-Superior center that conducts research and education
specifically on Lake Superior. Originally called the Center
for Lake Superior Environmental Studies. Related Programs - University of
Wisconsin-Superior Lake Superior Task Force
An international organization made up of the senior managers who developed the
Binational Program to Restore and Protect Lake Superior
and who continue to provide direction to the Superior workgroup of the Binational
Program. Lakewatch Program
See Superior
Lakewatch. Lakewide Management Plan LaMP
The binational programs called LaMPs provide a process for coordinating and prioritizing
activities designed to reduce loadings of critical pollutants.
The emphasis is on identifying the major sources of these pollutants and concentrating
regulatory efforts where they will have the most impact. LaMPs are being developed
for each of the Great Lakes. See also Lake Superior LaMP.
Large Lakes Observatory LLO
This University of Minnesota organization, established in 1994, supports
and performs research on large lakes of the world including Lake
Superior. It was formerly called the Institute
for Lake Superior Research. Related Programs - University of Minnesota
Leachate
The contaminated liquid resulting from water seeping through a landfill or other
materials. Chemicals such as fertilizer are leached from the soil when rainwater
travels through the soil. Legislative Commission on Minnesota
Resources LCMR
The LCMR recommends funding for natural resource programs to be financed
by the Minnesota Future Resources Fund, the Minnesota Environment and
Natural Resources Trust Fund, and Federal Oil Overcharge Funds. Funds
have been used for a number of projects related to Lake
Superior, such as public boat access improvement.
Lethal
Concentration 50% LC50
A statistically or graphically estimated
concentration that is expected to be lethal to 50% of a group of organisms under
specified conditions. Lethal Dose 50% LD50
A statistically or graphically estimated dose that is expected to be lethal to
50% of a group of organisms under specified conditions. Levels
Reference Study
A report that suggested methods to alleviate the
adverse consequences of fluctuating water levels in the Great
Lakes-St. Lawrence River System. The Levels Reference Study Board, appointed
by the International Joint Commission, completed the report
in 1993 after an intensive public involvement process in the U.S. and Canada.
Limited Resource Value Waters
Surface waters
in Minnesota which are of limited value as a water resource and where water quantities
are intermittent. These waters are protected to allow secondary body contact use,
to preserve the groundwater for use as a drinkable water
supply, and to protect aesthetic qualities of the water. Related Programs - Minnesota
Rule Chapter 7050 Limnology
The scientific
study of freshwater, especially the history, geology, biology, physics, and chemistry
of lakes. Load
An amount of water, sediment, nutrients,
pollutants, heat, etc. that is introduced into
a receiving water. Loading may be either of anthropogenic
origin (pollutant loading) or natural (natural background loading). Related
Programs - Water-related Code of Federal Regulations
and Rules (40 CFRs), Clean Water Act, MN
Rule Chapter 7050
Load
Allocation LA
The portion of a receiving waters load
capacity that is attributed either to nonpoint sources
of pollution or to natural background sources. Load allocations are best estimates
depending on the availability of data and prediction techniques. Wherever possible,
natural and nonpoint source loads are distinguished. Related Programs - Water
Related Code of Federal Regulations
Load Capacity
The greatest amount of load
that a water body can receive without violating water quality standards. Related
Programs - Water related Code of Federal Regulations and
Rules, Federal and State Statutes
Local Governmental Unit LGU
A county board, joint county
board, watershed management organization, watershed district
or a township, or city. Related Programs - Wetlands Conservation
Act, Wetlands Conservation Act Rules
Lowest Observable Effect Concentration LOEC
For toxic
substances, it is the lowest tested concentration at which adverse effects
are observed in aquatic organisms at a specific time of observation. | 
