US EPA approves funding to assess open water application techniques with Zequanox®

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.  (MBI) recently announced that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved funding, under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), to assess new, non-enclosed open water application techniques with Zequanox that Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the U.S. EPA Administrator, notes  “potentially could expand invasive zebra and quagga mussel control possibilities throughout the Great Lakes Basin.”

The $641,077 GLRI award will be administered by Petoskey, MI-based, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council (TOMWC).  The two-year project is a multi-stakeholder effort that will involve collaboration between TOMWC, local public schools, the Pickerel-Crooked Lake Association, the Douglas Lake Improvement Board, the Charlevoix-Antrim-Kalkaska-Emmet Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, The University of Michigan Biological Station, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, the United States Geological Survey and Marrone Bio Innovations.

As laid out in the “Furthering Restoration via a New Approach to Invasive Mussel Control” work plan, “the project collaborators will partner with researchers and consultants to apply Zequanox, evaluate control efficacy and assess environmental responses using a new, non-enclosed treatment approach.  The project will treat three acres of invasive mussels and provide the necessary information for determining viability of large-scale Zequanox application and native species restoration.  The project will educate, involve and inform stakeholders throughout the Great Lakes via an Invasive Mussel Collaborative webinar.”

MBI CEO, Dr. Pamela Marrone stated she was “grateful to the team of federal, state and local volunteers, scientists and policy leaders that have collaborated with MBI over the past three years to demonstrate the potential of Zequanox to reduce the environmental and economic harm that invasive zebra and quagga mussels have caused in the Great Lakes. Recent, successful Zequanox open water demonstration projects with partners in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota have provided valuable information and guidance on how Zequanox can be deployed as an effective invasive mussel management and environmental restoration tool.”  Dr. Marrone further stated, “MBI looks forward to working closely with the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and other team members to make this major project a success.”

Zequanox was first approved for open water uses on July 8, 2014 and is the only zebra and quagga mussel control product registered by the EPA for open water use that is a biopesticide. Compared to conventional chemical applications, Zequanox has reduced risk to humans and non-target organisms, including threatened and endangered freshwater mussels, as the product specifically targets zebra and quagga mussels.

Zequanox is made in MBI’s manufacturing plant in Bangor, MI.

On May 4th, 2016, The EPA announced its awarding of $12.5 million to fund 28 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants for 28 different projects to restore and protect our Great Lakes.