Michigan United Conservation Clubs: The First Voice for Michigan's Great Out-of-Doors
Action Alert:
Shipping industry
threatens to sink invasive species protections!
Action:
Call the Governor today and tell her that the Ballast Water Permit must take
effect on January 1, 2007 . The permit
includes the requirement to treat all ballast water on ships entering Michigan ports. Tell her
that the shipping industry has spent their time trying to stop regulation
instead of stopping the spread of invasive species. Governor Granholm's office can be reached at 517-373-3400.
Problem : In less
than one generation, aquatic invasive species have radically changed, some
would say destroyed, our Great Lakes ' ecosystem. This
issue has been widely discussed and lamented with little action taken toward
real solutions to this problem. Meanwhile, every eight months a new invasive
enters our lakes primarily through the discharge of ballast water, causing
further stress on our severely threatened resources. Aquatic invasives threaten the diversity and abundance of native
species in the Great Lakes , damage the ecologic stability of affected waters and
jeopardize commercial, agriculture, and recreational activity. In large areas
of Lake Michigan the base of the food chain has
disappeared due to competition with zebra mussels. Zebra mussels are also being
targeted as the cause for the collapse of the salmon fishery in Lake
Huron . Round
gobies, spiney water flea, and sea lampreys are other
invasive which are wreaking havoc on our lakes.
Frustrated
with the lack of action on the federal level, the Michigan
legislature created the first ballast water permit requirement in the nation.
PA 32 and 33 of 2005 prohibit ocean-going vessels from discharging ballast
water into Michigan 's waters (including the Great Lakes
) after January 1, 2007 ,
unless they have a permit issued by the DEQ. This requirement was set after
years of study and deliberation. It followed a thorough DEQ study (also
required by bipartisan legislation enacted in 2001) that identified several
different technologies that are both effective in removing invasive species
from ballast water discharges and commercially available. The DEQ met with
stakeholders and developed a draft general permit for ballast water discharges
from ocean-going vessels, which it released for formal public comment in
September of 2006. The DEQ is now ready to issue the final general permit,
which gives ocean-going vessels the option of installing four commercially
available technologies, or choosing to install alternative technologies that
have equivalent effectiveness. At this final hour, the shipping industry is
putting on a full-court press to have the Department of Environmental Quality
delay implementation of the permit requirements for at least a year. This is
totally unacceptable for every conservationist who has watched our Great
Lakes be destroyed!
Call Governor Granholm's
office today (517-373-3400). Tell her:
• You're tired of seeing our Great Lakes being destroyed by invasive species
• You expect her to require the shipping industry to treat
all their ballast water starting January
1, 2007.
Michigan 's ballast water permit MUST move ahead as scheduled
• Michigan is the Great Lakes state and we
expect the Governor of Michigan to be THE leader
on this issue.
Background :
Beginning January 1, 2007
, all oceangoing vessels engaging in port operations in Michigan
are required to obtain a permit from the DEQ. The Department may issue a permit
only if the applicant can demonstrate that the vessel will not discharge an
aquatic nuisance species (ANS) or, if the vessel discharges ballast water or
other waste or waste effluent, that the vessel's operator will use
environmentally sound technology as determined by DEQ. In addition shippers are
required to provide information about the amount and time of discharges. DEQ
has approved four treatment techniques or may review alternative treatment
techniques if found comparable.
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Erin McDonough
Resource Policy Specialist
Michigan United Conservation Clubs
P.O. Box 30235
Lansing, MI 48909-7735
517-346-6475
emcdonough@mucc.org
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April L. Bennett
Resource Policy Assistant
Michigan United
Conservation Clubs
(517) 346-6472
abennett@mucc.org
http://www.mucc.org/camocoalition