In the Grand Rapids Press this morning
there was a notice about STOPPING THE SALTIES & sterilizing ship ballasts
and it talked about a meeting, hearing or court proceeding to be held in Grand Rapids this Monday
(tomorrow). I received the information below just this past
Thursday from MUCC but no mention of an upcoming meeting. Does anyone know
of the details of this meeting and if indeed it’s to happen in Grand Rapids tomorrow?
Thanks!
Jan O’Connell
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Groups
support Michigan's
position on ballast water, file intervention against shippers
As shipping interests seek to strike down the region's first law to protect
boaters, anglers, swimmers and families from invasive species, the National
Wildlife Federation, Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the Alliance for the Great Lakes joined the court battle to
slam the door on invasive species entering the Great Lakes.
The groups filed a
request to intervene on Monday, April 9 in Detroit
federal district court to defend a Michigan
law intended to protect the Great Lakes from
discharges of invasive species by oceangoing ships. Members of the
shipping industry sued the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and
Michigan Attorney General on March 15 to derail the law.
The No. 1 pathway for non-native aquatic species to enter the Great
Lakes is through ballast discharge from ocean-going vessels
originating in foreign ports. Since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in
1959, one new aquatic non-native species has been discovered in the Great Lakes every 28 weeks from all pathways. Since 1970,
77 percent of the invasions are attributable to transoceanic shipping
activities. Invasive species such as the zebra mussel, discharged
into the Great Lakes via oceangoing vessels,
have caused enormous ecological and economic damage. Invasive species out
compete native species such as lake perch, whitefish, and others for food and
habitat and can also impact people in their daily lives. Recent federal
research suspects a connection between zebra mussels and algae, which can have
toxic effects on human health. Invasive species also cost the Great
Lakes region $5 billion annually in damage and control costs,
according to the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy released in
December 2005.
Comprehensive federal legislation to stop the introduction of invasive species
has languished in the U.S. Congress, leading the state of Michigan to pass in 2005 a law requiring
oceangoing vessels to obtain a permit to discharge ballast water.
The threat of invasive species will not go away on its own. Inaction
will only exacerbate the problem of invasive species and cost citizens more
money. The state of Michigan
understands this and needs to be commended, not punished - for taking action.