GLIN==> Great Lakes Commission renews call for federal ballast discharge standards and measures to control harmful algae blooms

For immediate release: October 12, 2011

 

Great Lakes Commission renews call for federal ballast discharge standards
and measures to control harmful algae blooms

http://www.glc.org/announce/11/10meeting.html 

 

Detroit, Mich. -  Regulation of ballast water to prevent the introduction of
invasive species and reduction of nutrients associated with algal blooms
were among measures endorsed by the Great Lakes Commission at its annual
meeting, which concluded today in Detroit.

 

The meeting kicked off a first-ever series of meetings in Detroit of several
regional and federal organizations involved in Great Lakes environmental
policy.

 

The Commission unanimously adopted a resolution renewing its call for a
federal policy for ballast discharge, rather than the individual state
standards that have emerged in recent years in the absence of federal
guidance.

 

“A strong federal standard that is protective of the Great Lakes will be a
major step forward in getting ballast treatment systems on the market and
ultimately on vessels operating in the Great Lakes,” said Great Lakes
Commission Chair James Tierney, assistant commissioner for water resources
at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman
noted that even without a federal standard, measures to encourage research
and development of ballast water treatment technologies are being taken,
saying “Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding has been used for
development and performance testing.”

 

In the wake of a summer season that saw an increase in harmful algae blooms
in the Great Lakes, particularly on Lake Erie, the Commission called for
establishment of a regional phosphorus reduction task force to develop
recommendations for the reduction of phosphorus and other nutrients
contributing to algae blooms and hypoxic “dead zones” in the lakes.

 

Keynote speakers at the meeting included Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian
Calley who outlined Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s efforts to build a
second bridge over the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor. The
Canadian federal government has offered $550 million to help cover
Michigan’s share of the bridge’s cost. The existing, privately owned
Ambassador Bridge currently handles some 8,000 trucks a day and is,
according to Calley, “one of the two largest border crossings in the world.”

 

A second bridge, termed the New International Trade Crossing (NITC), would
create a more seamless freeway-to-freeway connection between the major
arteries of I-75 in the United States and the 401 freeway in Canada, said
Calley, thus allowing “the mutually beneficial trade relationship between
our two countries to flourish.”

 

The Commission responded with a unanimous resolution urging the Michigan
legislature to approve the NITC project.

 

Among reports presented at the GLC meeting was an update on a study underway
by the Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative on
alternatives for the ecological separation of the Great Lakes and
Mississippi River basins to prevent Asian carp and other invasive species
from entering the lakes and to modernize the Chicago waterway system.

 

Support for the effort was voiced by Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow who said
in a taped presentation, “We know we have an emergency on our hands, not
only in Chicago but in other watersheds feeding the Great Lakes like the
Wabash and Maumee rivers. There is no question we have to move forward with
a permanent solution.”

 

In other actions, the Commission re-elected Tierney and Kari Bennett,
commissioner of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, as chair and vice
chair respectively, and established a new standing committee to focus on
economic development.

 

Contact: Tim Eder

Email: teder at glc.org 

Office: 734-971-9135

Cell: 734-604-7281

 

 

 

 

### 

 

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by James Tierney (NY), assistant
commissioner for water resources at the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, is an interstate compact agency established
under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong
economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great
Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of
governors' appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its
eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was
established through the signing of a "Declaration of Partnership." The
Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian
federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional
interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn
more at www.glc.org.

 

 

Christine Manninen
Communications / GLIN Director
http://www.great-lakes.net <http://www.great-lakes.net/> 
Great Lakes Commission
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Office 734.971.9135

 

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