GLIN==> Release: Victory for Great Lakes, as U.S. Army Corps Officially Drops Controversial Plan to Expand Shipping

Media Release
For Immediate Release

Victory for Great Lakes, as U.S. Army Corps Officially Drops Controversial Plan to Expand Shipping

Conservation groups support study of environmental impacts, urge agency to take climate change impacts into account
 
Buffalo (September 1, 2011)- After nearly a decade of controversy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has officially abandoned expansion plans for the Great Lakes Navigation System and St. Lawrence Seaway to allow larger ocean ships to enter and transit the system, and instead are recommending a study on how to minimize environmental impact from shipping. Yesterday 34 groups from the eight Great Lakes states and the province of Ontario sent a letter to the Corps thanking them for this significant change of course.
 
“The report is a tremendous victory and shows that the Corps has been listening to public input,” said Jennifer Caddick, executive director of Save the River. “People should be very proud of all the work they did. This is something that should be celebrated.”
 
According the Corps’ most recent report, constructing larger locks and deepening connecting channels will “no longer be considered” because “both the U.S. and Canada feel that expansion of the system is not warranted at this time.” In a surprising change of course, the report also recommends a binational review of the Great Lakes Navigation System to reduce environmental impacts.
 
“With regional and federal leadership investing heavily in restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, this change is very welcome,” said Marc Smith, senior policy manager for the National Wildlife Federation. “Reducing the environmental impact of shipping can play a vital role in helping restore the Great Lakes.”
 
In the letter, conservation groups critique the U.S. Corps of Engineers for failing to take climate change impacts on water levels into account. The groups urge the Corps and the shipping industry to develop adaptive strategies to lower water levels to maintain vitality of the waterway system and the ecosystem.
 
“Thankfully the Corps agrees that physically molding the Great Lakes for shipping interests is not sustainable,” said Jennifer Nalbone, director of navigation and invasive species for Great Lakes United. “Now the challenge is urging the Corps and the industry to figure out how to operate with potentially dramatically lower lake levels, because we aren’t going to be able to dredge our way out of climate change.”
 
Find the Corps’ Supplemental Reconnaissance Report here: www.lre.usace.army.mil/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=6965&destination=ShowItem
 
Find the NGO letter here: http://www.glu.org/en/system/files/2011 34 group Signon NAV Supplement Study FINAL.pdf
 

For more information contact:

Jennifer Nalbone, Great Lakes United (716) 213-0408  jen at glu.org
Jennifer Caddick, Save the River (315) 686-2010 jennifer at savetheriver.org
Marc Smith, National Wildlife Federation 734-887-7116 msmith at nwf.org

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