Better late than never: Coast Guard gets serious about attacking invasive species, regulating ballast water

After years of failing to stem the tide of invasive species entering the Great Lakes via ocean freighters, the U.S. Coast Guard will begin a series of public hearings Friday on proposed ballast water discharge regulations.

The proposed regulations would govern the amount of organisms that ships could pump into the Great Lakes and other U.S. waters when discharging ballast water.

This could be a groundbreaking regulation that the lakes have needed for over a decade. The problem is that the regulations, as proposed, wouldn’t cover all ships operating on the Great Lake for more than a decade.

The proposed rule isn’t strong enough to protect the Great Lakes as quickly as needed, according to the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

The Alliance issued an action advisory urging people to “tell the Coast Guard in no uncertain terms that it needs to stop introductions of aquatic invasive species into the Great Lakes — now! ”

Here are few facts about the proposed rules:

• The final standard for ballast water discharges is excellent, and as good as the strongest state standard on the books (California’s).

• The timeline for implementing the final standard is weak. Ships could avoid complying until after 2020.

• There is a “feasibility review” of technology that could endlessly delay implementation of the final standard.

• It’s critical for the administration to get this right the first time so there are no further delays to getting technology installed on board ships.

You can let the Coast Guard know what you think about stopping the tide of invaders into the Great Lakes this Friday, Oct. 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Chicago, at 10 E. Grand Avenue.

The Coast Guard hopes to provide a live webcast of each public meeting at http://ballastwater.us starting at 9 a.m. Central. Written comments can be submitted to the Coast Guard’s online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before Nov. 27, 2009.

Download the proposed rule and instructions for submitting written comments here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20312.pdf

Download the draft programmatic environmental impact statement here:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20313.pdf

Download a summary fact sheet on the rulemaking: http://www.greatlakes.org/Document.Doc?id=694

Download an overview of the implementation timeline: http://www.greatlakes.org/Document.Doc?id=695

Senators George Voinovich and Herb Kohl to Decide Fate of GLRI

Take a good look at these two guys ’cause they are going to be at the table when Congress decides whether to authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $475 million or $400 million. These guys will have a say in just how great the Great Lakes will be after the initiative is implemented.

The US House approved $475 million and the US Senate is providing for $400 million – now the funding legislation is in conference where it will be determined how much or how little will be authorized.

Ohio’s Senator George Voinovich (R) and Wisconsin’s Senator Her Kohl (D) both know how much the region needs this restoration funding – it will mean more jobs, healthier lakes and ultimately more tourism and a robust real estate market. We need that whole $475 million this year and then we need a continued investment in the years to follow. It is going to take billions to make the lakes and our economy healthy again. Isn’t it time that America started investing in our Great Lakes after all this region did to drive the nation’s economic success for more than a century?

Here Be Shipwrecks: Thunder Bay Sanctuary to Grow

The US House approved legislation that will expand the Thunder Bay Sanctuary right up to the International Boundary. The Sanctuary is home to 116 historic shipwrecks in “shipwreck alley” and by extending the area under federal shelter another 178 shipwrecks will be defended. The US Senate passed a similar bill last spring.

Chairman of the Thunder Bay Sanctuary Advisory Council, Steve Kroll told a House panel that extending the border would expand Coast Guard protections against vandalism and other threats, according to E&E News Daily.

Sandbag ‘Em

Those pesky carp are so intent on getting into Lake Michigan – their Golden Gate to the Great Lakes system – that they are willing to hurl themselves from the Des Plaines River into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal during the next big storm. The locals are preparing sandbags in a most likely futile attempt to stop the giant jumping craven fish.

“The biggest risk right now is the Des Plaines River, and if we get a big rain like we did last year, they could very well go over the wall,” Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Phil Moy told Dan Egan of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Moy is recommending an expensive 6-mile long dike be built to halt the carpe.

“Go ahead and try to stop us,” said A. Carpe a spokesmen for his kind. “The truth of the matter is, not even your gazillion dollar electric barrier can stop us. We’re coming, just like we did when we used to flood waters to make our way into the Mississippi. We’re like kudzu, we’re uncontainable – you just wait and see,” he said in an “Interview with A.Carpe”.

Mercury Vote In Congress Today

A House committee will vote on the Mercury Pollution Control Act of 2009 today and that is a good move for the Great Lakes region, according to Kari Lydersen, a Washington Post reporter guest blogging at the Great Lakes Town Hall.

The act will force the remaining mercury emitting plants to phase out the old pollution inducing technology within two years. Right now there are four chlorine plants using this technology and one of them is in the Great Lakes state of Ohio. to read more go to: http://www.greatlakestownhall.org/the-daily-post/3500

US Senate Gives Thumbs Up To GLRI

Last night, the US Senate voted in favor of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative making it a reality and giving us the chance to get annual payments toward restoring and protecting the Lakes. Just days before the 77 to 21 vote on the Interior Bill that would fund up to $400 million for the GLRI, the US President penned a letter to the US Senate asking for the full $475 million.

The President’s budget and the US House version authorizes up to $475 million for 2010. The Senate version only funds $400 million but it has been implied that the Great Lakes will get the full funding after the conference. Still, authorizations are not appropriations so we need to keep the pressure on the US House and Senate appropriators to fully fund the Initiative. There are several letters making their way around Capitol Hill right now urging full support.

The only Great Lakes Senator to vote Nay on the Interior bill was Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh, everyone else voted in favor of the bill that authorizes funds for the GLRI.

Regardless of the outcome, our work can commence with an unprecedented investment. It is on our shoulders to put this money to good use and show Congress and the President a great return on this down payment so that they will continue supporting restoration in the years to come. It took us a long time to put our Great Lakes in such a state of ill health and it will take an equal amount of time and investment to make them well again. At least the Great Lakes are now a part of the nation’s agenda. Lets keep it that way!

Great Lakes Aquarium a Source of Restoration Education

There is a very clever exhibit at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minn. that every lawmaker in Washington should see. One hundred silver metal buckets displayed in the shape of a pyramid represent all the water in the world. Three of those buckets are painted blue – just three – and they represent all the fresh water in the world (including ground water and water still trapped in ice). This visual drives home the essence of our argument for Great Lakes restoration. It conveys the need for us to be more than stewards of this resource and to claim ownership over it.

The exhibit also emphasizes the mission of the Great Lakes Aquarium - a primarily  fresh water aquarium featuring the wildlife found in the Basin - which is to “capture the wonder and excitement of Lake Superior, inspire responsibility for the world’s large lakes and fresh water and create understanding of their value.”

When the museum first opened nearly a decade ago on the banks of Lake Superior it was the only fresh water aquarium around and it attempted to connect Minnesotans with the Lake.

“There is so much to discover about Lake Superior. The more you learn, the more you know that you are a part of the ecosystem too,” reads a display near where visitors enter the aquarium.

Today, the mission has grown to providing restoration education to all the visitors – many who come from neighboring states, Canada and even from outside the region. Last year 10,000 school children visited the aquarium.

“We can’t solve all the Lakes problems here,” said Jay Walker, assistant director of the Aquarium, “but we can light a spark.”

One of the fav displays for the kids is the Isle Royale – an 85,000 gallon tank holding the fish that live in the deeper waters, such as sturgeon, that many do not get a chance to view. There are onsite educators to teach visitors about the fish.

The aquarium’s exhibits do more than just convey a conservation conciousness, they also explain how the lakes drew immigrants from Northern Europe and how they contribute to the economic success of the region.

This little jewel needs to be on every travelers list of places to visit.

President Pressures US Senate to Fully Fund GLRI

In a strongly worded letter, the US President told the US Senate that he wants the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative fully funded at $475 million.  The letter makes it clear that this initiative is a priority for the White House.

“ The Administration appreciates the Committee’s inclusion of $400 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, but urges the Congress to fully fund the President’s request of $475 million,” the letter states.

And just in case a little strong arming from the White House isn’t enough to push the Senate to fully fund the Great Lakes restoration plan, the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force is also sending around a dear colleague letter. The bipartisan letter asks key House and Senate leaders to authorize and actually spend the full $475 million. So far, Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), John Dingell (D-Mich.), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Ron Kind (D-Wisc.), Chris Lee (R-NY), Steve Kagen (D-Wisc.), Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) and Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) have signed onto the House letter. The deadline for the House letter is Friday.

In the Senate Carl Levin (D-Mich.), George Voinovich (R-OH) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) have signed the letter and the deadline is next Monday.

HOW is urging coalition members to call the House and Senate offices of those who haven’t signed on yet starting tomorrow – Wednesday, September 23. Members of Congress should contact Joy Mulinex in Senator Carl Levin’s office to sign on.

Next week we will name the names of any Great Lakes Representative or Senator that did not sign onto the letters.

HOW Co-Chairs will also send a letter to the Conference for the Interior Bill (where the GLRI lives) and request complete funding. This one is a full court press – let’s get it started!

Many Coasts, One Policy

The White House is pushing for a comprehensive approach to regulation of all the coastlines of the US including the Northern Coast also known as the shores of the Great Lakes. In an effort to ensure better stewardship for the Great Lakes and our Ocean coastal waters the President set up a task force headed up by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

President Obama would like to streamline the many state and federal agencies (often with conflicting interests) with regulation power for our waters. The new regulators should keep the health of the marine ecosystem central to decision making. The Task Force has just published an interim report that includes conclusions drawn from public meetings held around the nation.  They found several themes emerge over-and-over again during these meetings and include them in the report. The public and stakeholders would like to see us adopt ecosystem based management as a guiding principle – yet, allow for regional differences. Adaptive management and science based decision making were also priorities, as is investing in ecosystem-based science and research. The participants at the meetings agreed that there needed to be better coordination between federal, state and local agencies and efforts. They also urged improved public education and increased funding for programs.

The Task Force is now developing a framework for coastal and marine planning and will deliver it to the President in early December with a final set of recommendations.

This is also interesting in light of the development of a Great Waters Coalition. The White House effort seems to back up what Bill Leary, former White House CEQ, has been telling those participating in the Great Waters deliberations – that the White House wants us to band together to be treated as one. Just something to think about…

EPA Will Revise Rules on Coal Plant Water Discharges

A recent study by the US EPA has alarmed the agency enough to consider new standards for water discharges from coal-fired power plants. The pollution is threatening surface water in the US and that means our drinking water and wildlife is at stake.
Read more at the ENS: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2009/2009-09-17-091.asp
or at the EPA:http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/304m/2008/steam-detailed-200809.pdf