Sens. & Reps. Introduce Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act

Mar 5: The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) hailed legislation introduced in Congress that formally authorizes the recently established Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and elevates the role of the eight Great Lakes states in guiding restoration efforts in partnership with the federal government. The, bipartisan, bicameral "Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act" (S. 3073 & H.R. 4755) also reauthorizes EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) and the Great Lakes Legacy Act, a highly successful Federal program established in 2002 that has removed nearly one million cubic yards of toxic sediments from the Great Lakes. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Chair of the Great Lakes Commission said, "We need to lock in the federal commitment to cleaning up the Great Lakes. Thanks to the leadership of the President and Congress, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is off to a strong start."

    The Commission noted that the legislation would help achieve the goals of the widely-endorsed Great Lakes restoration strategy and leverage leadership from the Great Lakes states. The Senate bill was introduced by Senator Levin (D-MI), and cosponsored by Voinovich (R-OH), Klobuchar (D-MN), Brown (D-OH), Franken (D-MN), Stabenow (D-MI) and Durbin (D-IL). The House bill was introduced by Representative Ehlers (R-MI), and cosponsored by Dingell (D-MI), Kirk (R-IL) and Slaughter (D-NY).

    President Obama initiated the GLRI in 2009 and requested $475 million for the program's first year (FY 2010), which was subsequently approved by Congress. The EPA recently announced an action plan for the GLRI that commits $2.2 billion to the program over its five-year lifespan [See WIMS 2/22/10], inclusive of the first year's funding. However, the FY 2011 Administration budget request is reduced to $300 million and advocates are urging Congress to, and the two bills would, restore funding to the $475 million level per year [See WIMS 2/23/10].

    Among other items, the legislation would establish a two-tiered advisory body to the EPA comprised of a "Great Lakes Leadership Council" with executives from federal agencies, states, tribes and local governments, and a "Great Lakes Management Council" with senior managers from these agencies as well as the GLC, the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, along with representation from the industrial, environmental, agricultural and academic community in the Great Lakes region. The Leadership Council would establish annual goals for the GLRI, make budget recommendations and report to Congress on the Initiative's progress. The Management Council would guide implementation of the restoration program and coordinate contributions from various federal, state and local agencies and nongovernmental partners. This structure ensures transparency and accountability while leveraging contributions from the states and other entities in the region.

        The bills would also: Authorize the Federal Interagency Task Force which was established in 2004 by Executive Order which means that it could be dissolved by Executive Order; Reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act which expires in 2010.  The authority is for $150 million per year, the level recommended by the GLRC Strategy Report; and Reauthorize EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) at level funding ($25 million).

    Representative Ehlers said, "The Great Lakes are a precious resource located in our own backyard, so it is imperative that we do everything we can to protect them. The Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act will provide for the removal of contamination within the next ten years in the areas of concern identified in the Great Lakes Legacy Act, and it will authorize funding in support of the important recommendations in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. The longer we wait to address areas of serious contamination, the more difficult and expensive it will be to clean them up."

    Access a release from GLC (click here). Access a release from Representative Ehlers (click here). Access legislative details for S. 3073 (click here).  Access legislative details for H.R. 4755 (click here).

New Report On Drugs In Great Lakes Drinking Water

Mar 4: A report from the Alliance For The Great Lakes (Alliance) calls for more research into the long-term effects of drugs in drinking water and points out the absence of tools available to limit their entrance into the lakes. According to a release, low levels of cotinine -- a nicotine byproduct, and the cholesterol-modifying drug gemfibrozil are among the pharmaceutical compounds scientists have found in Lake Michigan water to date. Though many experts say the levels are too low to show immediate effects on human health, scientists acknowledge they know little about the long-term effects of these drugs on people nor how they might degrade or interact with other chemicals in the water. The report -- Protecting the Great Lakes from Pharmaceutical Pollution -- indicates that the Great Lakes provide drinking water to more than 40 million people.

 

    Noting some of the Great Lakes take up to 100 years to flush out pollutants, the Alliance said the drugs flowing into the world's largest surface freshwater system today will remain there for generations. Researchers worry about the threat to human health from long-term, low-level exposure to pharmaceuticals -- in particular hormones and other chemicals that signal cell changes -- as these are designed to work in the body at low concentrations. The report says sewage treatment plants and current laws are ill-suited to address the emerging problem of pharmaceutical pollution, which has come to light as water quality monitoring technology has become better at detecting lower contaminant levels.

 

    The drug industry says the vast majority of drugs enter waterways via patient excretions, and secondarily by disposal in the garbage or flushing down the toilet. Drugs purchased for use by people or animals enter waterways via various pathways: in treatment plant and septic system effluent, runoff from uncontrolled landfills, industrial discharges, commercial animal feeding operations, and manure applications. Past U.S. efforts to reduce pharmaceutical pollution have emphasized collecting unused medications. Welch said the Alliance is now calling for research into technologies to address drug pollution at the treatment plant stage, and is focusing on national efforts to reduce such pollution at the design and prescription stages. The Alliance has connected with efforts at the national level through a partnership with the Product Stewardship Institute.

 

    Access a release from the Alliance and link to the complete report and a fact sheet (click here).

Comments Wanted On Incidental Discharges From Certain Vessels

Mar 3: U.S. EPA is requesting comments on a draft report that, when made final, will provide Congress with information it may use for the regulation of incidental discharges from certain vessels. The types of vessels in the study included fishing vessels, tugboats, water taxis, tour boats, towing and salvage vessels, small research vessels, a fire boat and a supply boat. Incidental vessel discharges including deck run-off, gray water and other types of discharges may have a potential negative impact on water quality. Congress requested EPA to do the report in 2008.

    The draft report summarizes the primary pollutant concentrations in the discharges sampled and evaluates the potential environmental impact of these discharges on large water bodies. For the draft report, EPA sampled wastewater discharges and gathered shipboard process information from 61 vessels. Vessels were sampled in 15 separate cities and towns in nine states across multiple geographic regions. Public comments on the draft report, Study of Discharges Incidental to Normal Operation of Commercial Fishing Vessels and Other Non-Recreational Vessels Less than 79 Feet, will be accepted for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register soon. EPA will then consider the comments and finalize the report for submission to Congress.

    Access a release from EPA (click here). Access more information on the draft report to Congress on vessel discharges (click here).

New Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Website

Feb 26: The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLCI), a coalition of U.S. and Canadian mayors and other local officials, has announced its new website which it says is more user friendly and informative with the most current news on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. David Ullrich, Executive Director of the Chicago based organization said, "In less than seven years, the Cities Initiative has established itself as a major, positive presence on the Lakes and Rivers with strong leadership in actions and results to protect, preserve, and restore the resource. . . we look forward to working with all our partners and stakeholders to create a more sustainable future with economic, social, and environmental balance.  With the largest freshwater resource in the world as our 'front yard,' we want to help provide economic well being and a quality of life that is unmatched anywhere.   

    Access a brief announcement GLCI (click here). Access the website at the same web address (click here).

Senate Hearing On Asian Carp Control

Feb 25: The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Water and Power, Chaired by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) held a hearing to examine the science and policy behind the Federal framework and non-Federal efforts to prevent introduction of the aquatic invasive Asian carp into the Great Lakes. Witnesses and organizations testifying at the hearing included: Nancy Sutley, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); United States Geological Survey (USGS); Ken DeBeaussaert, Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment (MDNRE); Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks; Supply Chain Management Programs Wayne State University; Illinois Chamber of Commerce; the National Wildlife Federation & Healing Our Waters (HOW)-Great Lakes Coalition.

 

    In an opening statement, Chairman Stabenow described the seriousness of the threat of the Asian Carp invasion and said, "I have introduced S.2946, the CARP ACT (along with Senators Brown, Schumer, Gillibrand, Franken, and Feingold), that includes many of the same short-term actions included in the framework, with one notable exception: our bill calls for the immediate closure of the Chicago canal locks until a permanent strategy is developed. For thousands of years, the Great Lakes and Mississippi River ecosystems were separated, until the construction of artificial canals and locks connecting them. Continuing threats of invasive species, especially the Asian carp, make it clear that we need to return to a permanent separation of the two ecosystems. This strategy was endorsed Monday by the Great Lakes Commission, a group made up of the eight states and two Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes."

 

    CEQ's Sutley testified that the recently announced Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework (Framework) is "guided by the latest scientific research, encompasses more than 25 short and long-term actions at an estimated cost of $78.5 million to keep Asian carp from becoming self-sustaining in the Great Lakes. The scale of the effort described in the Framework is unprecedented for invasive species control, unifying Federal, State, and local action and introducing a multi-tiered defense of the Great Lakes to immediately prevent Asian carp from developing self-sustaining populations in the Great Lakes while longer term control methods are developed." She concluded saying, "the best scientists have said that we can be successful in this effort and prevent Asian Carp from invading the Great Lakes."

 

    The Illinois Chamber of Commerce submitted 23-pages of testimony and said it "shares the concern of the State of Michigan and others who want this invasive species stopped before it can enter the Great Lakes. We offer recommendations, which have been submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Asian Carp Workgroup, for action to stop the Asian Carp. We believe these suggestions can protect Lake Michigan from an invasion of Asian Carp via Illinois waterways and simultaneously provide for commerce to continue uninterrupted. . . This discussion needs to move from the courtroom to the conference room. The common objective is to stop the carp. However, in the process we do not believe the Solutions should pit Illinois Tow Boat operators like John and Jacque Kindra of Kindra Lake Towing of South Chicago against Michigan fisherman and Charter Boat Captains

like Paul Jensen of Muskegon. . ."

   

    The HOW Coalition called on Congress to declare the Asian carp an imminent threat to the Great Lakes and direct Federal agencies to separate the "carp-infested" Mississippi River system from Lake Michigan. HOW said, "Ecological separation is essential for the Great Lakes -- it is the only way of safeguarding the lakes from Asian carp. Anything short of separation will fail sooner or later."

 

Access the hearing website for links to all testimony and a webcast (click here). Access the opening statement from Senator Stabenow (click here).

2009 Summary Of Great Lakes Ballast Water Management Report

Feb 25: The U.S. Coast Guard has announced that the 2009 Summary of Great Lakes Seaway Ballast Water Management report compiled by the Great Lakes Ballast Water Working Group (BWWG) is now available. The BWWG is comprised of representatives of the Coast Guard, Transport Canada - Marine Safety, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, and the Saint Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation.

    According to a brief announcement, "Preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species into the Great Lakes through stricter ballast water standards and a comprehensive enforcement policy is a top priority for the U. S. Coast Guard. In 2009, 100% of ships bound for the Great Lakes via the Seaway received a ballast tank exam. A total of 5450 ballast tanks onboard 295 different ships were sampled and had a 97.9% compliance rate. Ships that failed to properly manage their ballast tanks were required to either retain the ballast water and residuals on board, treat the ballast water in an environmentally sound and approved manner, or return to sea to conduct a ballast water exchange. The BWWG anticipates continued high ship compliance rates for the 2010 navigation season.

 

    The report indicates that, "Today, ballast water management requirements in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway System are among the most stringent in the world. Mandatory ballast water regulations that include saltwater flushing, detailed documentation requirements, increased inspections, and civil penalties provide a comprehensive regulatory enforcement regime to protect the Great Lakes Seaway System. USCG regulations, and the Seaway no ballast onboard (NOBOB) regulation, require all vessels destined for Seaway and Great Lakes ports from beyond the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to exchange all their ballast tanks at sea. As a result, the risk of a ballast water mediated introduction of aquatic invasive species into the Great Lakes has been mitigated to extremely low levels."

 

    Access the announcement (click here). Access the 13-page summary report (click here).

Meetings & Comment On St. Clair River Water Level Study

Feb 22: The International Joint Commission (IJC) announced that it will hold public consultations from March 22-31, 2010 to invite comment on the report of its International Upper Great Lakes Study Board (IUGLSB) entitled Impacts on Upper Great Lakes Water Levels: St. Clair River, which was release on December 15, 2009 [See WIMS 12/16/09]. IJC indicates that the report concludes the first phase of the International Upper Great Lakes Study and examines the physical changes in the St. Clair River since 1962. It recommends that measures to remediate the increased conveyance, or water-carrying capacity, of the river not be undertaken at this time. It also recommends that mitigation measures in the St. Clair River be examined as part of the comprehensive assessment of the future effects of climate change in the second phase of the study.

    The Study Board concluded that: The difference in water levels between Lake Michigan-Huron and Lake Erie has declined by about 23 centimetres (cm) (9 inches) between 1963 (following the last major navigational channel dredging in the St. Clair River) and 2006. They also concluded that Three key factors contributed to this 23 cm (9 inches) change including: (1) A change in the conveyance (water-carrying capacity) of the St. Clair River accounts for an estimated 7 to 14 cm (2.8 to 5.5 inches) of the decline. (2) Glacial isostatic adjustment (the uneven shifts of the earth's crust since the last period of continental glaciations ended) accounts for about 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2.0 inches) of the fall. (3) Changes in climatic patterns account for 9 to 17 cm (3.5 to 6.7 inches); this factor has become even more important in recent years, accounting for an estimated 58 to 76 percent of the decline between 1996 and 2005.

    The organization Georgian Bay Forever (GBF), a Canadian environmental charity which has been the leading voice in raising concerns about the impact of low water levels on the unique ecology of Georgian Bay said the IUGLSB "missed a historic opportunity to recommend environmentally sound solutions to the serious water levels situation facing the middle Great Lakes." The group is now calling on IJC Commissioners to reconsider and overrule the "do nothing' recommendations" of the IUGLSB.

    Access a release from IJC with details on the meeting locations, two teleconferences and commenting procedures (click here). Access a 28-page summary report (click here). Access more background and additional information on the report and study (click here). Access a release from GBF (click here). Access the GBF website for links to a critique of the report and extensive background information (click here).