Great Lakes News for Legislators

The Great Lakes Legislative Caucus will next meet on Saturday, Aug. 25, in Traverse City, Michigan. More details on the meeting will be coming soon. For more information, contact Mike McCabe at 630/925-1922 or mmcacbe@csg.org.

State, federal legislative tracker updated

How are state and federal legislators trying to protect the largest freshwater system in the world? The Great Lakes Legislative Caucus legislative tracker provides links to the bills being proposed, advanced and passed in state capitols and Washington, D.C.

If you have legislation that should be added to the tracker, please contact Tim Anderson at 630/925-1922.

Compact passed by Illinois House, introduced in New York

The Illinois House has become the third legislative chamber this year to approve a compact designed to better protect and manage Great Lakes water. House Bill 375 passed by a vote of 115-0 in March and has moved to the Illinois Senate for consideration.

Earlier this year, Minnesota became the first state to pass the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin compact. Developed by the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the agreement would ban most new diversions of water outside the basin, with limited exceptions, and set in place stronger water conservation policies. It also calls for cross-border cooperation and water management with the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

This month, New York became the fifth Great Lakes state to introduce compact legislation in 2007. Great Lakes United recently issued a progress report detailing the status of and prospects for compact legislation in the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces. Click here to access the report.

Ontario considers enacting agreement, charging water bottlers

Under legislation introduced in April, the province of Ontario would charge commercial and industrial users of Great Lakes water as part of a measure that also would enact terms of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin agreement.

“We are taking a major step forward in conserving and protecting the waters of the Great Lakes Basin,” Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said.

Water bottlers would be the first commercial users charged a fee under the Safeguarding and Sustaining Ontario’s Water Act. However, all commercial and industrial users would eventually be hit with a fee (expected to raise about $18 million a year). That revenue would be used to help the province manage its water resources. (Toronto Star and CJAD)

By enacting terms of the multi-state, cross-border agreement, Ontario would prohibit new or increased diversions of water from one Great Lakes watershed to another, subject to strictly regulated exceptions. In addition, the province’s existing ban on diversions of water out of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River, Nelson and Hudson Bay basins would become law under the act.

Michigan ballast law faces legal challenge

A groundbreaking state law designed to stop the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes is being taken to court.

According to a federal lawsuit filed last month by a coalition of shipping companies and industry groups, Michigan’s new ballast-water statute places “undue burdens on interstate commerce." (Lansing State Journal)

The law took effect on Jan. 1.

Michigan Sen. Patricia Birkholz, sponsor of the ballast water bill, contends that her state and others “have the authority to regulate commerce when there is a valid interest relating to public safety.”

“The introduction of invasive species into our Great Lakes is a huge threat to our ecosystem,” Birkholz said, adding that invasive species have cost Michigan residents $10 billion over the past decade to contain.

Under the statute, oceangoing ships must receive a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality in order to use Michigan ports. A permit is issued only if the applicant demonstrates that the ship will either not discharge ballast water or will use one of four technologies proven to prevent the discharge of aquatic invasive species.

This year, ballast water legislation has been introduced in at least three Great Lakes states: Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin.

In addition, several measures have been introduced at the federal level to combat the spread of invasive species.

States make Great Lakes priorities known

What should be the top priorities of those wanting to restore and protect the Great Lakes?

An alliance of Great Lakes states, communities and advocacy organizations has made its list, and sent it along to federal policymakers.

No. 1 on the priority list is stopping the introduction and spread of invasive species. According to the Great Lakes Commission, aquatic invaders have the potential to completely overwhelm the ecosystem, crowd out desirable species and wreak havoc on the regional economy.

Other concerns include cleaning up toxic sediments, restoring wetlands, upgrading local sewer systems and implementing the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration restoration strategy.

Those priorities were presented to the U.S. Congress in March by the Council of Great Lakes Governors and the Great Lakes Commission. Those two organizations were part of an alliance that traveled to the nation’s capital for the annual Great Lakes Day in Washington, D.C.

Ontario, Canada plan cleanup of lakes

Under a proposed agreement between Ontario and Canada, four “Areas of Concern” in the Great Lakes would be cleaned up by 2010, and the two governments would begin focusing more on the potential impact of global climate change on the basin.

The Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) provides a framework for protecting the Great Lakes for the rest of this decade.

The four environmental “hot spots” (areas polluted by sewage, industrial waste and agricultural run-off) targeted for restoration are located on Lake Superior, Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River. The Canadian side of the Great Lakes has 15 “areas of concern.” In all, there are 43 AOCs (some wholly in the United States or Canada, others shared by the two countries).

The proposed COA also seeks to reduce the release of harmful pollutants into the Great Lakes while also examining future sustainability issues, including the effects of global warming.

“Action is needed to identify changes to climate and ecosystems and assess impacts and vulnerabilities,” the agreement states.

States addressing VHS problem

A virus that has resulted in widespread fish kills in the Great Lakes is forcing states to try and stop its spread.

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) likely entered the ecosystem via the discharge of infected ballast water from cargo ships. It already has caused widespread fish deaths in lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario.

Earlier this month, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources instituted a one-year moratorium on the hatchery production of walleye, northern pike and muskellunge. New restrictions implemented by the Wisconsin DNR prohibit the use and possession of live bait from outside the state. New York also has revised its emergency regulations to stop the spread of VHS.

Controlling cormorant focus of legislation

Michigan leaders continue to look for ways to control the double-breasted cormorant, a bird blamed for decimating the perch population and other Great Lakes fish species.

Over the last few years, The Flint Journal reports, the state and federal government have funded a control program. Meanwhile, a bill has been introduced in the Michigan Legislature to create a basin-program in which states would work together to better manage the cormorant.

Photo: GLERL

Great Lakes News for Legislators is an online publication of the Great Lakes Legislative Caucus (GLLC). the GLLC is a nonpartisan group of state and provincial lawmakers from eight U.S. states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin) and two Canadian provinces (Ontario and Québec). The goal of the caucus is to facilitate the regional exchange of ideas and information on key Great Lakes issues, strengthen the role of state and provincial legislators in the policymaking process, and promote the restoration and protection of the Great Lakes. All legislators are welcome to participate in the GLLC. Funding for the caucus is provided by the Joyce Foundation. The Council of State Governments provides staffing services for the GLLC. For more information, please contact Tim Anderson or Mike McCabe by phone (630/925-1922) or e-mail (tanderson@csg.org or mmccabe@csg.org ).

Great Lakes

Legislative Caucus