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Great Lakes' health threatened
Activists worry Congress is moving too slowly to stop invasive species
MONROE -- Every seven months, it's estimated a new invasive species enters the Great Lakes -- a foreign invader whose impact on the ecosystem and the economy is hard to predict.
But scientists do know that some invaders carry a tremendous cost. Utility companies such as DTE and communities such as New Baltimore and Mount Clemens, for example, spend tens of thousands annually to scrape zebra mussels off water intake pipes.
With Michigan's $2 billion recreational fishing industry at risk from even small tips in the Great Lakes' delicate balance, environmentalists and some state officials fear that lawmakers' efforts to stop invasive species are moving too slowly.
Congress last week delayed any decision on bills that would force freighters to treat ballast water by 2013, a delay that environmentalists fear mean there won't be a final vote until next spring.
"We're very worried at this point," said Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based advocacy group dedicating to preserving the health of the Great Lakes basin. "We need to do something to resuscitate it, and soon."
In recent years, scientists believe foreign ballast water has brought trouble-makers to this region, from an Ebola-like fish disease to the territory-hogging round goby.
Two bills moving through Congress this summer represent the best opportunity environmental groups have had in years to stop or slow the spread. But local advocates fear action is taking too long -- ensuring that more damage to the Great Lakes and their ecosystems will take place before the federal government acts.
The bills -- one in the House and one in the Senate -- would bar shipping companies from discharging foreign ballast water within U.S. waterways or would require the chemical treatment of any water that is released. But late last week, the Senate committee reviewing its bill delayed it, possibly nixing passage until next year.
Advocates urge quick action
Even the best-case political scenario would keep treatment requirements from being implemented for five full years, according to the language contained in both bills. Some environmental advocates see the delay simply as the reality of the political process. Others are less understanding.
"In my opinion, these things need to be implemented immediately," said Doug Martz, chairman of the Macomb County Water Quality Board. "If you put it off for five to 10 years, God only knows how many invasive species we'll have."
Decades ago, you would have had to go a long way, perhaps as far as the Caspian Sea, to find a thriving zebra mussel population. Thursday morning, Keith Mear and his team of divers found thousands upon thousands of them right where they expected -- clinging to an underwater intake pipe that services the Monroe Power Plant in Lake Erie.
"Right now they're covering an area that's 40 feet long by 60 feet wide by 20 feet deep," said Mear, the lead diver for Port Huron-based Commercial Diving and Marine Services. "We may have taken 200 cubic yards of zebra mussels off today."
Along the shores of Lake St. Clair, cities such as Mount Clemens and New Baltimore also bring in dive teams annually to clear zebra mussels from the intake pipes for their water plants. In addition, they treat the areas near those intakes with chemicals such as chlorine and bleach.
"We spend about $10,000 annually just on chemicals," said Chuck Bellmore, Mount Clemens' director of utilities.
After years without federal progress, Michigan implemented its own regulations on ballast water in January. All ocean-going vessels doing business in state ports are required to obtain a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality. That permit certifies that the vessel will not discharge ballast in Michigan waters, or that it carries onboard equipment to treat the water.
Michigan's law has obvious shortcomings -- invasive species don't observe state or international boundaries.
And while Michigan officials applaud the direction the federal government is moving in, they are concerned Congress' work might pre-empt their own. Both bills could supersede the state's new laws, meaning implementation of Michigan's treatment standards would be delayed for years.
"In 2005 when we passed this legislation, there was good science to suggest the Great Lakes were already at the tipping point regarding the damage being done by invasive species," McCann said.
Shipping industry sues
Further complicating Michigan's effort is a lawsuit from the shipping industry. In March, a collection of companies and industry lobbyists sued the state, saying its umbrella approach to ships -- failing to distinguish between those that discharge and those that don't -- violated federal and state constitutional rights, as well as exceeded Michigan's regulatory authority.
The Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association, a lobbying group for the shipping industry based in Michigan and Washington D.C., is among the plaintiffs. And President John Jamian feels Michigan jumped the gun.
"We're currently working with eight other states and two Canadian provinces to develop standards on water quality and technology," he said Thursday. "Our ships go from Montreal, to Cleveland, to Detroit, to Indiana and Duluth. Who is to say that the requirements Michigan has are going to be acceptable in other states?"
Both federal bills under consideration aim to keep the next havoc-causing species from debuting here. In the short term, they require vessels to stock their ballast tanks with salt water before entering U.S. waterways -- a rough means of killing potential invasive species. Yet they differ on the long-term approach.
The House's Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2007 calls for ships to install water treatment equipment by 2013 -- but only if the available technology meets the federal government's standards for water that is discharged. If the technology is not up to that standard, the implementation date could be pushed back two years and maybe longer. The bill does not expressly pre-empt state authority.
The Senate's Ballast Water Management Act would require ships currently traveling U.S. waters to begin treating ballast water no later than Dec. 31, 2013 even if technology is not yet available to meet the 98 percent standard. Ships would be required to go with the best available technology and continue to improve with scientific advancements.
While environmental groups may take issue with some aspects of each bill, they said this summer presents a great opportunity to make headway on an issue that has ramifications for Michigan and beyond.
"Invasive species should be the top environmental priority for people who live in Michigan," said Andy Buschbaum, director of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office. "The Great Lakes are part of our identity and these invaders are going to destroy what makes the area special."
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