Your Day

Posted: Sept. 28, 2008

GREAT LAKES

Compact is a good first step

Last week, the U.S. House passed historic legislation that will serve to protect and preserve our Great Lakes. Once approved by President Bush, the Great Lakes Compact should be celebrated by the entire region as a victory. Only through combined effort and resources did this happen.

Still, our Great Lakes face challenges. Invasive species cause millions of dollars of lost revenue to industry and recreation in the region, while further deteriorating water quality and upsetting lake ecology. Two current federal actions, the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed vessel permits and the proposed Ballast Water Treatment Act of the 2008 Coast Guard Authorization Act, seek to address the source of invasives - the ballast water of oceangoing ships. However, these federal actions are currently too weak to have early and significant impact on invasives. States can - and should - implement ballast water regulation in order to protect their resources.

Federal law should not limit or prohibit state implementation of the Clean Water Act and states' authority to regulate their coastal waters. Also last week, Minnesota passed the region's first ballast water regulations and set a standard that Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states should follow. To wait for federal action would be too little, too late.

Karen Schapiro
Executive director,
Midwest Environmental Advocates
Milwaukee

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