We need an action plan to deal with the Asian Carp and we need it in place yesterday. So, why not call your Great Lakes Governor and ask that he attend and bring some solutions to the table? If they need some recommendations, HOW has produced a 12-point plan.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will be attending the Asian Carp Summit. Below is a list of the Governors that are not knocking down the White House gates, even thought this is a most significant regional and international issue. Our region’s economy and our lakes well-being are both at stake. It could only impress the White House if we took a regional approach. Oh, and did anyone invite the Canadians? They have a stake in this too.

Governor Paterson of New York: 518-474-8390, DC office (202-434-7100)
Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania: 717-787-2500, DC office (202-772-5806)
Governor Strickland of Ohio: 614-466-3555, DC office (202-624-5844)
Governor Daniels of Indiana: 317-232-4567, DC office (202-624-1474)
Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota: 651-296-3391, DC office (202-624-5308)

Related posts:

• White House Welcomes A Meeting With Great Lakes Governors
• Does The White House Plan Add Up to Zero Tolerance for Asian Carp?
• GL Govs Call for White House Summit After Court Punts on Lock Closure
• White House Puts Asian Carp Summit Off Until February
• White House Summit on Asian Carp Could Get Crowded
• White House Budget Leaves Great Lakes Programs 'Treading Water'
• Coalition to Attend White House Briefing on Great Lakes
• Local Party Officials Urge Candidates on Great Lakes

Related posts:

• Wisconsin Joins Michigan In Ballast Battle
• Some in Ohio and Wisconsin Need Convincing
• Razor-Thin Victory For Climate Change; 50/50 split among Great Lakes Fencesitters
• Clean Up the Murky Waters with the Clean Water Restoration Act
• Climate Readiness
• Climate Change
• Save the Loon and the Great Lakes Too!
• There’s Something about Amy

Quinn urged Great Lakes advocates to press President Barack Obama to make good on his campaign promise and appoint a Great Lakes Czar – a point person for restoration.

“We need to get a Great Lakes Czar,” Gov. Quinn said. “Someone who can get in touch with the appropriate people at the White House, someone we can work with and who can work across agencies to get the attention that we need.”

Congress and the White House have made it clear that they will give funding priority to sates that cooperate instead of compete for stimulus money, according to Gov. Quinn. The Council of Great Lakes Governors shows the eight states are already working together and have structures in place to deliver Great Lakes restoration. “We already have this coalition and we need to bring that to the attention of policymakers. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here – we already have this partnership. This might help us with the investment opportunity the federal government wants to make.”

But even more importantly, Great Lakes advocates need to promote investment in water infrastructure. Gov. Quinn said he heard little discussion of water investments among his colleagues, instead they were focused on building bridges and roads. “They didn’t speak about water as much so that is our job. We have to be the drum majors for water investment, “ Gov. Quinn said, before adding his belief that investing in our waterfronts and cleaning up pollution will impact and enhance our region’s economy for years into the future.

“This is a tremendous opportunity (the economic stimulus) and it will pay dividends. We want our Council of Great Lakes Governors to be even greater. We need to band together – all our states – to make the will of our people the will of this land and of planet earth.”

Related posts:

• A Fisherman's Advice
• Sutley Delivers Good News
• White House Party Crashers? Not the Great Lakes Governors
• Water, It’s Worth Fighting For
• Great Lakes Day Was A Success!
• How to Spend Millions on the Great Lakes 101

HOW: Why are the Great Lakes a concern for our entire nation and why should restoration be made a priority of the President-elect?

Governor Doyle: The election of Barack Obama to President will boost all state, regional, and national efforts to support the Great Lakes. Not only does Barack Obama hail from a Great Lakes state, he also has demonstrated he is committed to restoring and preserving this tremendous asset for future generations.

The Great Lakes are a national treasure—important to our nation and the world as both an environmental and economic asset. Our national economy depends on the Great Lakes for industrial uses, hydropower, maritime commerce, agricultural irrigation and many other uses. The Great Lakes are a globally unique and important environmental resource. We must restore the Great Lakes in order to continue to provide benefits to us all.

HOW: Senator Barack Obama won the Presidential election – what impact do you expect Barack Obama to have on Great Lakes Restoration and the region’s economy?

Gov. Doyle: Decisions made in coming months and years are critical, and Barack Obama has the sound judgment and priorities to address the many challenges facing the Great Lakes. These decisions will determine whether our shared efforts will accelerate or falter, both to restore the Great Lakes and stimulate our regional economy. I am eager to work with the Obama Administration toward our shared goals which are important to our region and our nation.

HOW: Both candidates were asked to pledge to spend $20 billion over five years to restore the Great Lakes and to appoint a cabinet level official to ensure that restoration happens – do you believe this promise will be met?

Gov. Doyle: I applaud the recognition made by President-elect Obama that Great Lakes restoration and protection must be a top national priority. I also applaud his written pledge to make Great Lakes restoration a priority in his Administration. As part of that pledge, a commitment was made to “[i]nclude significant funding in my annual budgets for the priorities outlined in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy and future needs of the Great Lakes…” I look forward to working with the Obama Administration to follow through on this commitment.

HOW: Do you have any suggestions as to who would be a good leader to put in the position of coordinating restoration?

Gov. Doyle: Renewed leadership is pivotal to accelerate our restoration efforts. I am confident that the Obama Administration will appoint a capable, dynamic leader to better coordinate among the federal agencies.

HOW: There was a lot of momentum that drove the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Compact through the last state legislatures and then Congress. Unfortunately, several other Great Lakes priorities are still lingering. What role would you like the President Elect to play in:
• Setting a National ballast standard?

Gov. Doyle: Although I appreciate the recent efforts of many members of Congress in trying to pass ballast water legislation, the failure to effectively protect our waters against aquatic invasive species has been a great disappointment. The preferred solution remains a broad, national protection through Congressional passage of a National Aquatic Invasive Species Act.

• Providing money to update sewer systems?

Gov. Doyle: The Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund has served as a critical tool for updating the sewerage systems in the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, recent and ongoing major cuts to this program have resulted in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for the Great Lakes States. I urge the Obama Administration to support in FFY 2010 and future years the historical full-funding of $1.35 billion in support of this program.

• Getting more money into the Great Lakes Legacy Act to speed up the clean up of toxic spots?

Gov. Doyle: I applaud the recent reauthorization of the Great Lakes Legacy Act which has provided critical funding for remediation of contaminated sediments in the Areas of Concern. I urge the Obama Administration to support appropriations for the fully authorized amount of $54 million in FFY 2010. I pledge to continue working with the Administration and Congress to increase future Legacy Act monies to the $150 million amount annually called for in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy.

• In essence, fulfilling and fully funding the Great Lakes Restoration Strategy over the next five years?

Gov. Doyle: We must re-double our efforts to restore our Great Lakes. Progress has been too slow. Our long-term goal remains to secure needed funding and to enact management reforms to ensure the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes.

HOW: Obama promised $5 billion to restore the Great Lakes and jump-start the regional economy and he said he would appoint a person to coordinate these efforts. Is this enough?

Gov. Doyle: $5 billion would be a significant investment in our Great Lakes and I applaud President-elect Obama’s support for this initiative. He has shown strong leadership on the issue of Great Lakes restoration and protection, and I am committed to working with him to secure this funding and to increase it over time. With Barack Obama as President, I believe the future of the Great Lakes is bright.

Related posts:

• Governor Doyle: Great Lakes Need To Be A Priority For Congress and The President
• The Day after Tomorrow: The Great Lakes in Crisis
• Obama, Clinton Pick up the Gauntlet and Sign the Great Lakes Pledge
• Granholm, Doyle Push EPA Administrator Johnson on Great Lakes
• What does a Bush and a Frog Have in Common?
• Fast-Pace Ratification!
• Election of Barack Obama Holds ‘Great Promise for Restoration of Great Lakes’
• Eight Is Enough

Q1. Recently, you announced that the Great Lakes Governors had agreed that the 2008 presidential candidates need to outline their vision for the Great Lakes when they stump in the region. Why is it important that they do so and have any of the candidates risen to this challenge?

A. The Great Lakes constitute the largest surface freshwater system in the world. More than 35 million Americans receive the benefits of drinking water, food, a place to work and live, recreational opportunities and transportation from the Great Lakes.

Our national economy depends on the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes generate $55 billion annually through tourism for the entire Great Lakes region. And they create nearly $377 million in personal income from wages and salaries. In Wisconsin alone, the Great Lakes support over 11,000 jobs in Wisconsin’s ports.

However, progress to protect and restore the Great Lakes continues too slowly because the States, without proper support from the federal government, can only achieve so much. That’s why I have called on the Presidential candidates to share their vision for the Great Lakes with us. We need a partner who will help us to build upon our work to protect, preserve, and improve the Great Lakes.

Actions in coming months and years will determine whether our shared efforts will accelerate or falter. The next President will have a key role in determining the fate of the Great Lakes. The Governors have been working hard to protect the Great Lakes through measures like the Great Lakes Water Compact but it is only through supportive federal policy that we will be able to realize our shared vision of a protected and restored Great Lakes.

We have contacted each candidate’s office to stress the importance of this issue and asked them to respond to my letter. To date, we have not received any formal responses from any of the Presidential candidates.

Q2. Please explain what the Great Lakes mean to Wisconsinites and why this issue is important in the 2008 Presidential election.

A. The economy of Wisconsin, as well as that of the other Great Lakes States, is heavily dependent on the continued health and sustainable use of Great Lakes water. Water quality is important. For example, each year, marine commerce on the Great Lakes/Seaway System generates more than $4.3 billion in personal income, $3.4 billion in transportation-related business revenue and $1.3 billion in federal, state and local taxes.

The Great Lakes provide about 20 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power annually and transport of almost 200 million tons of international and interlake cargo.

Of course they are also one of the reasons why people live and work in Wisconsin. They are a valuable recreation resource that many people enjoy for hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching.

Q3. What are the greatest problems facing the lakes that need immediate addressing?

A. In 2003, the Great Lakes Governors came together to bring some coherence to our region’s restoration and protection efforts. Through the Council of Great Lakes Governors, we created the Great Lakes Governors’ Priorities Task Force to develop restoration and protection priorities for our region.

We developed nine priorities to protect and restore the Great Lakes and pushed for aggressive action to achieve our goals. The priorities include:
· Sustainable use of water resources;
· Protecting human health;
· Controlling pollution from diffuse sources;
· Reducing persistent bio-accumulative toxics;
· Stopping the introduction and spread of non-native aquatic invasive species;
· Protecting coastal wetland and wildlife habitats;
· Restoring the most contaminated toxic hot spots;
· Improving information collection and dissemination; and
· Adopting practices that protect the environment along with the recreational and commercial value of the Great Lakes.

We’ve pressed hard for the completion of the Asian Carp Barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and even come together as the eight Great Lakes States to make up a temporary financial shortfall that at the time prevented construction from being continued.

We continue to seek full funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Funds in order to update our region’s aging wastewater infrastructure and stop sewage dumping into the Great Lakes.

And we are seeking support for the Great Lakes Legacy Act to clean up our region’s most contaminated toxic hot spots.

We also must begin restoration work immediately of 200,000 acres of wetlands in the Great Lakes Basin. The States remain committed to working with other non-federal partners to provide an additional $28.5 million cost-share toward this end. These monies would help provide vital habitat to birds and wildlife, while also helping protect water quality.

Q4. The eight Great Lakes governors environmental platform includes policies to protect against water diversion while restoring the ecosystem. Why are both important? How do you feel about the idea of diverting Great Lakes water to help out states affected by drought conditions?

A. Every drop of water in the Great Lakes is used, whether for drinking, manufacturing, transporting ships, or to protect the ecological health of the system. For example, and as the Brown County Port Director recently pointed out, for every inch of water lost, that’s 100 tons of cargo that can’t be put on a ship. The hydro-power industries can similarly provide you with information as to how much more electricity will cost to generate for every ¼ inch of water lost to the system. And, of course, the continued health of the ecosystem itself is reliant upon water levels being maintained.

The Great Lakes Region, including both states and provinces agreed to the Compact in 2005. Now, each of the states and provinces is working on an individual plan that addresses their specific issues. This is due to each state or province having a unique situation, separate from the other Great Lakes Region members. We encourage other states to develop a sustainable water resource plan of their own, just as we are doing here in the Great Lakes Region. As other states move forward in this process we encourage them to consider how they will balance conservation efforts as well as economic development needs.

Q5. The Governors of the Great Lakes have really taken a leadership role in pressuring Congress to deal with invasive species and concerns around ballast water –what can Congress do to better serve the Great Lakes region?

A. The State of Wisconsin has not waited for federal leadership on this issue. Wisconsin is actually leading Great Lakes Basin States in ballast water research with regard to on-shore and in-port treatments.

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) continue to pose one of the most serious threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem. An average of one new species is discovered in the Great Lakes ecosystem every eight months, and once present, eradication is often impossible. Prevention is vital to stemming ecosystem impacts from new invasive species. And, because invasive species easily transfer from watershed to watershed, it is absolutely critical that comprehensive national action be taken to combat their spread.

Aquatic invasive species cost the nation billions of dollars in damages each year, are a burden on the economy and strain Great Lakes states’ budgets. They pose a threat to human health and cause immeasurable ecological damage. Further, AIS are injurious to our region’s sport and commercial fisheries and associated tourism and recreation.

Great Lakes Governors continue to call for a comprehensive National Aquatic Invasive Species Act to be passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by the President.

The problem of AIS continues to grow. In fact, in the months that have passed since our September 2005 request for comprehensive Federal invasive species legislation, several new AIS have been discovered in the Great Lakes region alone. These include, for example, the bloody red shrimp, the New Zealand mudsnail and the fish disease viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS). Additionally, existing invasive species such as the quagga mussel have spread to Lake Superior and Lake Mead, illustrating how invasive species can move from one area of the country to another.

Congressional action is long overdue. While State and regional actions against AIS remain critical to establishing a complete and protective framework, a coordinated and comprehensive national approach is the only long-term means of stopping new invasive species from penetrating the Great Lakes.

Q6. What more can the Governors do to get comprehensive legislation moving in Congress?

A. Every year for the last several years, the Great Lakes Governors have shared with the U.S. Congress our legislative and appropriation priorities to advance Great Lakes restoration and protection. And every year, we have called on Congress to enact comprehensive invasive species legislation. We will continue to take every opportunity, including letters, testimony and one-on-one discussions, to impress upon the Members of Congress the importance of effectively combating the scourge of aquatic invasive species.

Q7. If Congress continues to delay action, what are states like Wisconsin prepared to do?

A. Such delays are unacceptable. However, States such as Wisconsin continue to address the threat posed by invasive species from each available angle. In Wisconsin, we have worked with the Port of Milwaukee to study the option of shore-based ballast water treatment and a report will be completed soon. Additionally, the Great Lakes States have partnered with others through the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration to create Clean Boat Day, focused on educating recreational users to help prevent the introduction and spread of AIS.

Q8. A recent Brookings Institution report concluded that restoring the Great Lakes would lead to at least $50 billion in long-term economic gain for the region. Talk about what the Great Lakes mean to Wisconsin’s economy.

A. The Great Lakes Basin, including groundwater resources, covers nearly a third of the State. Our manufacturing industries, our ports, our agricultural community, our recreational industries, our Tribal communities, and our residential communities all rely upon a clean and available water resource and will so for generations. Our economy cannot continue to grow unless we are assured that that most invaluable resource—Great Lakes Water—is restored, protected and sustainably used now and into the future.

Related posts:

• Obama, Clinton Pick up the Gauntlet and Sign the Great Lakes Pledge
• Governor Doyle Says Great Lakes Need To Be A Priority For Congress And The President
• Local Party Officials Urge Candidates on Great Lakes
• Wisconsin Joins Michigan In Ballast Battle
• An Open Letter to the 2008 Presidential Candidates
• Governors to Presidential Candidates: Support Great Lakes Restoration
• Republican Candidates Strike Out Looking on Great Lakes in Debate
• The Day after Tomorrow: The Great Lakes in Crisis

While calling for a “credible, independent evaluation of the permitting decision and outcome” might lead readers to think the Governor may reconsider the permit, it is more likely he is looking for a heavy rubber stamp to squelch protests. BP spokesman Tom Keilman, told the Northwest Indiana Times that the independent review is an opportunity to “validate the permitting process, not a signal of wavering state support.” Although, Chicago Mayor Daley, an outspoken critic of Daniels decision, has interpreted the move a bit differently – as a slight nod to a demanding public. 

At issue, is the state environmental agency’s decision to grant the foreign oil giant, BP a permit to expand its Whiting Refinery to develop an additional 620 million gallons of gasoline from Canadian crude oil, without requiring the company to increase its wastewater treatment process. BP expects to dump 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more suspended solids into the lake. Ammonia feeds algae which kills fish. Suspended solids are, well, gross, and they can contribute to disease, decreased oxygen and cloudy, unsightly water among other things.

While BP, Indiana’s Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency, have all argued that the oil company has followed all regulations set to protect the lake, those who will be drinking the water surrounding the plant have continued to call foul. Nearly 4 million people, in surrounding cities alone, rely on Lake Michigan for their drinking water. Incredibly, the new state permit allows BP to wait until 2012 to comply federal regulations regarding mercury – BP dumps about 2 pounds a year into Lake Michigan – federal standards demand less than one. Pregnant women and children have the most to lose from ingesting mercury-unborn babies are harmed as well as children’s nervous systems. The same facility also asked for permission to release more particles into the air than the law allows, which can cause respiratory problems for near-by residents.  “BP has a moral and legal responsibility in regards to the quality of water in the Great Lakes. The standards that were set maybe 10 years ago, 15 or 20 – whatever it was – [are] unacceptable today…It will have a huge effect upon the water quality,” Mayor Daley told the Chicago Sun Times.

Related posts:

• BP Graciously Backs Off
• Indiana Doesn’t Want GLRI Money
• Indiana Dunes State Park
• Election Day 2010: Indiana Incumbents Win Lake Districts
• Obama Letter Latest Obsticle for BP
• Indiana Dunes Among US Parks Threatened by Climate Change
• Obey Calls For Solution to Invasive Species
• NATIONAL AGENDA FOR GREAT LAKES RESTORATION CALLS FOR STRONG FEDERAL LEADERSHIP AND FUNDING