Healing Our Waters Coalition » Mayors

New Study: We Can Stop Asian Carp, Protect Great Lakes—and not Break the Bank

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:06:23 +0000

Doable, affordable: Conceptual rendering of Asian carp barrier on the Calumet River. Photo/ Great Lakes Commission

This just in: We have a solution to stop Asian carp for a price that will not break the bank.

A new study, released today by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, lays out solutions to stop invasive species like the Asian carp from using man-made canals connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River from spreading throughout U.S. waters, where they inflict damage on the environment and economy.

The report offers three different scenarios to sever the man-made connection between the two iconic waters by building a barrier (or barriers). The cost: between $3 billion and $9.5 billion.

Commenting on the report, here’s what the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s Jeff Skelding had to say:

“The study has the potential to be a game-changer in the effort to restore and protect the Great Lakes. It proves that we have affordable solutions to the Asian carp crisis that benefit both our environment and economy. This report should put an end to excuse-making and food-dragging and light a fire under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do its job so that the nation can move forward on a solution to protect the Great Lakes and the jobs which depend on them.”

The study underscores three things:

1. We can do this. The study lays out in black and white that we have the technology to block the spread of harmful aquatic invasive species. As Tim Eder of the Great Lakes Commission, explained on a Michigan Public Radio report, it’s like building an earthen dam to sever the artificial connection. The solutions outlined in the report are more than feasible, they are eminently doable. Look at the above artist rendering from the summary report issued today. Anyone familiar with modern ports will see that we can do this. Today.

2. We can afford this. The price tag will attract attention, and it should. Costs ranging from $3 billion to $9.5 billion are not cheap—but they’re not exorbitant either. In fact, I see it as a bargain for several reasons.

First, the Great Lakes are worth that—and so much more. The investment will go to protect a global resource that supplies drinking water to more than 30 million people. More than 1.5 million people depend on it for their jobs—worth more than $60 billion in wages annually. The sport fishing industry alone is valued at $7 billion per year. Recreational boating is valued at $16 billion. To be sure the Asian carp and other species don’t threaten all of that—but no one can argue that the non-native fish don’t present a clear a present danger to both the environment and economy.

Second, those costs are in-line with what cities need to do to maintain infrastructure and keep their cities functioning. Maintaining roads, bridges and sewers costs money. Midwestern cities such as Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee have multi-year, multi-billion plans to upgrade their sewers. The carp barrier can be viewed as a regional infrastructure investment that will benefit citizens in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. In fact:

Third, the whole region benefits from stopping the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species. The region’s citizens, cities and businesses have paid a steep price for invasive species (see below). Similarly, the entire region will benefit from preventing further invasions. The study estimates that the region will save between $1.4 billion and $9 billion by erecting the barriers.

Fourth, if we don’t pay now, we’re going to pay a lot more later. Invasive species are living, breathing biological pollution. Once they take hold, they’re impossible to eradicate—as are their damages. Invasive species introduced via ballast water cost Great Lakes citizens, utilities and cities at least $200 million per year. What’s more, it costs roughly $20 million to manage the invasive sea lamprey. (If you want to see an ecosystem turned on its head by invasive species, see reports by Washington Post and BBC on impacts from the Burmese pythons in Florida’s Everglades National Park.)

It’s clear that if we don’t take action now, the problem will only get worse and more costly. Or, as Dave Ullrich of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative told the Associated Press: “Yes, it’s expensive. But the cost of doing nothing is greater.”

3. We need to move faster towards a solution. The Asian carp crisis has been brewing for years, yet federal action to solve the problem has moved at a snail’s pace. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with offering its own study of options to separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. It has dragged its feet since 2007—and claims, incredibly—that it won’t complete its own study until 2015 at the earliest.

That’s not acceptable. The U.S. Army Corps needs to expedite its study—and incorporate the findings of the new study.

Congress can help advance solutions to this problem in two ways:

1. Maintain strong support for interim measures. The Great Lakes congressional delegation needs to support policy action and necessary funding to support an aggressive, strategic short-term plan to beat back the Asian carp until a long-term solution can be implemented. It’s going to take years to solve this problem. The Great Lakes congressional delegation needs to remain united and vigilant so that we can buy time for a permanent solution.

2. Pass the Stop Asian Carp Act. The act mandates the U.S. Army Corps to complete its study by 2013 so that the nation can move forward on a solution that protect the Great Lakes and the millions of people which rely on them for their drinking water, jobs and way of life.

Mayors to Congress: Boost Restoration Funding

Jordan Lubetkin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:09:39 +0000

Mayors from across the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to restore Great Lakes funding.

In a letter sent today to Speaker of the House John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor Majority and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is urging the House to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $475 million.

The letter is signed by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, vice chair of the cities initiative.

Surprise, Surprise, Cities Outspend Feds On Great Lakes Issues

tpache — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:02:01 +0000

Great Lakes mayors and state officials joined forces in Washington today touting a report that estimates cities, towns and villages are ponying up $15 billion to protect the lakes and keep them clean. Great Lakes residents were disillusioned to say the least when Bush revealed his Budget plan. The President sliced funding for the Great Lakes and scalped local governments efforts to update waste water treatment compounding the shortages for which they will have to make up. But there is still time for Congress to recognize the neglect and authorize spending increases to support ailing sewage systems and conservations plans.

The Great Lakes Commission along with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative released the report today in Washington, DC. Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, founding U.S. chair of the Cities Initiative, said “This local government investment report tells a story that Great Lakes and St. Lawrence cities have known for quite some time, but could not get anyone to listen to or believe. Cities invest enormously in the restoration and protection of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, and it is time for other orders of government to step up and help protect this significant resource at a level that matches the need.”

“Cities and towns are paying ten times more on waste water infrastructure than the Federal government,” Michigan Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, said at a press conference discussing the report.

Wastewater treatment facilities in the Great Lakes region were built so long ago that they are corroding and buckling under the pressure to sustain a growing demand. Cities, towns and villages have long had to deal with the aging systems overflows infecting the lakes and drinking water and inhibiting swimming. What is really needed is a complete overhaul and modernization of the wastewater treatment system, but cities are overwhelmed just trying to stick their thumbs in the dike – one that the report estimates is costing them about $12 billion annually.

“We all share the responsibility for this resource,” said Mayor Gary Becker of Racine, current Cities Initiative chair. “How can it be that U.S. and Canadian local governments spend an estimated $12 billion a year on crucial water and wastewater systems and operations that help keep the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waters protected and our Federal Governments cannot even fund $1 billion for these critical systems in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin? Any future federal cuts for wastewater infrastructure are totally unacceptable.”

The researchers surveyed 143 US and Canadian localities and found they were spending $2.5 billion on water quality – that includes the maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities infrastructure and maintenance – a major problem in polluting the lakes and drinking water. Another $784 million is being expended on ecosystem protections – they project that to approximately $3 billion when including all localities in the region. Researchers then extrapolated the figures to include the 688 localities to reach the final figure of $15 billion.

Read the full report here.

Read the statement from Healing Our Waters Coalition national campaign director Jeff Skelding.

Great Lakes Mayors Issue Latest Challenge To Presidential Candidates: Great Lakes Support Key To Winning Midwest

tpache — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:28:23 +0000

Great Lakes Governor’s ring are you listening? A pledge like sugar on your lips sure would glisten. A beautiful sight, the Great Lakes Mayors unite asking for you to lend the Lakes a hand. First Wisconsin Governor Doyle lead the eight Great Lakes governors in asking the presidential hopefuls to outline their vision for the Great Lakes. Next, four Great Lakes Congressmen sent a letter to the candidates asking them to take a pledge to shepherd restoration into law and fully fund it while in office. Now, the Mayors of the Great Lakes have come forth and issued one more challenge to presidential candidates, congressional candidates and local lawmakers alike to fully support restoration of the Great Lakes.

In Racine, Wisconsin Friday, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative – a group designed to give US and Canadian mayors a voice on issues impacting the Great Lakes – held a press conference challenging candidates to protect the lakes, fund restoration and promise not to divert water to other parts of the U.S. or the world.

“We are spending millions of dollars on protection of the lakes, waste water treatment plants, storm sewers, local municipalities and towns are spending billions, but we need all levels of government to do the same. Today we are challenging the US presidential candidates to take strong positions on the lakes,” said David Ullrich, executive director of the Initiative.

Next, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley weighed in, “This issue is just as important as the Everglades was to the US.”

The Mayors then urged presidential candidates to support and implement the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy.

“The public deserves to know where the candidates stand on these topics and we will be sending a questionnaire asking each of them to state their positions on a number of critical issues currently facing the Great Lakes region,” said Daley.

The Mayors carrot: the great lakes states hold 25 percent of the electoral votes and several swing states. They hope this will pressure candidates to educate themselves on the issues surrounding the Great Lakes. “We need to get clear answers from the candidates regarding where they stand on this issue and this will be for congressional candidates as well as US presidential candidates,” Daley said. Once the primaries have produced two presidential candidates Daley has offered to work with their staff to bring them up to speed.

Of the US Congress, the Mayors want approval of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy and ballast water restrictions as well as restoration funding.“We need long term funding for the Great Lakes – as outlined in Great Lakes Restoration Strategy,” said Daley.

There are still six states that need to take action to approve the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The challenge urges these states to take action swiftly. By doing so, the states will help protect the lakes from water diversion. We need to “ensure that other areas of the country and world do not rely on the Great Lakes for their water supply,” Daley added. (Click here to read the Mayors Challenge, including expectations from Canada.)

Looks like all levels of Government in the Great Lakes region are challenging the candidates in unison. This kind of pressure will make it very difficult to ignore the Great Lakes as the 2008 presidential campaign moves forward. The Governors, Congressmen and Mayors won’t let candidates forget the region controls 141 electoral votes and possesses a few swing states that could determine the final count on Election Day. When it comes right down to it, all we want for Christmas is a promise to restore the Great Lakes once and for all.