Our Great Lakes: Too Great to Wait

Congress must slam the door on new invasive aquatic species by passing a comprehensive aquatic invasive species law like the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA – S. 770 and H.R. 1591/1592.). These bills fulfill the recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, a group coordinated by the U.S. EPA that released its comprehensive Great Lakes restoration plan on December 12, 2005.

Invasive species are an ecological and economic burden for Great Lakes communities. These biological pollutants can cause regional extinction of many species. Each year, governments and industry spend billions of dollars to contain the problem and protect Great Lakes hunting, fishing, power plants and tourism. Today, the greatest source of invasive species in the Great Lakes is ballast water. When visiting freighters pick up Great Lakes cargo, they stabilize their loads by dumping thousands of gallons of ballast water carried from distant seas. Even microscopic organisms found in this water can cause significant problems in our Great Lakes. Fortunately, legislation, technology and government partnerships can protect the Great Lakes from new invaders.

Protect our Great Lakes, pass comprehensive aquatic invasive species legislation! Strong legislation, like NAISA, will…

• Address prevention; research; outreach and education; early detection; rapid response; control; management and eradication nationally.
• Ensure ballast water treatment and hull management methods for ocean-going vessels; accelerate implementation by providing incentives to ship operators; require that all oceangoing vessels in the Great Lakes meetan environmentally protective standard by the year 2011.
• Require that ocean vessels officially defined as having “no ballast on board”implement practices that prevent new infestations of non-native species.
• Apply the best-performing ballast water management practices to vessels that operate only in the Great Lakes, in order to control the spread of invaders already introduced.
• Establish a federal screening process for organisms proposed for importation; include guidelines to regulate species movement; with provisions that place a “no-significant impact” burden of proof on the importer.
• Fully fund a permanent Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal Asian Carp barrier. The Asian carp barrier is designed to prevent the carp from moving into the Great Lakes. Without a permanent barrier, the carp could enter the Great Lakes and accelerate the collapse of the food web.

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• Advisors Pass Resolution to Stop Invasive Species
• On Eve of Seaway Opening, Coalition Calls for Action to Stop Invasive Species
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• Time for Action is now on Invasive Species