A Victory for the Great Lakes!

The Great Lakes are under attack - from raw sewage (yes, raw) to toxic pollutants to invasive species. It is a constant uphill battle to try and just maintain the current health of the lakes. It takes constant monitoring and pressure from scientists, non-profits and every day citizens. Yesterday though we had a small victory - a federal court upheld Michigan's ballast water law.

To sum it up though - Michigan passed a law that required ocean-going vessels to properly treat their ballast water (the water carried in ships to provide stability during voyage). For ocean-going vessels that enter the Great Lakes, the ballast water is taken on board in the ocean. This means it is full of organisms not found in fresh water. During the voyage, temperature changes in the ballast water and lack of food and light kill many, but not all, of these organisms. At the ships' destination, the cargo is loaded and the ballast water, with its surviving stowaway organisms, is pumped out. Some of these organisms then establish populations in the surrounding waters. This is how the Great Lakes ended up with zebra muscles and lamprey eels amoung other things. Michigan's law would requires these ships to get a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality to completely treat all ballast water before it is released into the Great Lakes, thus killing all organisms on board.

The shipping industry has opposed this law and it has been playing out in the courts over the last couple of years. This recent rulinig is a victory for Michigan and her waters. Of course Michigan is just a small piece of the puzzle. All of the Great Lakes states need to implement similar (or stronger) laws so that we can dramatically slow the introduction of invasisve species in the Great Lakes.