Ballast Coalition formed in March
The Ballast Water Management Coalition was organized in March 2000 to oppose Michigan legislation that would regulate ballast water of ships operating on the Great Lakes. Coalition membership, now composed of more than 125 companies and organizations, includes the following private and public entities based in Minnesota:
Barr
Engineering Co,
Cargill, Inc.
Cenex-Harvest States Co.
Como Lube & Supplies, Inc.
Cutler-Magner Co.
Daniel's Shippng Services, Inc.
Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway
Duluth Seaway Port Authority
Duluth Shipping News
En Chem, Inc.
ERA Laboratories, Inc.
General Mills, Inc.
Gene's Pest Control
Guthrie-Hubner, Inc.
Hallett Dock Co.
Iron Mining Association of Minnesota
Krech, Ojard & Associates
Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc.
LHB Engineers & Architects
Minnesota Agri-Growth Council
Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers
Minnesota Barley Growers' Association
Minnesota Corn Growers' Association
Minnesota Grain and Feed Association
Minnesota Soybean Growers' Association
North Central Bean Dealers Association
S.A. McLennan Agency.
Other
members with offices or facilities in the Port of Duluth-Superior include:
Allouez Marine Supply
AGP Grain Limited
City of Superior
A.N. Derringer, Inc., d/b/a Buchanan Ship Brokers & Agency
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
FedNav International
Great Lakes Towing Co., Inc.
Lafarge Corp.
Logistec Stevedoring (American Grain Trimmers, Inc.)
Murphy Oil-USA, Inc.
Peavey Company, Division of ConAgra
St. Lawrence Cement, Inc.
Sea Service LLD
Western Great Lakes Pilots Association.
The North
Dakota Grain Dealers Association
North Dakota State Wheat Commission and National Sunflower Association
(Bismarck, N.D.) are also members.
Ballast bills could rupture trade
As the debate intensifies over the portent of Great Lakes states and provinces imposing unilateral restrictions on international ship traffic, St. Lawrence Seaway system carriers, shippers and service providers are looking to Washington, D.C., and Ottawa for relief.
"The regulation of maritime commerce on the Great Lakes is the jurisdiction of the U.S. and Canadian federal governments," declares the Ballast Water Management Coalition in a recently adopted statement of principles.
"Coalition participants oppose local regulation of ships' ballast water by individual jurisdictions and believe such an approach will lead to an unworkable quilt of regulations throughout the region."
Instead, Coalition members have called upon elected and appointed leaders in both the U.S. and Canada to enact national or binational regulations that would eliminate future introductions of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes.
At stake is the commercial viability of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway shipping, an industry which provides an efficient, competitive link to world trade for cargo shippers and receivers from Montana and Alberta to New York and Quebec while providing livelihoods for thousands of U.S. and Canadian farmers, miners, manufacturers and port workers.
In February, a Michigan senator introduced a bill that would have required the "sterilization" of ballast water by any ship navigating that state's waters. The bill was aimed at preventing the further spread of exotic species such as the zebra mussel, which has raised havoc with public water supplies and adversely affected native aquatic species. The zebra mussel and other foreign-origin species are believed to have been introduced via vessel ballast discharges.
Although "sterilization" was soon recognized by its Michigan proponents as a scientific impossibility, identical bills were introduced in some states (including Minnesota) while others began considering their own forms of restrictive legislation. A bill also was introduced in the Ontario Parliament. Furthermore, a bill now before the U.S. Congress would apply to the Great Lakes but not to other coastal ranges.
"This is an issue crying out for an international — or, at the minimum, a U.S.-Canadian binational — solution," said Duluth Port Director Davis Helberg. "Fragmented, state-by-state regulations might serve some short-term political objectives, but will do nothing to solve the greater problem.
"The irony is that while waterborne commerce is by far the most environmentally benign way to move commerce, this issue threatens to force our cargo onto other modes of transport that cause much greater environment degradation.
"There's a solution out there somewhere," Helberg said. "We need the best scientists and engineers working together to find it — but in order to do so, we need much greater commitment by the U.S. and Canadian governments."
Since 1993, on a scientific premise that freshwater fauna cannot survive in saltwater, all ocean ships have been legally required to exchange their ballast in the high seas prior to entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. Five new exotic species have since been discovered in the Great Lakes, but while their actual point of entry is uncertain and may have predated 1993, proponents contend the discoveries demonstrate that ballast exchange is ineffective.
Moreover, cargo-laden ships arriving with the designation of "no ballast on board" actually carry non-pumpable ballast residue. When mixed with lake water and later discharged, this ballast is also cited as a potential transporter of new species.
In its statement of principles, the Ballast Water Coalition acknowledges that "the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species via ships' ballast water is a legitimate problem in the Great Lakes and elsewhere in the U.S., Canada and around the globe."
Its members also agree they "are committed to finding a solution to this problem and will work cooperatively with federal and local governments toward that end." But in addition to seeking federal preemption of unilateral local laws that would inevitably create chaos among carriers — thus driving up freight rates and driving away business — the Coalition also asserts it will support "a coordinated, binational, regional response to the problem, such as the task force proposed by Michigan Governor John Engler to be led by the Council of Great Lakes Governors."
The latter refers to a February letter by Gov. Engler to the council chair, Pennsylvania Governor Bob Ridge, proposing creation of a task force of policy and technical personnel to "explore, outline and advise the governors on the plausibility of a range of options to inhibit the future introduction of exotic species."
The original Michigan bill has had several revisions, and its chief author says he will try to push a bill through the Michigan Legislature before the end of this year.
The Minnesota bill was introduced in the waning moments of the 2000 session without a remote chance for hearing, but a bill in New York state has been approved by a House committee. Some supporters are urging all eight Great Lakes states to pass "identical" legislation, an unprecedented phenomena most political observers regard with more than slight skepticism.
Fighting exotics
The Great Lakes Ballast Technology Project has been under way since 1996. Its sponsors and advisors include the Great Lakes Protection Fund, the state of Minnesota, the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Lake Carriers' Association. (See chronology, below.)
