Great Lakes Maritime Task Force Newsletter

December

2007

In This Issue

Great Lakes Maritime Task Force

More than 70 shippers, carriers, port authorities, shipyards, vessel pilots, longshore labor, shipboard unions and others are currently members of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, an organization devoted to promoting all aspects of the Great Lakes shipping industry.

Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones to Receive GLMTF's Great Lakes Legislator of the Year Award in 2008

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) will receive GLMTF's Great Lakes Legislator of the Year Award at our 13^th Annual Briefing for the Great Lakes Delegation in Washington next year. (The date has not been finalized, but we anticipate a February or March gathering.) Now in her fifth term in the House, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones represents Ohio's 11 ^th District (the east side of Cleveland). Her strong support for Great Lakes shipping and American labor is perhaps best illustrated by her co-sponsorship of H.R. 981, the Great Lakes Short Sea Shipping Enhancement Act of 2007. The bill would encourage the development of ferry service on the Lakes by exempting the cargo from the Harbor Maintenance Tax. (Rep. Phil English [R-PA] is the bill's co-sponsor. Congresswoman Tubbs Jones is one of the most respected members of the House, as is witnessed by her chairing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

Photo from the top down, Steve Fisher, American Great Lakes Ports Association, Jim Weakley, Lake Carriers' Association, Roseann DeLeon, Cleveland Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Maria Miller, ArcelorMittal, Jim Henry,Transportation Institute, Ingo Esders, International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, John Baker, Great Lakes District Council-ILA, AFL-CIO, Tim Buxton, United Steelworkers of America-District 1, AFL-CIO-CLC, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Charlie Crangle, American Maritime Officers, AFL-CIO, Brian Schoeneman, American Maritime Congress.

Water Resource Legislation is Law!

In a bold move, the U.S. Congress has enacted legislation to replace and/or rehabilitate all U.S. lock infrastructure on the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system. This is a welcome commitment to the future of Great Lakes navigation and the region's economy.

On November 8 Congress gave final approval to H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. The legislation includes provisions that will allow the long-delayed lock project at Sault St. Marie, Michigan to move forward. The new Soo lock was originally authorized by Congress in 1986, but soon stalled due to uncertainty over the source of local cost sharing. The project has also been delayed as the Army Corps of Engineers studied and re-studied the project, trying to determine if the new lock was justified. After 20 years of delay, H.R. 1495 eliminates both of these questions. The bill directs the Corps to begin work on the $341 million project at full federal expense. Equally important, H.R. 1495 authorizes $134 million for the rehabilitation of the Eisenhower and Snell locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Many thanks go to Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, for his leadership and commitment to Great Lakes shipping.

Clean Water Act Inadequate to Protect Great Lakes from Non-Indigenous Species

GLMTF continues to support the passage of strong Federal ballast water legislation. A number of environmental organizations and some of the Great Lakes States want to use the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Pollution Discharge Elimination Standard (NPDES) permit process to address ballast water introduction of exotics. GLMTF opposes this approach. Invasive species legislation currently pending in Congress would be "much more stringent" than a regulatory system based on Clean Water Act permits, according to Deborah Nagle, Chief of the EPA's Industrial Permits Branch. Both the House and Senate are considering legislation ( H.R. 2830 and S. 1578) to regulate ballast water.

Low Water Forces Schumer to call for Dredging of Port Oswego

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York has come out in support of the immediate dredging of the Port of Oswego to maintain the success of the Port. Since 2004, the Port has not been dredged despite silt and sediment accumulation at nearly five times the recommended level. This absence of dredging has left the Port with shallow areas, especially around the main access point. In an area where the recommended water level is 21 feet, the Army Corp of Engineers' survey has found several areas with depths between 16 and 17 feet.

Great Lakes Navigation Study Completed

On November 26, the U.S. and Canadian governments announced completion of the five-year Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Study. The comprehensive binational study provides a detailed engineering analysis of all U.S. and Canadian locks; predicts future commodity trends for U.S.-flag, Canadian-flag, and international shipping; and evaluates the economic impact to the region's economy if navigation infrastructure is not maintained. Study data will be useful as both countries confront future budgeting decisions for the system.

Annual Meeting held in Cleveland

Nearly 50 members of the GLMTF attended the Annual Meeting in Cleveland October 25. President John D. Baker presided over the meeting.

Highlights from the meeting include:

The dredging crisis will continue as the primary focus of the organization in 2008. While fiscal year 2008 budget has not been finalized, the Great Lakes could see dredging appropriations grow by more than $45 million as compared to the fiscal year 2006/2007. Members were encouraged to attend the November 27 meeting with the Corps of Engineers in Detroit

The Task Force adopted a position paper supporting Federal legislation to regulate ballast water, rather than individual State legislation.
Efforts concerning the Poe-sized lock will focus on appropriations now that Congress has overridden President Bush's veto of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. The amount needed to build the lock is $341 million.
The Port of Cleveland discussed its issue of dwindling capacity in Confined Disposal Facilities.
Statements on the enacting of federal legislation to regulate ballast water and funding construction of the second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, were included in Task Force policy and position statements.

The following officers were elected for 2008:

President, Patrick J. O'Hern, Bay Shipbuilding Company;

1^st Vice President - Positions & Resolutions , Daniel L. Smith, American Maritime Officer, AFL-CIO, Toledo Port Council, MTD, AFL-CIO;

2^nd Vice President - Membership , James H.I. Weakley - Lake Carriers' Association;

3^rd Vice President - Government Relations, John D. Baker, Great Lakes District Council, ILA, AFL-CIO;

Secretary, Glen G. Nekvasil, Lake Carriers' Association;

Treasurer , Maria Burgess, American Maritime Officers, AFL-CIO

Shipping in the News

News articles

Forbes, Sept. 26, Shipping Group (The Transportation Institute) spends $100,000 Lobbying

Pierce CountyHeard (Ellsworth , WI), Sept. 27, Agency to test ballast treatment in Superior

Toledo Free Press , Sept. 28, Toledo competes for container business

Green Bay Press Gazette , Sept. 28, Green Bay sees signs of 'harbor prosperity'

Pioneer Press , Sept. 28, Great Lake shippers trim coal, ore loads as water levels drop

Green Bay Press Gazette , Sept. 30, Invasive species have an economic impact of $5 billion a year

Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter , Sept 30, Efforts to save Lake Michigan accelerated

London Free -Press, October 1, Waterways on the wane

Buffalo News , Oct. 1, Freighters carry less because of low lakes

Cleveland Plan Dealer , Oct 11, Cleveland port wants in on container shipping

Voice of America , Oct. 16, Study: Inaction on Climate Change is Costliest Option for U.S.

St. Ignace News , Oct. 18, Lake Levels theorists call for Public Support

AP , Oct. 18, Agency to Quicken Study on Lakes Erosion

WZZM (Grand Rapids, MI), Oct. 19, Great Lakes Draining?

Newswatch 50 (Watertown, NY) Oct. 22, Great Lakes water levels causing problems for shipping companies

UPI.com , Oct. 22, Shipping suffers as Great Lakes shrink

New York Times, Oct. 22, Inch by Inch, Great Lakes Shrink and Cargo Carriers Face Losses

Grist Magazine, Oct. 22, Water loss in Great Lakes reduces shipping revenue

Standard Freeholder (Cornwall, Ontario), Oct. 23, Record low water levels

PhysOrg.com, Oct. 27, Shipping suffers as Great Lakes shrink

Detroit Free Press , Oct. 28, Michigan leaders push U.S. for fix in St. Clair River

Ecoloy.com, Oct. 29, Green Marine programs aim to minimize the shipping industry

Edmonton Sun, Nov. 2, Water, water (not) everywhere

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Nov. 3, Time to plug the drain?

DetNews.com , Nov. 3, Veto cuts Michigan water projects

Minneapolis Star Tribune , Nov. 4, As US water worries emerge, all eyes are on the Great Lakes

Infoshop News , Nov. 4, US-Canada War Looms Over Energy, Water

Detroit Free Press , Nov. 5, Activists aim: Protect Great Lakes from thirsty states

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov. 6, Group urges ballast law to protect Great Lakes

Minneapolis Star Tribune , Nov. 6, Congress poised for 1^st veto override

MLive.com , Nov. 6, Michigan delegation wants to override Bush veto on water projects

Port Huron Times Herald , Nov. 7, Winds halt ships

Ludington Daily News , Nov. 8, A (marina) matter of opinion

Detroit Free Press, Nov. 8, Senate overrides Bush's veto on water projects

Northville Record (Northville, MI), Nov. 8, A battle on Michigan's greatest natural resource

Grist Magazine , Nov. 9, A dry eye in the House (veto override)

All America Patriots , Nov. 9, Levin, Stabenow Hail Senate Override of President's veto

Canada News Wire , Nov. 9, Baird, Sweet and Wallace deliver action from the Government of Ontario

Edmonton Sun, Nov. 9, The Shipping News

AP , Nov. 11, Lower Water Levels Not Linked to Erosion

BusinessNorth , Nov. 9, Lakes hail authorization of second Poe-sized lock

Battle Creek Enquirer , Nov. 13, Water Resource Bill is Important to Great Lakes

Muskegon Chronicle , Nov. 14, Low water snags freighter in channel

WCAX-TV Vermont , Nov. 15, Schumer: Feds need to dredge Port of Owego

Holland Sentinel , Nov. 18, Sand bar may signal end to Holland's shipping season

Toledo Blade , Nov 19, Great Lakes water compact backers, foes stand ground on diversion

Erie Times-News, Nov. 23, It's low, but on we go

Editorials

The Capital Times, Nov. 7, James Rowen: Who will step up as state's savior of Great Lakes?

Detroit Free Press , Nov. 8,Heed global warnings

WISN , Milwaukee, Nov. 8, Elizabeth's Blog: Get your Hands off Our Water, Mr. Governor

St. Ignace News, Nov. 8, Lawmaker: 'Our Water is at Risk'

The Michigan Daily, Nov. 14, Water Works, Great Lakes need immediate action from state & fed