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PRess Release 12 March 2009 |
Contact: Allegra Cangelosi
Northeast-Midwest Institute
50 F Street NW, Suite 950
Washington DC 20001
202/464-4007
Congress Approves
New Funds for
Preventing Aquatic
Invasive Species Invasions
Washington
— On Tuesday, Congress provided nearly $1 million in new funds toward
preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species in the Great
Lakes. Yesterday, the President signed the bill into law. The funds
go to the Great Ships Initiative (GSI), a collaborative effort to hasten
shipping free of invasive species on the Great Lakes.
Managed
and implemented cooperatively by the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the
University of Wisconsin Superior, GSI generates much needed independent
evaluations of proposed ballast treatments performance and toxicity in fresh
water. As regulatory authorities gear up to require ballast treatment
prior to discharge into natural waters, the research outcomes are of keen
interest regionally, domestically and internationally. As a result of
this broad interest, the GSI works collaboratively with state and federal
agencies in the United States to generate important information for regulatory
decision-making, and with international maritime groups to evaluate treatment
effectiveness.
Invasive
species cause significant economic and environmental damage to aquatic systems
globally including the Great Lakes and virtually all salt water coasts of the
United States. Commercial saltwater ships account for the majority of new
introductions of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes, and all ships
which ply the system are potential vectors for the spread of invasive organisms
once they are introduced. United States law, which encourages ships to
apply effective and environmentally sound ballast treatment, has not yet
clarified the level of performance that would be adequate in this regard.
Meanwhile,
the International Maritime Organization set deadlines for treatment systems to
be operated by ships to a numeric performance standard, but there has been
little or no testing in fresh water. Proposed treatment systems include
ozone, ultra violet irradiation, chemical additives, deoxygenation, and
filtration, usually in some combination.
Congressman
Dave Obey has been a strong and consistent supporter of this project and
efforts to control invasive species over a number of years. The project
is also complementary of legislation that Congressman James Oberstar introduced
and which was passed by the House of Representatives last year requiring
ballast treatment on ships. “This is the only
ballast water treatment testing facility operating in the United States, and it
is vital that we test ballast water treatment systems to ensure that the waters
of the Great Lakes can be protected from the introduction of new invasive
species,” said Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Chairman of the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure. “ The new funds will
help the Great Ships Initiative evaluate promising treatments during the 2009
testing season.
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