Posted:
March 1, 2013
The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) in its 2012 annual report identified major issues the task force will remain focused on addressing in 2013, with the dredging crisis remaining the top priority.
"We knew the dredging crisis would test our endurance," said GLMTF President Don Cree, Great Lakes special assistant to the national president of American Maritime Officers. "The bad news is only 17 of the 63 federally maintained ports on the Lakes were dredged in 2012 and the budget for FY13 maintains only 15 harbors. The good news is legislation requiring the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to spend what it takes in each year for dredging on dredging has already been introduced in the House and Senate."
The task force identified several other major issues on which it continues to work. Among them are federal regulation of ballast water, construction of a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., adequate U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking resources, short sea shipping, and federal funding for state maritime academies.
Regarding the treatment of ballast water exchanged by Great Lakes vessels, the task force emphasized: "the fact that no system that can handle lakers' flowrate for ballast (as much as 80,000 gallons per minute) is even on the drawing board is but one reason federal regulations should not require lakers to treat their ballast. The Lakes are interconnected, so once an exotic has taken root, it can and will migrate at will. Some aquatic nuisance species have been present for more than 170 years; they have moved or been moved to wherever they are going to be in the Lakes by one of the 64 vectors of spread tracked by NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey."
The task force also pointed out: "Another more basic reason lakers need not treat their ballast is they confine their operations to these waters. Most lakers are Lakes-locked; they are too big to enter the Seaway, and the few lakers that are Seaway-sized are not certified to go overseas."
The task force noted: "The ballast water treatment systems that will be required on oceangoing vessels by the Coast Guard and EPA should protect the Lakes from future introductions." It added: "The EPA's regulations allow individual states to add their own requirements and this has already created a patchwork of differing mandates. If states must co-regulate ballast water, they should align their requirements with the Coast Guard's federal regulations."
The task force remains committed to construction of a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and applauds efforts to correct a flawed analysis of the project's benefit/cost ratio.
The addition of another U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker to the Great Lakes fulfills a longtime goal, but the task force still believes a second heavy icebreaker to supplement the Mackinaw is needed to ensure the free flow of cargo during periods of ice cover.
The task force awaits reintroduction of legislation to promote more short sea shipping on the Great Lakes via enactment of a narrow exemption from the Harbor Maintenance Tax for non-bulk cargoes transported between Great Lakes ports.
The GLMTF also urges Congress to adequately fund the six state maritime academies, including the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Mich.
The GLMTF is the largest coalition to ever speak for the Great Lakes shipping community and draws its membership from both labor and management - representing U.S.-flag vessel operators, shipboard unions, including American Maritime Officers, longshore unions, port authorities, cargo shippers, terminal operators, shipyards, and other Great Lakes interests.
Great Lakes Maritime Task Force focused on major issues affecting industry on America's "fourth sea coast"
The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) in its 2012 annual report identified major issues the task force will remain focused on addressing in 2013, with the dredging crisis remaining the top priority.
"We knew the dredging crisis would test our endurance," said GLMTF President Don Cree, Great Lakes special assistant to the national president of American Maritime Officers. "The bad news is only 17 of the 63 federally maintained ports on the Lakes were dredged in 2012 and the budget for FY13 maintains only 15 harbors. The good news is legislation requiring the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to spend what it takes in each year for dredging on dredging has already been introduced in the House and Senate."
The task force identified several other major issues on which it continues to work. Among them are federal regulation of ballast water, construction of a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., adequate U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking resources, short sea shipping, and federal funding for state maritime academies.
Regarding the treatment of ballast water exchanged by Great Lakes vessels, the task force emphasized: "the fact that no system that can handle lakers' flowrate for ballast (as much as 80,000 gallons per minute) is even on the drawing board is but one reason federal regulations should not require lakers to treat their ballast. The Lakes are interconnected, so once an exotic has taken root, it can and will migrate at will. Some aquatic nuisance species have been present for more than 170 years; they have moved or been moved to wherever they are going to be in the Lakes by one of the 64 vectors of spread tracked by NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey."
The task force also pointed out: "Another more basic reason lakers need not treat their ballast is they confine their operations to these waters. Most lakers are Lakes-locked; they are too big to enter the Seaway, and the few lakers that are Seaway-sized are not certified to go overseas."
The task force noted: "The ballast water treatment systems that will be required on oceangoing vessels by the Coast Guard and EPA should protect the Lakes from future introductions." It added: "The EPA's regulations allow individual states to add their own requirements and this has already created a patchwork of differing mandates. If states must co-regulate ballast water, they should align their requirements with the Coast Guard's federal regulations."
The task force remains committed to construction of a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and applauds efforts to correct a flawed analysis of the project's benefit/cost ratio.
The addition of another U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker to the Great Lakes fulfills a longtime goal, but the task force still believes a second heavy icebreaker to supplement the Mackinaw is needed to ensure the free flow of cargo during periods of ice cover.
The task force awaits reintroduction of legislation to promote more short sea shipping on the Great Lakes via enactment of a narrow exemption from the Harbor Maintenance Tax for non-bulk cargoes transported between Great Lakes ports.
The GLMTF also urges Congress to adequately fund the six state maritime academies, including the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Mich.
The GLMTF is the largest coalition to ever speak for the Great Lakes shipping community and draws its membership from both labor and management - representing U.S.-flag vessel operators, shipboard unions, including American Maritime Officers, longshore unions, port authorities, cargo shippers, terminal operators, shipyards, and other Great Lakes interests.