Ballast-Water Law
Shipping companies and industry groups from the United States, Canada and Barbados representing ocean freighters that transport cargo on the Great Lakes have sued Michigan, claiming its new ballast-water law is unconstitutional.
The law is among the first of its type in the nation. It is aimed at stopping the further introduction of invasive species into the lakes through the discharge of ocean water used as ballast. A freighter takes in thousands of gallons of ballast water to stabilize it when traveling with little or no cargo.
Four shipping companies, four shipping associations and one dock company filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit. It asks a judge to declare the Michigan Ballast Water Act unconstitutional.
The law requires all oceangoing ships visiting Michigan ports to obtain a state permit by either promising not to discharge ballast water or proving they are equipped to sanitize ballast tanks with one of four state-approved technologies.
Ocean freighters account for 5 percent of the cargo moved on the Great Lakes, with about 220 ships entering the lakes annually. Scientific studies have found that the vessels have imported most of the exotic species found in the lakes during the past 50 years, including zebra and quagga mussels, goby, ruffe and the spiny water flea.
The shippers, including the Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association and the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, say the law casts too wide a net because only a fraction of the freighters that visit Michigan ports each year discharge their ballast water.
Invasive species cause about $200 million in ecological and economic losses each year. The zebra mussel was introduced into the lakes through ballast water in 1988, and has caused a total of $3.1 billion in damage. There are currently 183 exotic species in the Great Lakes. The most recent discovery was a foreign shrimp, the bloody red mysid.
March 22, 2007 3:07 PM | Category: Invasive Species