LaTourette touts national ballast water standard and helps defeat job-killing Great Lakes amendments
Friday, November 04, 2011
U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) today spoke in opposition
to two amendments to a Coast Guard bill that he said would lead to
the "destruction of jobs in the Great Lakes" and could devastate
waterborne commerce on the Great Lakes.
The amendments to maintain a patchwork of Great Lakes ballast
water standards were defeated today. One lost by a vote of
174-225 and the other was defeated by a vote of 161-237. H.R.
2838 authorizes spending for the Coast Guard. The House
should vote on the bill later this month and then send the measure
to the Senate for consideration.
"The failure of the amendments is a victory for Great Lakes jobs
and waterborne commerce," LaTourette said.
LaTourette said the state of New York currently plans to impose
ballast water standards for that state that greatly exceed a
current international standard. Ships take in or discharge
ballast water as they load or unload cargo to maintain the ship's
stability. The congressman said there should be one national
standard and the Coast Guard is working to finalize that
standard. He vowed to work with New York lawmakers to resolve
the issue.
LaTourette said the technology New York wants to impose on all
commercial vessels traveling through the St. Lawrence Seaway does
not currently exist. He said the EPA verified that in a July
2011 letter. LaTourette said the Great Lakes already
has very tough ballast water standards that have been very
effective in preventing the introduction of new invasive species
into the Great Lakes through ballast water on ships.
"One study says there hasn't been an invasive species introduced
into the Great Lakes since 2006 via ballast water," he said,
adding that Asian Carp did not arrive in the U.S. that way.
LaTourette urged members to let the Coast Guard finish its work
on establishing a federal standard rather than allow New York to
impose a standard on eight Great Lakes states that would start at
100 times greater than the current international standard, and
eventually be 1,000 times more stringent. He said one of the
amendments could have prevented Ohio freighters from passing
through the St. Lawrence Seaway, even if they didn't discharge any
ballast water.
"It could shut down waterborne commerce," said LaTourette, a
former co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force and author of the
National Invasive Species Act of 1996 with former U.S. Sen. John
Glenn.
U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), who shepherded the Coast Guard
bill through the House, said passage of the ballast water
amendments "would make the current situation even worse."