Michigan Politics
Lousy Action on Great Lakes Issues
By George Weeks

Here we go again with much talk but minimal action on longpromised substantial funding for Great Lakes cleanup and restoration.

At turn-of-the-century national political conventions, Michigan Democrats and Republicans managed to get platform language supporting federal efforts to give as much sustained action for the Great Lakes as was given to the Florida Everglades.

President George W. Bush, after an election-year commitment, set things in motion, assigning Interior Secretary Gale Norton and others to a cabinet-level task force to develop a coordinated federal-state effort.

I was impressed, during an interview with Norton at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy on the shore of Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay, with the planned efforts and commitments she cited. She subsequently left the administration.

Environmental Protection Administrator Michael Leavitt, former governor of Utah, later led the task force. In a phone interview, he called it his highest priority. No longer. He's now secretary of health and human services.

With considerable fanfare, a cooperative agreement was signed at a Chicago ceremony involving federal officials, Great Lakes governors, the International Joint Commission, and such stakeholders as the Little Traverse Bands of Odawa Indians and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

So there's a structure of sorts - but insufficient resources to deal with invasive species, improve water quality, curtail contamination, and improve water quality.

Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, as well as Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) (second to none in miles of shoreline he represents), have been pressing for action on a five-year, $20 billion plan to restore the lakes, seeking an initial $300 million to combat invasive species, pollutants, and other issues.

On Friday, Stabenow said through her Washington office: "Whether he's refusing to meet with our automakers or backing away from his pledge to protect the Great Lakes, it's clear President Bush just doesn't get what's important to Michigan. It is absolutely unacceptable that two years after the President announced his Great Lakes Initiative, Michigan has still not received the funding or support from the administration that we need."

Nor from Congress, where combined clout of delegations from Great Lakes states is but a flimsy reed.

Stabenow's Republican challenger, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, joins in the criticism of GOP-ruled Washington on the issue. Lack of adequate Great Lakes funding "drives me crazy," he told me last week while campaigning in Traverse City. "It is another reason we need a senator in Washington that can have an impact."

Bouchard nailed it in declaring the Great Lakes "perilously close" to invasion of nasty foreign carp from the Mississippi River basin if long-sought underwater electric fences are not constructed. Those aggressive fish have been known to leap into small boats, sometimes slapping at occupants. How about slapping some sense into occupants of Capitol Hill?

While there's little prospect of action this year on the comprehensive Great Lakes plan, Stupak said Friday of the lesser effort, "there appears to be promise for moving the Great Lakes Restoration Act in the near term. The bill has passed the Senate and would authorize $20 million for grant programs to restore fish and wildlife habitats."

A Court Victory

In March 2005, a U.S. District Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency's refusal to regulate ballast water discharges under the Clean Water Act was inconsistent with the law.

The EPA then sought a delay, over objections of Attorney General (AG) Mike Cox and five other AGs from the Great Lakes who seek protection of the lakes from introduction of further invasive species through discharges that wreak havoc on the ecosystem.

Last week, the court ruled with the AGs, ordering EPA to regulate discharges within two years.

Cox hailed the ruling, vowing Michigan "will ensure that this deadline is met."

Ongoing Canadian Issue

In Washington and Lansing, lawmakers from both parties have long grappled with how to deal with trash, pollution, and other issues involving neighbor Canada.

So it is with Democratic Congressman Stupak and State Senator Jason Allen (R-Traverse City), on the lingering issue of sewage and other toxic spills from Canada.

Stupak, saying bacteria counts of discharges in the St. Marys River "are once again off the charts," wrote Canadian officials seeking action "immediately to implement water quality monitoring and other measures to resolve the problem.

Allen, whose district includes Chippewa County, has introduced a bill to establish "a council charged with addressing water quality issues that cross state and international jurisdictional boundaries." It would include "environmental and public health officials from state and local government and Canadian provinces."

Given the complications of a state legislature setting up a crossborder council, it appears to be a noble idea likely to come to naught.

Michigan, Ontario, and the two federal governments will be seeking good ways to address their border issues long after Allen and Stupak leave office.

George Weeks retired this year after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features.