Michigan’s fight to control invasive species in the Great Lakes could be weakened by a bill passed by the U.S. House this week.
Michigan put a ballast water law into effect in 2007 to keep ships from releasing new invasive species into the Great Lakes.
But the standard would be lowered by a Coast Guard funding bill that’s on its way to the U.S. Senate.
Patty Birkholz is director of Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes. She says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard had plenty of time to come up with recommendations, but failed to do so.
Now, Birkholz says, Michigan has the most to lose.
"We know the dangers that we're under with invasive species, both from water and land, and we have to protect ourselves even if the federal government won't standup to the invasive threat out there," Birkholz says.
Birkholz says no new invasive species have been found since Michigan tightened its ballast water standards.
The U.S. House bill also allows the SS Badger car ferry in Ludington to continue dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan. The operator says it can’t yet afford to convert to natural gas.
