DETROIT – A U.S. District judge in South Carolina has held the federal Environmental Protection Agency did not follow federal administrative procedures when it issued a new rule governing the Great Lakes and other U.S. waters and has held implementation of the rule.
The action means that Michigan and most the other Great Lakes states will continue to operate under the version of the Waters of the United States established in 2015 under former President Barack Obama.
However, the decision did not affect Wisconsin and Indiana, so the 2015 rule is on hold in those states.
The new order, No. 13840, was issued in June by President Donald Trump who called the 2015 order a “horrible, horrible rule. Has sort of a nice name, but everything else is bad.” When it was issued in 2015 a number of ranchers and other agricultural interests worried it would limit their access to water.
But environmentalists and others worried as well over the new order which called for putting greater focus on both the economic and defense values of the Great Lakes and other waters. The 2015 rule had focused more on protecting the waters.
When the new order was issued environmental groups were concerned about what effect it might have on ballast water treatment standards on freighters. Ballast water is seen a major source of invasive species getting into the Great Lakes and other waters that drain into the lakes.
U.S. District Judge David Norton for the eastern district of South Carolina said the rule and the EPA memorandum issued as part of the rule showed the agency failed to get public comments on the proposed change.
Environmental groups praised the court action, saying it would help protect clean water access. But farming groups said the EPA needed to move quickly to repeal the 2015 rule and provide assurance for ranchers and farmers.
Ballast water needs to be addressed, its introduction of pathogens virus , bacteria, red tide seeding and invasive species capable of causing human death has been well documented by scientist for decades. The problem could have been fixed but Obama delayed ballast water treatment after hr2830 passed the house in 2008 by a vote of 395-7 ordering more study. The one good thing Obama did do, was he added the human health issue to the invasive species act, (but only) 8 years after he let bipartisan legislation hr2830 die in the senate. Using the waters of the United States to protect from ballast water discharges that mostly are made by foreign flag ships traversing our waters as part of a plan that also limits the water rights of the American farmer to use water on their property, (springs,creeks ponds etc.) is plain wrong. Many of the foreign flag ships traversing American waters have deep economic roots with Americans associated with the shipping industry. Sadly it will take a president who cares about putting America first before economic interest that could be intertwined with members of its administration. To fix this problem it will take a president who cares more about preserving long term environmental and economic considerations for future Americans rather than a quick economic boost that puts the health of Americans at risk. It is a national shame that we are allowing ships from all over the world to continually deposit different virus into the Great Lakes that can lay dormant waiting for a host.
On Dec 4th 2018 President Trump signed a Coast Guard Authorization
bill that directs the EPA to work with the states to develop ballast water
standards. The need to create strong regulations, for ships exclusively using
the Great Lakes is very important to protect human health. One of the human
health threats ballast water poses can be illustrated by the information
contained in the work Johns Hopkins has published. Hopefully this link works
or a search for- virus in your throat Johns Hopkins- should work.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/algae_in_your_throat_scientists_discover_algae_virus_in_humans_
The Johns Hopkins study indicates green algae acting as the vector
for
an algal virus to infect humans. Large algae blooms throughout the Great
Lakes and on the St. Lawrence River are known to be problematic and getting
worse. Efforts to contain and isolate human health problems are the best
practice. If Ballast water is to be considered as pollution under the Coast
Guard Authorization then under the Clean Water Act ballast water should never
be allowed to transport and spread human pathogens.
This algal/human virus by itself is reason to require equipment to
treat all ballast water. This “virus jumping” indicates there is a
probability other algal virus’s found in ballast water, could be capable
of demonstrating the same characteristics.
Mosquito larvae is mentioned in a thesis written by Elizabeth
Kathleen Mc Craven http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1095/ and states it is a
fact that ballast water often carries mosquito larvae. Mosquito larvae
thrives in green algae and is known to transmit a number of human diseases.
VHSV although not a human pathogen is suspected to have been
introduced into the Great Lakes from a salt water environment. This
illustrates why, any water coming into the Great Lakes containing virus’s,
needs to be addressed with more than a salt water flush. Even dried dead
algae has the structural capacity to preserve virus. With the vast number of
virus’s found in ballast water others may also be capable of a salt to
fresh water transition. With many ballast water systems not all the problems
can be addressed. It may be necessary to have land based facilities to
ensure that ballast water pollution is eliminated.
The standards the EPA creates need to consider human health the top
priority in saving the Lakes for future generations. The EPA May have a
public comment period. It should also help to contact state officials.