Governors urge New York to ease ballast rules
Governors of three Great Lakes states urged New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to prevent the shutting down of the St. Lawrence Seaway by easing the state’s ballast water standard, the Journal of Commerce reported.
Governors Scott Walker (Wisconsin), John Kacich (Ohio) and Mitch Daniel (Indiana) said the Environmental Protection Agency’s science advisory panel found that no technology exists today to meet New York’s standard, which takes effect mid-August 2013. New York calls for ballast water to be 100 times cleaner than a standard established by the International Maritime Organization, which the U.S. is in the process of adopting.
Without a change, the state standards "will possibly force the closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway and imperil thousands of maritime-related jobs in the Great Lakes states and Canada,” the governors wrote to Cuomo.
Governors Scott Walker (Wisconsin), John Kacich (Ohio) and Mitch Daniel (Indiana) said the Environmental Protection Agency’s science advisory panel found that no technology exists today to meet New York’s standard, which takes effect mid-August 2013. New York calls for ballast water to be 100 times cleaner than a standard established by the International Maritime Organization, which the U.S. is in the process of adopting.
Without a change, the state standards "will possibly force the closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway and imperil thousands of maritime-related jobs in the Great Lakes states and Canada,” the governors wrote to Cuomo.