Great Lakes-Seaway Coalition to Meet in Milwaukee September 9-10

The newly-formed Great Lakes-Seaway Coalition will hold its third meeting at the Port of Milwaukee September 9-10. The Coalition, composed of government, industry and labor leaders involved in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry,  came together earlier this summer at the invitation of the Great Lakes District Council of the International Longshoremen's Association to develop a pro-active agenda and strategies to advance the interests of the broader Great Lakes-Seaway  shipping industry.

The group's two earlier meetings, held in Cleveland, OH resulted in a seven point action agenda as follows:

1. The Great Lakes-Seaway Coalition (GLSC) urges the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation to jointly explore the means and methods necessary to harmonize the opening and closing dates of the St. Lawrence Seaway with those of the Soo Locks operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

2. The GLSC urges the US Congress to reform the Harbor Maintenance Tax to eliminate legislative and regulatory barriers to Short Sea Shipping and therefore supports the passage of HR 3486.

3. The GLSC urges the adoption of measures to assure that the dredging of Great Lakes harbors and navigation channels are fully authorized, adequately funded and performed in a timely manner and that money collected through the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund be used solely for the purpose of dredging and the performance of services associated with dredging activities and to fund the activities of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

4. The GLSC urges the establishment of Great Lakes cargo development and new vessel development efforts to support system-growth and competitiveness.

5. The GLSC urges the reform of 1) the St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls charged by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and 2) the US and Canadian Great Lakes pilotage rate structures to assure that vessels of less than Seaway-maximum size are not put at an unfair cost disadvantage vis-à-vis other ships.

6. The GLSC urges that state and local governments defer to the federal governments regarding all policies and regulations relating to navigation and commercial shipping on and within the Great Lakes with noted emphasis on issues of ballast water management and air emissions standards.

7. The GLSC urges Marine Delivers to expeditiously research, produce and aggressively disseminate a clear statement of the environmental and cost advantages of waterborne commerce.

The upcoming meeting to be held in Milwaukee next week will feature a discussion of the binational International Joint Commission's (IJC) role in regulating water levels on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, the IJC's role in environmental protection of the Great Lakes watershed,  and a discussion about ways the coalition might work with the IJC to prevent and resolve disputes relating to the uses of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System.   

The Coalition will also discuss various legislative and adminsitrative policy initiatives which may have an impact on Great Lakes-Seaway commerce such as the recently introduced FREIGHT Act recently introduced in the U.S. Congress and a New York State ballast water regulation which threatens commerce in and out of and through the waters of that state potentially harming commerce in the Great Lakes and setting off a major dispute between the U.S. and Canada.

The Coalition is also likely to discuss the impact of the 2010 U.S. congressional elections on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry going forward.