For immediate release: September 29, 2015  |   Download News Release PDF

Chicago, Illinois – Leaders from across the binational Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region met in Chicago this week to celebrate the Great Lakes Commission’s 60th anniversary and address challenges and opportunities facing the lakes, including threats from Asian carp and other invasive species, nutrient pollution that causes harmful algal blooms, and clean-up and restoration efforts that are revitalizing waterfront areas and stimulating the “Blue Economy” in coastal communities. Commissioners from the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces endorsed a 10-step action plan to reduce nutrient loadings and prevent harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, and a first-ever joint session with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission – also celebrating its 60th anniversary – reviewed potential solutions to prevent invasive species from invading the Great Lakes through Chicago-area waterways.

In welcoming remarks, Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator, Richard Durbin commented on a variety of challenges facing the Great Lakes, including helping farmers prevent impacts to water quality in the lakes, emphasizing that “we clearly need water management policies that are more sensible for the 21st century.” He reflected on his recent visit to Northerly Island, a former airport located in Lake Michigan across from downtown Chicago that has been transformed into a 40-acre park with wetlands, trails and wildlife habitat that he termed an “ecological and thoughtful investment that will give people peace of mind and refuge.” He urged Commissioners “to be engaged in political debates in Washington and your state capitals, which have implications for your work on behalf of the Great Lakes.”

The Commission elected Jon Allan, director of Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes, as its new chair. “I am honored to be elected chair and have the opportunity to build on the Commission’s six decades of successful leadership on behalf of our member states and provinces,” Allan said, adding “we have made important progress but significant challenges remain, making it more important than ever that the Commission provide an effective collective voice to advance a strong economy, a healthy environment, and a high quality of life for the 40 million citizens who live in the Great Lakes basin.”

Reflecting on the Commission’s 60 years of binational collaboration, Tracy Mehan, a former Commissioner and current director of government affairs for the American Water Works Association, noted that “long before the phrase ‘triple bottom line’ became fashionable, the Great Lakes Commission was working to strengthen the environmental, economic and social benefits of the Great Lakes.” He encouraged the Commission to focus its work where three major natural cycles overlap—the water cycle, nutrient cycle and carbon cycle—to address all three at one time in a cost effective way.

Stan Meiburg, acting deputy administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conveyed the Administration’s commitment to sustaining the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and emphasized the Great Lakes states as vital partners in making it a success. He noted that “the history of the Great Lakes is bound up with the history of the environmental movement,” adding that “this region has a reputation for collaboration that we don’t always see in other regions.”

Christine St‐Pierre, Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie with the Province of Quebec, noted that the Commission was created at the same time that the United States and Canada were developing the St. Lawrence Seaway, which deepened the integration of the two countries’ economies and leveraged maritime transportation to drive economic growth. She noted that “an equally significant outcome was the greater awareness among the states and provinces that form the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region that we had everything to gain by developing a regional, binational perspective on economic and environmental issues.” She highlighted the recently-released Quebec Maritime Strategy, which aims to develop and utilize maritime assets to take advantage of opportunities created by a new generation of trade agreements. “The Maritime Strategy is not just about economics,” she emphasized, but “seeks to find a sustainable balance between environmental and economic imperatives and opportunities.”

In a keynote address opening the session on invasive species and the Chicago Area Waterway System, Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistance Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, highlighted a four-pronged approach, including electric barriers, research on control technologies, monitoring, and continued work on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study. She emphasized a near-term strategy to make the Brandon Road lock and dam a control point to lower the risk of Asian carp moving into Lake Michigan. A panel of experts reviewed the status of Asian carp populations and findings from research being conducted for the Advisory Committee convened by the Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative to identify a long-term solution to prevent the movement of invasive species through Chicago-area waterways. While the leading edge of the location of adult bighead and silver carp has not changed and is within 55 miles of Lake Michigan, juvenile carp have moved 52 miles closer to the lake over the past year. Speakers emphasized maintaining a sense of urgency to find solutions; collaborating and compromising among stakeholders; and developing a regional approach to fund a long-term solution.

Another panel discussed options for healing “fractured water” in urban areas caused by aging water and wastewater infrastructure, poor land use planning, wasteful water use, and a disjointed approach to water management. Speakers recommended an integrated approach that joins decision-making related to water supply, water use, wastewater treatment and disposal and stormwater management to improve the efficiency of programs and enhance the quality and quantity of water-related services.

Featured speakers included Jeff Malehorn, President and CEO of World Business Chicago; Russ Van Herik, director of the Great Lakes Protection Fund; and MarySue Barrett, president of the Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council.

The Commission passed four resolutions:

• Support for prohibiting the import of harmful aquatic invasive species: The resolution expresses support for an upcoming proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list eleven new foreign species as “injurious” under a federal law that regulates trade and prohibits importation of non-native species.

• Advancing coastal community revitalization through strengthened federal legislation and programs: The resolution endorses federal legislation that advances cleaning up and restoring degraded waterfront areas to stimulate economic development in coastal communities.

• Healing the fractured urban water cycle through integrated water management: The resolution acknowledges that aging water infrastructure and poor land-use planning threaten freshwater resources and calls for integrated and sustainable water management to restore natural hydrology in urban areas.

• A Joint Action Plan for Lake Erie: The resolution endorses the Joint Action Plan for Lake Erie developed by the Commission’s Lake Erie Nutrient Targets Working Group outlining actions to reduce sources of nutrient pollution in Lake Erie to achieve a 40 percent reduction in phosphorus loadings.

The Commission will next convene Feb. 23-24, 2016 in Washington, D.C.

Contacts: Tim Eder, cell: 734-604-7281, office: 734-971-9135, [email protected]

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The Great Lakes Commission, led by Chairman Jon Allan, director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, is an interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.