Exports in danger and jobs threatened with new DNR proposal
Wisconsin business leaders, labor representatives and elected officials are speaking out against a proposed statewide general permit regarding ballast water – if approved in its current form – is certain to kill jobs, increase manufacturing costs and stifle economic development in our state.
While protecting the Great Lakes from invasive species is a good thing, the proposed Wisconsin DNR permit to regulate ballast water discharges would establish standards for the state that are 100 timesmore stringent than those adopted by other Great Lakes states.Wisconsin also has greatly accelerated its effective date to 2012, while the others have adopted a 2016 implementation date, even though there is no commercially viable technology available to meet these proposed standards. If these proposed rules are adopted, Wisconsin’s three major ports – Superior, Milwaukee and Green Bay – would be cut off from international trade and important agricultural exports. The proposed statewide general permit would apply to ocean-going vessels, which would mean those ships would avoid Wisconsin’s ports and do their business elsewhere on the Great Lakes, such as Duluth or Chicago. These standards need to be consistent with our neighboring states and competing ports.With a struggling economy, this is absolutely the worst time to enact a proposal that isolates Wisconsin, kills jobs and hurts our ports.
