Resolution: Great Lakes Commission Support for the Great Ships Initiative
Adopted on October 04, 2006

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Whereas, ballast water discharge from ocean going vessels has been identified as a significant source for the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Great Lakes; and

Whereas, there is an urgent need for research and development of shipboard ballast treatment technologies that can provide maximum effectiveness in eliminating harmful species in the ballast tanks of commercial vessels, while allowing safe and economically practical ballasting operations aboard commercial vessels in the Great Lakes; and

Whereas, efforts to develop new ballast treatment technologies complement other significant efforts to prevent AIS from entering and spreading throughout the Great Lakes, including use of best management practices, state regulations, and development of uniform federal ballast water discharge standards; and

Whereas, a collaborative effort involving some 15 U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes ports, federal agencies, and academic partners has produced the Great Ships Initiative, a $3.5 million program aimed at the development and implementation of shipboard ballast treatment technology; and

Whereas, the Great Ships Initiative will be co-managed by the Northeast Midwest Institute and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with research based at the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Lake Superior Research Institute; and

Whereas, the Great Lakes Commission has consistently supported and facilitated the application of sound science and research in efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes, and

Whereas, the Great Lakes Commission has consistently supported collaborative efforts to combat ANS, such as the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, and

Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Great Lakes Commission lends its enthusiastic endorsement of the Great Ships Initiative and offers its full support to efforts to secure adequate funding for its ongoing operations; and

Therefore Be It Finally Resolved, that the research and development of shipboard ballast treatment technologies conducted through the Great Ships Initiative be closely coordinated with other efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of AIS in the Great Lakes.

Adopted by the Great Lakes Commission at its Annual Meeting, October 04, 2006, in Duluth, Minn.