|
A summary of issues, activities and events at the Great Lakes Commission |
October 4, 2012 |
|
Wisconsin’s Kenneth G. Johnson elected chair of Great Lakes Commission
Kenneth G. Johnson, water division administrator at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, was elected new chair of the Great Lakes Commission at its annual meeting, held Sept. 10-11 in Cleveland. Mr. Johnson will serve along with new Vice Chair Kelly Burch, regional director of the Northwest Regional Office at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Johnson and Burch replace outgoing officers Jim Tierney, assistant commissioner for water resources at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and Kari Bennett, commissioner for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, who are concluding two years of service. In other business, a GLC-led Regional Phosphorus Reduction Task Force released a report with more than 50 recommendations believed to be necessary elements of a comprehensive, binational effort to achieve and sustain meaningful reductions in nutrient pollution to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. A second task force report focused on improving emergency preparedness and response in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, in the wake of the recent large-scale oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico oil and, more recently, the Talmadge Creek (Kalamazoo River) spill near Marshall, Mich., one of the largest inland emergency response efforts in U.S. history. In addition to acknowledging receipt of the two reports, the GLC passed resolutions pertaining to renewable and clean energy, the Great Ships Initiative, U.S.-Canada procurement policies, and extending the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative beyond 2014. A complete recap of the meeting, including links to all presentations and reports, is at www.glc.org/about/glcmeetings.html. The Commission will next convene March 5-7, 2013, in Washington, D.C. |
 The gavel is passed to incoming Vice Chair Kelly Burch, left from Pennsylvania, and Chair Ken Johnson, Wisconsin, from 2011-12 Chair James Tierney, New York, and Vice Chair Kari Bennett, Indiana. |
|
GLC lands GLRI grant to study Internet sales of aquatic invasive species
The Great Lakes Commission has received a $400,000 grant through the U.S. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to develop and demonstrate web-crawling software to detect the availability of invasive species – and identify sellers of those species – on the Internet. Internet commerce facilitates trade in live organisms, providing consumers, hobbyists and others on-demand access to distribution networks worldwide. But because of its scope and complexity, currently little is being done to address the sale of live species over the Internet and prevent potentially invasive species from being imported, traded or released into the Great Lakes environment via this pathway. The GLC’s web-crawling software will focus on identified invasive species of concern to the Great Lakes, including species that are currently regulated by Great Lakes jurisdictions, and those that have been identified as posing an invasion risk to the region. Sellers identified through this project will be contacted with information on relevant regulations and potential risks/impacts associated with the species of concern that they are selling. The web-crawling system will be made available for use by regulators, managers and others when the project is completed. Contact: Erika Jensen, 734-971-9135, ejensen@glc.org. |
|
Future of wind energy in the Great Lakes debated by regional coalition
The more than 60 attendees at the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative meeting, held Sept. 25-26 in Erie, Pa., heard perspectives on the progress, opportunities and obstacles for wind energy in the binational Great Lakes region. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Michael Krancer keynoted the event, saying that Pennsylvania is a laboratory for energy policy. In addition to current challenges, the group learned about future opportunities for wind that were part of a recent Renewable Electricity Futures Report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The report demonstrates how the United States could generate 80 percent of its electricity needs using existing energy technologies by 2050. Managed by the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative is a multi-sector coalition of wind energy stakeholders working to facilitate the sustainable development of wind power in the binational Great Lakes region. Learn more at www.glc.org/energy/wind. Contact: Victoria Pebbles, 734-971-9135, vpebbles@glc.org. |
Upcoming Events
|
|
Great Lakes Commission |