GLNews

Canadian Coast Guard Begin Joint Marine Security Patrols

The CCG and the RCMP will begin joint marine security and law enforcement patrols along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. This new partnership creates a major new on-water law enforcement and marine security presence and fast response capacity.

Coast Guard Machine Gun Boats

U.S. Coast Guard boats armed with machine guns will be patrolling off the shores of Lake Michigan this month. Coast Guard spokesmen said the boats will be here to train local units, assist in routine patrols and provide a few days of security for a Canadian frigate visiting Navy Pier.

Lt. Rolando Hernandez, spokesman for Coast Guard Group Milwaukee, said the boats will not appear as a result of last week's bus and train bombings in London. Armed with M240 machine guns, the 25-foot fast-response boats, part of the Marine Safety and Security Team, will be sent from the East Coast. The Department of Homeland Security has bought several hundred such boats since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, about 35 of which are stationed in the Great Lakes, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. J.G. Ryan Barone said.

The response CG Boats have already been in the area are have been prepped to quickly be outfitted with machine guns. Hernandez said the armed Coast Guard boats will remain in Lake Michigan until sometime in August while training units in Group Milwaukee, whose jurisdiction is the western shore of Lake Michigan.

MAJOR CONCERNS AND PROBLEMS AT THE CLEVELAND COAST GUARD STATION

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Robert Papp stated "One of the worst stations is right under my nose," at the station just below his office. In March, a sewer line backed up and contaminated the station's prefabricated headquarters on Lake Erie. Eight crew members were forced to move to a nearby Holiday Inn, costing $10,000 in hotel bills so far.

When a distress call comes in at night, crews have to knock on hotel doors to get everyone up, and then get into a government-issued pickup truck for the quarter-mile trip to a pier. Petty Officer Timothy Kelley said it takes crews 10 to 15 minutes to get from the hotel to the pier. Papp said the delays "are not unacceptable," but he wants to resolve the station's future.

Holding up construction is a fight between the Mayor’s office and Coast Guard Officials over the cities desire to move the present station several hindered yards away opening landscape considered prime residential land. Papp indicated it does not make sense to invest over 10 million dollars which is not available instead present plans are to infuse 700,000 in repairs to the current station.

ONE OF A FEW FEMALES SERVING IN COAST GUARD

Whether it's a routine health matter, a serious injury or just someone to talk to, officers and crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw know they can count on "Doc" to pull them through.

"Doc" is the nickname given to the medic on any ship, and the current corpsman on the Mackinaw has trained and treated patients and crewmembers over the past two years, of her assignment aboard the current Mackinaw.

The officer in charge of the health of those serving on the Mackinaw, Health Services Tech. 1st Class Claudia N. Simpson, treats everything from simple blisters to major medical and trauma emergencies

Simpson is one of 10 females currently aboard the Coast Guard's biggest Great Lakes icebreaker, including three officers, two 1st class petty officers, one 2nd class petty officer and four cadets stationed in Cheboygan for summer training.

Decommissioning of the Cutter Acacia and possible replacement is currently being studied.

Since the Acacia is set to be decommissioned in the summer of 2006, Charlevoix community leaders and lawmakers are working to replace the Acacia with the currently retired 140-foot Morro Bay. The 140 foot Morro Bay was decommissioned shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, were she had been stationed

Cary Godwin, the executive officer lieutenant on the Acacia, said Rear Adm Papp made a request to the United States Coast Guard headquarters for the Morro Bay to relocate to the Great Lakes. The request is still being processed. The Coast Guard will determine the location of the ship with a homeport study. The study weighs several issues, including what the cutter's primary duties may be and which port would be best suited for the mission.

Currently, there are Great Lakes buoy tenders in Duluth, Port Huron and Cheboygan. In 2007, the new Icebreaker Mackinaw will be commissioned in Cheboygan. The New Mackinaw was designed ice breaking, providing buoy tending, and search and rescue missions.

The current plans for the Acacia are to possibly restore her as a Coast Guard museum or more likely it would be sold.

The Charlevoix City Council hired former U.S. Rep Bob Davis as a consultant to help secure a replacement ship for the Acacia. Davis, U.S. Representative from 1979 to 1993 was instrumental in attracting the Acacia after the USCGC Mesquite was grounded off Keweenaw Point in 1989. The ship has been on he bottom of Lake Superior off Keystone Bay since 1990.

The 2006 decommissioning of the Acacia will end an era. Since 1905, the Coast Guard has been present in Charlevoix.

Legislators: Protect our ports

A coalition of lawmakers from the Great Lakes states is protesting the fact that most Great Lakes ports including the Port of Rochester were left out of the running for federal grants to strengthen security against terrorists. In May, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would give out nearly $141 million in port security grants for 2005.

the department used three main criteria in determining which ports would be eligible for the grants: consequence, vulnerability and threat. "Consequence means answering questions like: What's the population surrounding the port?" "What would be the economic consequence if it were attacked? Are there national security considerations such as the presence of petroleum plants, hazardous materials facilities or the presence of tankers that would be carrying hazardous or flammable materials?"

The department consulted with Coast Guard and intelligence officials to assess the vulnerability of various ports and the potential threat against them, Short said. Among the 66 ports deemed eligible for security grants this year were Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Honolulu, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis and Wilmington, Del.

Great Lakes will keep more water

Great Lakes states, Ontario and Quebec on Thursday released revised agreements that would largely ban diversions of water from the Great Lakes. The agreements also call for joint U.S.-Canadian review of any projects that would increase the use of Great Lakes water. The new agreements are being supported by seven of the eight Great Lakes states Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota -- and the two Canadian provinces. The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world's fresh water. The Ohio Environmental Council will hold a strategy meeting from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 27 at Cleveland Metro parks' Canal Way Center in Cuyahoga Heights. More information is available at www.greatlakesforever.org

M//V CORT SPORTS NEW STACK COLORS

81st COAST GUARD FESTIVAL VESSELS (2005)

The Annual Coast Guard Festival is set to begin August 29th thru July 7, 2005 in Grand Haven, Coast Guard assets will include:

USCGC Mackinaw

USCGC Acacia

USCGC Bristol Bay

USCGC McLane

Coast Guard has tightened Security both on and around Ferries

In the wake of the terror attack that killed over fifty in London, the United States Coast Guard in conjunction has increased security on and around ferries such as the Badger and Lake express. The most noticeable security has been the increased presence of CG and Sheriff Patrol boats as they escort of inbound and outbound ferries in and out of ports. Other measures are also in effect but are considered confidential by the Homeland Security Administration

May 12 --Oglebay Norton Company (OTC: OGBY.PK) today announced that it has signed a definitive purchase agreement to sell six of its nine marine vessels. The agreement includes long- term contracts for transporting limestone from the company's Michigan quarries. Closing of the sale is subject to regulatory clearance; therefore, terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. In addition, the company stated that it intends to sell its remaining three vessels and is in negotiations with a potential buyer.The company also announced an agreement with Wolverine Power Cooperative. The company has granted Wolverine Power with an option to purchase approximately 440 acres of previously mined property at its Calcite quarry in Rogers City, Michigan. Over the next two years, Wolverine Power will explore the feasibility of a base load plant using Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology, a clean coal technology as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy at the Calcite site. In addition to the sale of the property to Wolverine Power, the company would provide high quality chemical limestone to support the CFB technology along with the infrastructure to receive / handle waterborne solid fuel. Additional terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Wolverine Power Cooperative is a not-for-profit generation and transmission electric cooperative headquartered in Cadillac, Michigan.

Michael Lundin, President and CEO, Oglebay Norton Company stated, "We continue to execute our strategy of expanding on our current markets and developing new markets for our limestone and limestone fillers businesses, while maximizing the profitability of our sand and lime businesses. The sale of the vessels will enable us to pay down our debt which will further strengthen our balance sheet. Upon the closing of the sale, we will be well positioned to refinance our existing debt. We also remain committed to redeeming the convertible preferred stock in the near future."

Michael Lundin also stated, "We are excited about the relationship that we have developed with Wolverine Power and look forward to assisting them in the evaluation of a base load power plant on our Calcite property. We believe that this project will provide many opportunities for Wolverine, for the Rogers City community and for us."

Oglebay Norton Company, a Cleveland, Ohio-based company with a 150-year tradition of service, provides essential minerals and aggregates to a broad range of markets, from building materials and environmental remediation to the energy and metallurgical industries

For more information Oglebaynorton.com

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States military, the same way as the U.S. Marines, the Navy, and the Army. In wartime the Coast Guard sees the same type of action as its counterparts, currently Coast Guardsman are serving in Iraq. In addition to the role of the United States Coast Guard in times of war they are a more diversified Military Organization charged with law enforcement responsibilities, Water way Management, Search and Rescue, and take part in Research Projects.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States Coast Guard has been charged with the largest military role for Homeland Security. The United States Coast Guard today, has been reorganized under the Department of Homeland Security; the Coast Guard is and remains the Military Branch charged with the Safety and Protection of all U.S. Citizens. Since September 11, 2001, the upgrade of equipment, training, and recruitment has finally been addressed and subsidized. The United States Coast Guard protects the waterways, shipping lanes, shipping and shipping harbors. In addition the Coast Guard plays a significant role in the fight against drug trafficking, intercepting illegal aliens from other countries who attempt to enter the U.S. illegally.

The United States Coast Guard provides protection, search and rescue, icebreaking duties just to name a few of the duties here on Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and many channels and rivers in the Great Lakes region. Prior to September 11, 2001, Coast Guard Personnel serving on the Great Lakes, where many Freighters come from many other Nations, Nations that are known today as threats against the United States. Coast Guard Vessels on the Great Lakes carried gun lockers that contained only shotguns, 9mm and 45mm guns, police sectors are better armed by officers and weapons. That are carried to major incidents such as a standoff.

As part of the rebuilding, reorganization, and the replacement of world war two vessels, the Coast Guard is finally being equipped with machine guns and other necessary tools and Weapons which are needed to protect and defend Potential terrorist targets.

The Coast Guard has set up 34 areas to be utilized for live fire practice zones, many States border the Great Lakes such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin, just to name a few in addition Canadian provinces also border the Great Lakes. With the acquisition of both new equipment and Vessels such as Rapid Response boats, the new multi mission Mackinaw and the 225ft. Alder, and Hollyhock, along with other assets owned by the Coast Guard, the decision was made was long over due to appropriately outfit these vessels with machine guns, and other defense armament necessary to provide Coast Guard Personnel to respond to critical security situations, and provide a means of defense.

What is very ridiculous is the vast waters of the Great Lakes, that recreational boaters, and environmentalists, have delayed the deployment of the Live Fire Training Zone citing concerns over spent shells, claiming that they could cause contamination to fish, plant life, and would interfering with pleasure boating. This is so ridiculous, in one live exercise trial by the Coast Guard they notified all craft continuously prior to and every ten minutes during a live exercise fire without incident. The Coast Guard utilized radar and in the air surveillance demonstrating their diligence in maintaining safety.

These live fire training zones are critical to the training of Coast Guard personnel, training essential for providing security to shipping lanes, the Mackinac Bridge, shipping ports, the Sault Locks. These areas cannot be protected with handguns and shotguns, if a terrorists event took place any where on the great lakes, do you really believe that the aggressors are going to be unarmed or simply give up because they see a Coast Guard vessel?

Spent ammunition will not harm the fishing industry, the shipping industry, the pleasure boat industry or plant life, if the Coast Guard abandons these training exercises, especially following all of the media coverage regarding their rancor over the live fire zones media coverage of this issue has taken place overseas, just how long will it be before a terrorist group strikes if the coast guard is not adequately armed and trained?

That decision made to appropriately arm the men and women who serve in the United States Coast Guard, was not made haphazardly, a lot of planning, and a lot of preparation has gone into selecting the appropriate areas to conduct training exercises. Appropriate security needs to be maintained as provided by the Coast Guard during the 200 Super Bowl held in Detroit Michigan.

Now Canadian officials and others are complaining about the Coast Guard taking tne necessary steps to provide security in U.S. waters. Keep in mind all the salt water freighter that come through the Welland Canal and have deposited zebra mussels and many other species. Target practice and dispensed shell are not going to harm U.S. or Canadian Waters of the Great Lakes.

The United States Coast Guard has gone out of its way to provide the reasoning and rationale for the creation of these 34 zones, by utilizing an interactive web site, public information meetings in a public statement. On September 11, 2001 united states coast guard provided security following the attacks in New York at the World Trade Center both from the water ant the air. The events of September 11, 2001 demonstrate the need for Coast Guard Personnel to be trained to respond to the potential threat, in order to achieve this on the Great Lakes they must be trained appropriately with the assets provided.

Dave-09-27-2006 http://www.davesems.com

Man born on Mackinac is Reunited with Paramedic who delivered him

A man believed to be the first person born on the Mackinac Bridge has been reunited with the emergency medical technician who delivered him nearly 24 years ago. Medic Cathy Flores said Shawn Shuman entered the world at 5:10 p.m. on May 11, 1983. His mother, Kim, had visited her doctor in Kinross in the Upper Peninsula when she thought she might be having contractions even though she was just six months pregnant.

"I didn't feel well at all," "The doctor said I should go to the hospital in Petoskey because they had a specialist and the only neonatal unit in the area at the time if the baby did come early, but he didn't think I would have the baby that day." Flores said she had been with the Kinross Ambulance Corps for about a year and a half when she helped Kim Shuman in the back of the ambulance as they crossed the 5 mile-long Mackinac Bridge. Mary Fletcher, the driver, decided to head back to the hospital in St. Ignace, at the bridge's northern end.

"I told Mary we didn't have much time, and she made a U-turn in a service cut-across on the freeway," Flores said. "We had our emergency lights on and had crossed already." A police officer pulled over their vehicle for making an illegal turn. "I yelled out that we were having a baby in the back if he wanted to help let us go," Flores said.

The ambulance pulled off the bridge roadway at Pier 17, the bridge's south anchor block, to work on the delivery, Flores said. Shawn Shuman, 23, weighed just 2 pounds, 3 1/2 ounces upon arrival at Mackinac Straits Hospital. He was transported in a mobile incubator to the Petoskey hospital, where he stayed for about two-and-one-half months.

Shuman said his birthplace occasionally comes up in conversations. "I've had people bring up where I'm from and the bridge and they are like, 'no way' when I tell them where I was born," he said. "I'm glad my mom didn't name me Mac, though."

Source: Cheboygan Daily Tribune,cheboygan news

New Lock at Soo in Doubt

The new ‘super lock’ for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan may have to wait two years for a change in the White House. The Bush administration has refused to fund the construction of a long-awaited new shipping lock on the St. Mary’s River for Great Lakes marine commerce.

In a Feb. 28 news release, Michigan congressman Bart Stupak, whose district includes the Sault and the government-run canal complex, called out the Bush administration saying it is ignoring “critical infrastructure needs based solely on dollars and cents. “This decision ignores the importance of the Soo locks to our nation’s economy and is negligent in protecting our navigation infrastructure,” says Stupak in a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquartered in Washington, D.C., the operators of the canal.

In his letter to corps commander Carl Strock, Stupak says if the lock were ever disabled due to age, accidental damage or by terrorism, it would take months to repair and disrupt cargoes of food, fuel, steel and energy supplies. The St. Mary’s River, linking Lakes Superior and Huron, is considered a vital shipping channel and is used to move iron ore, coal, grain and other commodities to various North American and international ports.

The huge mega-project, price tag has ranged between $225 million and $340 million, was expected to take five years to complete. By the corps’ own admission in various studies through the years, the Sault Ste. Marie canal and the need for a new lock is considered vital to Great Lakes shipping. The U.S. Congress authorized the construction of a new lock in 1986 but total project funds were never released. After a 15-year wait, U.S. Congressional lawmakers finally approved an appropriations bill in 2001, with an initial $3 million toward the project.

In 2002, the corps was doing some preparatory work by dredging the river approach to the proposed lock. Plans were to demolish two older and shallow locks to make way for the new lock.

ANSWER FOUND FOR SHRINKING GREAT LAKES?

Federal to begin Study in Spring

Corps officials are dubious, but the Georgian Bay study held enough water with federal lawmakers that in spring U.S. and Canadian federal governments will embark on their own $14.6 million study that will, among other things, attempt to determine if a drain plug really has been pulled on the lakes. It is coming at a particularly apt time.

The low water is causing consternation from shoreline property owners and boaters who can't reach their docks to freighter operators who say they can't deliver maximum payloads of iron ore to the region's steel mills. There is also the collective fret that a prized natural resource is simply draining away. The grumbles grow louder with each dip in the charts that track water levels, though levels have always fluctuated widely in relation to regional weather patterns. "I hear it every day," said Dennis Schornack, U.S. chairman of the International Joint Commission, a Canadian and U.S. board that oversees boundary-waters issues. The new study will focus only on whether there is a man-made problem. If there is, the next logical question would be: Is there a man-made fix?

"Absolutely," said Mary Muter of the Georgian Bay Association, which raised the $200,000 for the study that was conducted by the respected engineering firm W.F. Baird & Associates Coastal Engineers. Muter and Schornack both note that a structure to partially plug the St. Clair River was planned to compensate for an expected dip in Lakes Michigan and Huron water levels when the 1960s dredging was completed, but it was never built. Lakes Michigan and Huron are actually one body of water connected at the Straits of Mackinac.

Muter said the solution now likely would be to fill in the channels the river has carved on its own since the dredging, and somehow armor the river bottom so it doesn't happen again. "We definitely think something should be done," Muter said.

Schornack said any such decision would have to be weighed against its costs to construct and the potential damage to shorefront property owners worried about erosion. "That would be a very controversial recommendation," he said, "but it's possible."The situation is already controversial.

The Corps of Engineers does not dispute that the 1960s dredging permanently lowered the lakes, because it did create a faster flowing river. Federal engineers have maintained that the project, combined with earlier dredging and riverbed mining, resulted in a permanent loss of about 16 inches from the lakes' long-term average level. The Georgian Bay study, however, argues that water levels have since dropped about another foot because the river is effectively dredging itself through erosion caused by faster flows.

That number is determined by measuring the relative levels of Lakes Michigan and Huron against Lake Erie, which is downstream. Historically, the lakes' water levels have fluctuated together, but the gap between Michigan-Huron and Erie is shrinking. The corps said that is not necessarily due to Michigan and Huron draining away. It could be a change in the precipitation levels in each basin, or it could be tied to the Earth's crust rebounding unevenly since the last glacial period.

The Georgian Bay Association is convinced it's tied to erosion, and they say it is getting worse. They say they even have evidence the lake has dropped since they first released their study in 2005. Muter said another analysis her group recently funded shows that measurements taken on the river bottom in 2002 and then in 2005 reveal Michigan-Huron levels are continuing to drop at a rate of at least an inch every five years. Scott Thieme, chief of the corps' hydraulics and hydrology office in Detroit, did not dispute the Georgian Bay group's estimate of the volume of material that disappeared from the river bottom from 2002 to 2005, but he said it fell within the margin of error of the equipment used to take the measurements.

Muter bristles at that explanation. She said the problem can be identified by essentially sticking a measuring stick in the river. "It's this deep in 2002 and this deep in 2005," she said. "This was not complex bathymetry. You just do the math."

Issue beyond these shores Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers' Association, is doing his own math. He doesn't like the way it's adding up for freighters plying the Great Lakes and their connecting channels.

He points to low water as the reason an ore freighter departing Lake Superior in January could carry only about 59,000 tons, about 12,000 tons below its capacity.

"When you're leaving that much cargo behind in periods of peak demand, it's a real challenge," he said. Nekvasil is keeping an eye on the St. Clair issue, but he's more concerned that the Corps of Engineers is falling behind on other dredging projects to keep other harbors and channels at depths adequate for freighters to carry maximum cargo loads.

"We've got to work to correct that situation," he said. Muter agreed that low water is an issue beyond the shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan, and that means it is unlikely any additional water will be available to release from Lake Superior in the summer months to alleviate the low water levels on Michigan and Huron. NOAA's Sellinger said Lake Superior's outflow, the St. Marys River, historically has accounted for about 30% of the water that feeds Michigan and Huron. February flows on the St. Marys River averaged about 67,000 cubic feet per second over the past century. This February, they had throttled back to about 49,000 cubic feet per second.

U.S. House OKs construction of shipping lock at Sault Ste. Marie

04-20-2007 The U.S. House has voted to end a two-decade delay in building a new Great Lakes shipping lock, although it's still uncertain whether Congress will come up with the money.

A provision ordering the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expand the Soo Locks complex at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., was included in a $15 billion water projects bill passed Thursday. The measure must clear the Senate and get President Bush's signature to take effect.

U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., accused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February of planning to kill the project. John Paul Woodley Jr., assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, insisted then that no decision had been made.

Lynn Duerod, spokeswoman for the Corps' district office in Detroit, said Friday the situation "looks promising" but the agency was waiting to see whether the proposed lock would clear remaining hurdles in Congress.

The bill authorizes federal agencies to build it, but separate legislation is needed to provide funding.

Congress in 1986 first approved construction of a new lock large enough to accommodate the biggest freighters hauling iron ore and other bulk cargo on the St. Marys River, which links lakes Superior and Huron.

Lawmakers have appropriated about $13 million over the years for planning and design, but haven't provided construction money. The price tag has jumped from $227 million in 1986 to $341 million.

The House measure calls for the federal government to pay the entire cost. In past years, Congress has asked the Great Lakes states to help foot the bill.

The Soo complex includes three functional locks, but just one — the Poe Lock — can handle ships longer than 767 feet. Of nearly 70 U.S.-flagged Great Lakes vessels, 31 are that size.

If the Poe were disabled, it would create a huge shipping bottleneck and cause iron ore shortages that could cripple the domestic steel industry, Stupak said. A second Poe-sized lock would keep traffic flowing, he said.

The version of the Water Resources Development Act approved by the House deletes a caveat from previous years that the Army Corps secretary must endorse the new lock before it's built.

The Corps' Detroit office concluded in a 2005 analysis the project wasn't justified on economic grounds alone but was worth the money when national security was considered.

"The time for studying the problem is over," Stupak said. "We're telling them what to do. They're going to build this lock."

New Soo Lock Funding?

Passage of funding for a new Lock is closer to reality

The House overwhelmingly passed a $20 billion water projects bill in August of 2007, despite a promised veto by President Bush, who complains the bill is laden with costly pet projects and shifts new costs onto the government.

Within the wide-ranging bill, $342 million was earmarked for the building of a new super lock in the Sault. The projected Soo Lock would be at least 110 feet wide and 1,200 feet long and replace the two northern locks. The mega lock would improve access for large freighters.

Shippers say that if the existing Poe Lock had to close for any reason, it would stop most Great Lakes shipping trade, as only the Poe Lock can handle the 1,000 feet-long freighters.

Funding from the bill also targets the much needed dredging throughout the Great Lakes. The Army Corps of Engineers would get funds to step up navigational dredging at many key points. Low water levels has resulted in Great Lakes freighters being forced to carry lighter loads, which reduces the money they make for moving freight. Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association, said that dredging is “critically important” to the freighter industry and that dredging of the lakes has been “underfunded for decades.”

Shepherded by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the bill was seven years in the making and finally passed the House on a 381-40 vote after it was agreed upon by House-Senate negotiators. He said he expected Congress would quickly override any veto by the president.

“There is urgent, pent-up demand to address the nation's water resources needs,” Oberstar said. “Divide the cost by the number of years that have passed since we last passed this critical legislation, and the cost is understandable.”

Earlier Wednesday, administration officials said Bush will veto the bill if it isn't pared down. “Indeed, it seems a $14 billion Senate bill went into a conference with the House's $15 billion bill and somehow a bill emerged costing approximately $20 billion,” complained White House budget director Rob Portman and Assistant Army Secretary John Paul Woodley Jr.

This year's bill includes some $3.5 billion for Katrina-damaged Louisiana, plus more than $2 billion for projects in California and $2 billion for Florida, mostly for restoring the Everglades. Another $1.95 billion is included for seven new locks on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers and $1.7 billion for repairing the region's ecology.

In May, the Senate approved its version on a 91-4 vote. The House passed a similar bill in April on a 394-25 vote. Even if a final bill becomes law, the money must be appropriated later.

Source: Congressional News May 2008

Algoma Central Corporation Press Release

TORONTO, March 17, 2008 - The Corporation, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to purchase three ocean-going handy-sized bulk carriers from Viken Shipping AS, of Bergen, Norway for a total cost of approximately $38 million. The vessels, which are sisterships, were built in eastern Europe in 1986 (Sandviken) and in 1987 (Daviken and Goviken). These maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size vessels each are fitted with four cranes and have a carrying capacity of 34,000 tonnes. The vessels are currently operating under long-term time charter agreements with Fednav International Ltd. which the Corporation will assume. This acquisition represents an excellent fit with the Corporation's established and recently announced ocean shipping activities and the Corporation is pleased to be able to assume charters with Fednav, an established leader in ocean dry-bulk shipping. The acquisition also has the potential to provide a competitive fleet renewal option for the Seaway Marine

Transport (SMT) gearless bulk carrier fleet. SMT is a partnership between the Corporation and an unrelated party and it operates and manages the largest fleet of dry bulk cargo vessels operating on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. It is the Corporation's intention to make these vessels available for use by SMT in Canadian-flag service upon the expiry of the existing Fednav commitments. This decision will be based on market conditions at the time. The Corporation owns two ocean-going self-unloaders through a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary and an interest in five ocean-going self unloaders through a joint venture. These seven vessels are part of a 29 vessel, ocean-going, self-unloader fleet that is commercially managed by CSL International.

The Corporation has previously announced the construction of five IMO II product tankers in China to be delivered in late 2010 and early 2011. These vessels, upon delivery, will be employed and operated in the Hanseatic Tankers joint venture. Hanseatic Tankers plans to employ and operate 24 similar product tankers with the expected trading areas to be focused in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia. The Corporation also owns a 1998 built foreign-flag product tanker through a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary.It is expected this vessel, the Amalienborg, will also be employed and operated as part of Hanseatic Tankers commencing in late 2008.

The Corporation owns and manages four Canadian-flag product tankers with delivery of an additional two product tankers, the Algonova and AlgoCanada, scheduled for the second half of 2008. In addition to ocean shipping and product tankers the Corporation owns 19 Canadian flag dry-bulk vessels that operate on the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Waterway as part of the SMT fleet. As previously announced, the SMT partners have entered into agreements to construct two maximum seaway size self-unloading forebodies which will be attached to the refurbished and upgraded aft-ends of the Algobay and Algoport.

The Corporation also provides diversified ship repair, diesel engine repair services and fabrication services to ship-owners and industrial customers throughout the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Waterway. The Corporation, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, also owns and manages commercial real estate properties in Sault Ste. Marie, St. Catharines and Waterloo, Ontario.

Michigan is behind the other seven states bordering the Great Lakes in establishing policy to safeguard the lakes against diversions from outside the Great Lakes watershed.

“Michigan is the farthest behind which I think is ironic because it is the ‘Great Lakes State,’” Alex Mayer said.

Mayer is a professor of geological engineering and director of the Center for Water and Society at Michigan Technological University. He was talking about the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, an agreement-in-progress among the states with borders on a great lake.

The compact would ban new or increased diversions from the Great Lakes basin with limited, regulated exceptions. It would also set water conservation and efficiency standards for the eight states, as well as require the sharing of data related to water use within the basin.

The compact has been enacted into law in four states and has passed one chamber of state legislature in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Michigan is the only state in the Great Lakes basin that has yet to pass the compact through either legislative body. In both the state house and senate, bills that would enact and implement the compact are out of committee and up for vote.

State Rep. Mike Lahti, D-Hancock, said he supports the bill that would adopt the compact itself. He said he will wait to see what amendments develop before committing his vote on the set of bills that would implement the compact.

State Senator Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, said the compact itself has wide support in both chambers of Michigan’s legislature. However, he said implementation bills tied to the compact remain disparate between the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratically-controlled House.

“I think the House package of bills is taking more of the environmentalists’ side versus the pro-development side and the Senate has a little more of a slant toward the Farm Bureau/Manufacturer’s/Chamber point of view,” Prusi said.

Doug Roberts, director of environmental and energy policy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said his organization favors the compact. However, he said the protocols the House’s implementation bills set for assessing the impact of withdrawals are too stringent.

“It would be very dangerous and potentially bad for economic development in Michigan and particularly in northern Michigan,” Roberts said. “The House Democrat proposal tries to protect cold-water streams but they’ve gone so restrictive in defining where cold-water streams are it would be nearly impossible for future economic development to occur in our state.”

Prusi said he plans to introduce an amendment that strikes compromise between the House and Senate versions on the cold-water stream issue.

Mike Johnston, director of regulatory affairs for the Michigan Manufacturer’s Association, said the House implementation bills are “too bureaucratic.”

“They rely on too many permits and action by the regulatory agencies that we don’t think brings environmental benefit,” Johnston said.

But Hugh McDiarmid, communications director for the Michigan Environmental Council, said the permitting process laid out in the House bills is important.

“There’s many more mechanisms for public input in the permitting process,” McDiarmid said.

Also, he said the House version sets the appropriate philosophical tone for water use in the region.

“The House bill does a few things that the Senate bill doesn’t,” McDiarmid said. “Number one it affirms that groundwater is a public trust resource, which essentially declares that groundwater belongs to all of us and the Senate bill doesn’t do that.”

McDiarmid downplayed the impact the bills would have on industry.

“Michigan has a long history of letting industry and agriculture use copious amounts of water because that’s what they need for their manufacturing and agricultural activities and that would not cease,” McDiarmid said.

No action will take place on the bill for at least the next two weeks in the House, as that legislative body begins a two-week break, Monday.

The state Senate begins a break March 27. Prusi said he is not sure whether the Senate will take up the compact-related bills before that date.

If all of the states enact the compact, it would still require federal approval to go into effect.

Proponents of the compact say time is of the essence as population growth in thirsty states like Georgia outpaces that of states in the Great Lakes Basin.

“It’s important because we will have a new census undertaken in 2010 and what that census is likely to say is that population is moving from the Midwest to warmer, more arid parts of the country,” Alliance for the Great Lakes President Cameron Davis said.

And with that population shift, he said, representation in the U.S. Congress will shift toward states less likely to look favorably on the pact.

U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, said he is “not a fan” of the compact, citing concerns it may be too permissive of withdrawals by communities near the edge of the basin’s boundary.

“The compact says you can go seven miles outside of the Great Lakes (basin),” Stupak said. “I’m just afraid if we make that seven-mile exception, five years from now it will be a 70-mile exception, 10 years from now it will be a 700-mile exception.”

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact features prominently in the book “Great Lakes Water Wars” by environmental journalist Peter Annin. Annin is giving a talk Monday at 7 p.m. at the Rozsa Center at Michigan Technological University. The Center for Water and Society is sponsoring the lecture, which coincides with World Water Day. 03-28-2008

June 2008 "Michigan Get's on Board"

Enacted in October 2008 by President Bush

Sault St. Marie 02-15-2009 David Orazietti, MPP congratulated local EMS workers for having, on average, the fastest response time to emergency calls in Ontario.

"I applaud the outstanding work performed by our local ambulance operators as every minute during a medical emergency can be critical in saving a life,” said Orazietti. “We are pleased that our government’s support for the new Emergency Response Centre is delivering improved medical services [demonstration shown] to Saultites.”

An evaluation of Central Ambulance Communication Centres (CACCs) found that ambulance communications officers in Sault Ste. Marie responded to life-threatening emergencies faster than any other centre in Ontario. Between January and November of 2008, the Sault Ste. Marie CACC dispatched ambulances in under 2 minutes more than 98 percent of the time - considerably higher than the provincial average of 91.29 percent. Fast dispatch times can be the difference between life and death in many medical emergency situations.

CACCs prioritize the urgency of requests, determine the appropriate destination hospital to meet patient needs and provide callers with pre-arrival first aid instructions. The centres deploy, coordinate and direct the movement of all ambulances and emergency response vehicles within geographic catchment areas to ensure an integrated health-care system.

Computer-aided wide-area central dispatching and technology using global positioning systems help the dispatcher to determine and assign the closest available and most appropriate ambulance to each emergency. In addition, CACCs further contribute to Ontario's integrated system by coordinating the transfer of patients between health-care facilities.

"This is a great accomplishment for the SAH Central Ambulance Communication Centre," says Sault Ste. Marie CACC Manager Rick Thorold. "Our excellent dispatch times are a credit to the ongoing efforts of our entire team. I would like take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our staff."

Emergency workers in Sault Ste. Marie have been supported with the construction of a new Emergency Response Centre on Old Garden River Road. Orazietti participated in the official opening of the centre in May 2008 which was constructed with a $2.25 million McGuinty government investment. The new facility centralizes land ambulance and firefighting services in the Sault and area while providing a new joint training venue for emergency response, fire department, and police services personnel.

In addition, the McGuinty government provided the Sault Ste. Marie Central Ambulance Communications Centre with a $210,598 funding increase for 2008/09, including: - $181,583: annualized base funding increase for salary, wages and other direct operating expenses - $29,015: one-time funding for operating expenses.

Algoma Central Corporation Press Release

TORONTO, 2008- The Corporation, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to purchase three ocean-going handy-sized bulk carriers from Viken Shipping AS, of Bergen, Norway for a total cost of approximately $38 million. The vessels, which are sisterships, were built in eastern Europe in 1986 (Sandviken) and in 1987 (Daviken and Goviken). These maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size vessels each are fitted with four cranes and have a carrying capacity of 34,000 tonnes. The vessels are currently operating under long-term time charter agreements with Fednav International Ltd. which the Corporation will assume. This acquisition represents an excellent fit with the Corporation's established and recently announced ocean shipping activities and the Corporation is pleased to be able to assume charters with Fednav, an established leader in ocean dry-bulk shipping. The acquisition also has the potential to provide a competitive fleet renewal option for the Seaway Marine

Seaway. It is the Corporation's intention to make these vessels available for use by SMT in Canadian-flag service upon the expiry of the existing Fednav commitments. This decision will be based on market conditions at the time.

The Corporation owns two ocean-going self-unloaders through a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary and an interest in five ocean-going self unloaders through a joint venture. These seven vessels are part of a 29 vessel, ocean-going, self-unloader fleet that is commercially managed by CSL International.

upgraded aft-ends of the Algobay and Algoport.

Monroe, Mich.06-03-09 The U.S. Coast Guard continues to search for four overdue boaters in western Lake Erie. The 19-foot fishing vessel, light gray in color with a blue stripe and a single outboard motor, did not return to Sterling Park, here, as expected late Thursday afternoon.

The vessel got underway from Sterling Park at approximately 8 a.m. Thursday, for a fishing trip. The boat owner's daughter notified the Coast Guard about the overdue vessel at approximately 10 p.m. Thursday. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and the Coast Guard Station Toledo, Ohio, and Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, launched boats to aid in the search.

Canadian Coast Guard air and sea assets are also assisting in the search along with air and sea assets from the Monroe County Sheriffs Department, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit Command Center. Nothing has been found. The boaters, Douglas Whittaker, Roy Letson, Larry Vert and Ron Miller, are between the ages of 52 and 75, according to Irma Whittaker, the wife of boat-owner Ron. “Ron is an avid boater and very mechanical,” said Whittaker, “If there was trouble with the engine, Ron would be able to tackle that. They also had life jackets and a GPS on board.”

Whittaker last contacted her husband by cell phone at approximately 12 p.m. Thursday. There were no signs of distress. “The first helicopter crew searched through the night for approximately eight hours, having to refuel twice,” said Petty Officer Natasha Brooks, watch stander at Air Station Detroit. “A second helicopter crew has relieved the first and is now searching.”

“We have used all of our assets in this search,” said Seaman Bradley Stebbings, watch stander at Station Toledo. Station Toledo is equipped with two 25-foot response boat-smalls (RBS) and one 41-foot utility boat (UTB). “Our assets have been searching through the night, and continue to search,” said Petty Officer Jason Perkins, officer-of-the-day at Station Marblehead. Station Marblehead has utilized a 47-foot motor lifeboat (MLB) and a 33-foot special purpose craft (SPC-LE).

The Coast Guard is asking that anyone seeing a vessel fitting, the description of the overdue vessel, or having any information regarding this case, to contact the nearest Coast Guard Station.

Four missing Boaters found Alive

Monroe, Mich. 07-03-2009 Four overdue boaters, missing since yesterday, were found alive near Middle Sister Island at approximately 5:45 p.m. Friday. Monroe Country Sheriffs located a capsized vessel and four people in the water. They were later identified as Douglas Whittaker, Roy Letson, Larry Vert and Ron Miller, the four missing fishermen. U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, and Monroe, Lucas and Ottawa County Sheriffs search-and-rescue assets had been looking for the fishermen since approximately 10 p.m. Thursday.

The men showed signs of hypothermia and will be transported by the Monroe County Sheriffs to Bolles Harbor, Mich., where local emergency medical services will be standing by. This successful rescue effort demonstrates the vital cooperation of local, state, federal and Canadian agencies working together to keep boaters safe on the Great Lakes. The search area covered the entire western basin of Lake Erie.

The four overdue boaters had filed a float plan, leaving information with family indicating when they were departing, where they were going and when they were expecting to be back in port. "These boaters had done the right thing by filing a float plan," said Lt. Wade Hedinger, Coast Guard Sector Detroit. "The men also stayed with their vessel, which aided in locating them." The Coast Guard would like to remind all boaters that filing a float plan is a crucial element of boating safety.

Construction of Superlock to begin in June 2009

04-2009 Construction of cofferdams both down and upstream of a proposed new American superlock in the St. Marys River will begin this June. John Niemiec, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project manager, said from Detroit last Friday that the first contract was advertised on April 15, 2009 with a closing date of May 19, 2009 for bids.

He confirmed also that a second contract to dredge and deepen the downstream channel area would be issued by the Detroit District of the Engineer Corps later in the 2009 construction season. The cost for the first two phases of the new lock construction project to be fully funded by the U.S. Federal government is estimated at $17 million. Niemiec said that both contracts would be open to any bids from marine contractors who do work of this nature.

Niemiec said that after the first contract was awarded in May, there would be some paperwork to complete before actual work gets underway. “By the time we issue a notice to proceed and the contractor gets his equipment up there, it would probably be some time in June.”

Niemiec acknowledged too that the $17 million expenditure for the first stage of the lock project, with an estimated completed price tag of $490 million, was less than hoped for by some proponents. “There were folks out there who were trying to get more money for the project this year; that is correct.” But he added, “The two [current] contracts would most definitely take up most of this construction season, and would most probably extend into next year also.” Glen Nekvasil, vice-president corporate communications for the U.S. Lake Carriers’ Association, wrote by e-mail that the $17 million allocation from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers represented “an important first step. We remain hopeful that more dollars will come from the stimulus package.” The Lake Carriers Association was founded in 1880, and today represents a fleet of 63 vessels on the Great Lakes.

With respect to employment opportunities created by the lock’s construction, Nekvasil wrote, “As you know, the project has been likened to opening an auto plant in the Sault area and running it for 10 years.” Carl Levin, the Democrat Senator for Michigan, had predicted in a Dec. 18, 2008 letter to the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C. that construction of a new lock at the Sault would “generate about 1,000 new jobs” over the next 10 years.

But as to how many jobs would be created by the first phase of construction this year, Niemiec voiced uncertainty. “Not a huge number for the first two contracts,” he guessed. Niemiec said that additional funding at full federal expense would flow through the Detroit District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the lock construction progressed.

“Theoretically, we could probably construct it within seven or eight years,” he said. “But we’re looking at how we think the funding stream will come, so it will probably be more than a 10-year timeframe.” The cofferdams, consisting of two large steel cells, will be built at both ends of the Sabin Lock, and would allow for the water inside to be displaced as a first step before construction begins. Both the Davis and Sabin locks, built in 1918 and 1919, are permanently closed. They would be replaced by the newer twin lock to the existing Poe Lock, built in 1968.

The MacArthur Lock, capable of handling vessels up to 800 feet in length, remains operational as well. Looking ahead, Niemiec said that the next contract that the Corps would be looking to complete would include upstream excavation where water is too shallow for the larger ships, and the construction of new guide walls leading toward the eventual new lock. The guide walls permit vessels to tie up while waiting to lock through. Jim Weakley, president of the U.S. based Lake Carriers Association, and a commander in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, had stressed in a January Sault This Week report the critical role the Poe Lock plays in the American transportation network.

He had said that 80 million tonnes moved annually through the Poe Lock. If something were to cause it to shut down, 60 million tonnes of that cargo could not be moved by ship because 70 per cent of the U.S. fleets’ carrying capacity needed the 1,000 foot Poe Lock.

Weakley said then, “So the question becomes: Is there 60 million tonnes of capacity that could move by rail? I think the answer is no.” In a recent e-mail, Nekvasil added that the lock was needed also to keep “clean-burning low sulfur coal heading to Great Lakes power plants”. He added that marine shipping was the most cost effective and environmentally friendly way to move vital raw materials. Nekvasil wrote: “it would take seven 100-car unit trains rumbling across our region to deliver as much iron ore or coal as does one 1,000 foot-long vessel in one trip. The fuel savings and reduction in emissions is significant.” The Poe Lock already is scheduled for an estimated $70 million “asset renewal” over the next six years, including the complete replacement of its hydraulics system. The hydraulics system was responsible for four unscheduled outages in 2008, which delayed shipping on four separate occasions, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report.

That same report estimated a $160 million economic loss from a single 30-day outage of the Sault Locks. With respect to any environmental concerns surrounding the mammoth construction project, Niemiec said the Corps of Engineers had issued an environmental bulletin notifying the public and interested agencies in 2008. He said, “Because the Environmental Impact Study had been done several years ago, we received no adverse comments from anyone. This project should have no real impact because we are constructing in an area that is already a commercial zone.”

In an April 5, 2009 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reporter Dan Egan wrote that U.S. conservationists have said that while they have no “burning opposition” toward a new lock at the Sault based on environmental concerns, there were “boatloads of other economic and environmental needs facing the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem.”

Egan quoted Jennifer Nalbone from the conservation group Great Lakes United as saying, “With all the need for Great Lakes restoration and the impact shipping is having on the Great Lakes, a half billion dollars for an extra lock is like a slap in the face." In January, Sault This Week reported that the Sault’s federal and provincial representatives, Tony Martin and David Orazietti, along with Sault Mayor John Rowswell, were supportive of the potential economic benefits for the region of the American lock proposal.

Brenda Stenta, manager of corporate communications for Essar Algoma Steel, had told Sault This Week in January that a twin lock for the Poe could prove most advantageous to the steelmaker if it led to an extension of the shipping season. “We hope a new 1,000-foot lock would open up the possibility of year round shipping, which would be of great benefit to our business,” she said. Currently, the lock system shuts down from Jan. 15 to March 25 to allow for scheduled maintenance work. The proposed new lock first received U.S. Congressional approval in 1986, and over the past 13 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has spent an estimated $20 million on engineering and design work. In 2007, a mandate for the project was reaffirmed at full federal expense.