Comments from the Executive Director

Welcome to the web site of the United States Great Lakes Shipping Association. I hope you will find this to be a source of information about our organization as well as have it serve as a useful informational tool for our membership and other interested parties.
 

Winter, 2008 

Last year, in my first message in this place on our website, I expressed an overall philosophy of our Association and the Great Lakes marine community as a whole.  I have chosen to leave that message posted below for those who may not have visited our site in some time and for future reference at least for a while. For those who have seen it already, definitely not required reading! However, I hope you will read on. 

What I would like to identify in this message is the issue of Aquatic Invasive Species (“AIS”) and in particular, the key element of ballast water regulation in dealing with AIS on our Lakes and Seaway System.  This is a matter which I am sure will continue to hold our attention until some meaningful resolution is achieved through improved management of ballast water. In general, industry has stated it seeks to cooperate in a solution to this problem.  In the interim, voluntary Best Management Practices are widely pursued by industry on the matter until standards are identified and process can be designed to achieve those standards.  However, progress on the formal establishment of standards and procedures from our legislative and regulatory sources has been elusive. Worse now, however, by virtue of certain Federal judicial mandates to the EPA pursuant to the Clean Water Act, a race has commenced as to the determination of whether the States or the Congress will take control of this issue. 

Clearly, if we are to have ballast water legislation for vessels serving the Lakes, the platform needs to be a uniform Federal standard rather than what would likely be a variety of dissimilar controls from state to state.  Time, driven by mandate, is rapidly expiring for any chance of a sensible control of this issue unless our Congress acts soon. 

As I write this message, we, as an industry, are facing a very real threat of having to deal with ballast water regulations differing on a state to state basis much sooner than some think.  Regulations to which I refer are already under various stages of formation in most, if not every Great Lakes state.  State officials are undertaking these steps not only because of mandates, but also because of frustration over the lack of decisive Congressional action. If the States win the race due to Congressional complacency, those regulations can be expected to create a ballast water management situation on the Lakes which would undoubtedly be chaotic, costly and unnecessarily harmful to our industry and the Lakes economy.  All can be solved right now if Congress will act. 

We have seen numerous pieces of U. S. Federal legislation come before this session of Congress which hold promise.  Of particular significance are bills HR.2830 and S.1578 which are considered in most circles to represent real hope of progress in this Congress.  While there continues to be some reasonable expectation that the House bill may see the light of day, the Senate bill, regrettably, appears to be stalled.  

We must encourage our legislators in Congress to realize that the window of opportunity is now. I urge everyone to participate in this effort and do not delay. 

For more discussion of this issue, go to the section of this web site initially entitled “Breaking News” which is in the process of being renamed “Items of interest” where we have reprinted two very good recent articles on the matter. One is written by Adolph Ojard of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority in their newsletter. The other appeared in the Propeller Club Quarterly, written by Glen Nekvasil on behalf of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force.  Thanks to the Propeller Club and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority for permission to reprint these fine articles. 

Read them over.  But read them with an understanding that the race is on and there is great urgency for Congressional action focusing on Great lakes ballast water management.

Effective April 1, 2007, the Association membership chose to elect me to succeed Helen Brohl as Executive Director. Helen’s record of leadership of this organization and in the marine industry is well known. I am privileged to succeed her and will endeavor to continue that performance record.

The challenges which currently face our agent members as well as the owners and operators which they serve in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System are indeed significant and plentiful. While water transportation represents arguably the most efficient means for the movement of commercial goods and passengers, many other factors and vested interests, especially on the Great Lakes and in the Seaway stand in opposition to each other which must be understood and harmonized if the benefits of water transportation for our nation and the Great Lakes region are to be realized.

In the assessment of these opposing factors and interests, it is important that the significance of the benefits which are derived from the activities of our USGLSA Agent members as well as the vessel owners and operators they serve be stated in a clear and forthright manner. That is one of the important purposes of this web site and will be a continuing theme in the activities of this Association going forward.

Whether we are discussing issues relating to safety, the environment, navigation, dredging or security, just to name a few, the USGLSA, individually or in alliances with other organizations, will seek to be an advocate for positions which represent balance, common sense and economic realities while respecting the views of others. Future periodic updates of this web site and other means of communication will be part of our Association activities. I hope you will find it to be interesting and informative.

Stuart H. Theis
Executive Director

Mr. Theis is an attorney and businessman with prior associations at Cleveland, Ohio based M. A. Hanna Company and Oglebay Norton Company. At Hanna, he held a variety of legal/operational positions including Corporate Vice President with responsibilities for Hanna’s Great Lakes/St Lawrence Seaway and Ocean Marine vessel and dock operations in the U. S. and Canada. While at Oglebay Norton, Mr. Theis served as President of the Company’s Great Lakes fleet and dock operations. Most recently, he served as an independent consultant to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority with oversight responsibility for a feasibility study examining the possibility of a Trans Lake Erie ferry service between Cleveland and Port Stanley, Ontario.