Debbie Stabenow News

The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) honored Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow in recognition of the significant contributions made throughout her Congressional career protecting the Great Navigation System and supporting American jobs with investment in U.S.-flagged Great Lakes shipping.Senator Stabenow, who co-chairs the bipartisan Senate Great Lakes Task Force, has been the driving force behind the protection of the U.S.' largest freshwater resource and the maritime highway that supports U.S.

According to a new study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on behalf of Transportation Institute (TI), the Jones Act continues to fuel a strong maritime industry throughout the Great Lakes region, where the PwC report shows 123,670 Jones Act-related jobs – or 20% of the national total – are based.Between 2011 and 2016, maritime employment in the region increased by 25,400 jobs. Overall, the industry generates $30 billion of economic activity and $8.45 billion in worker income in the eight Great Lakes states.“With our Great Lakes and rich maritime history, it’s no surprise this industry is an important part of Michigan’s economy,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

USS Detroit (LCS 7) was commissioned in its namesake city of Detroit on October 22. Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, officially placed the vessel in commission. "Today is about service. Cmdr. Michael P. Desmond, who command LCS Crew 108 “Ghost Riders,” assumed command of Detroit. "USS Detroit is truly blessed to have the opportunity to commission in its namesake city. Speakers included Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters. "Cmdr.

Nearly 6,500 people gathered in front of the General Motors building at the Port of Detroit for the commissioning ceremony for the U.S. Navy’s new Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), USS Detroit (LCS 7), on October 22, when the ship was officially placed in commission by Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “When a ship is commissioned she is placed in service of the American people and is given the charge to do one thing: to execute the Navy's mission – to be prepared to conduct prompt, sustained combat incident to operations at sea,” Davidson said.

The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) through 2019, in addition to improving safety and oversight. The bill increases standards for pipeline workers operating near or in the Great Lakes. It also mandates that pipeline companies prepare their equipment for harsh winter weather and create an emergency plan for spills in icy conditions. "The legislation would include designating the Great Lakes a high consequence area, updating oil spill response plans to include ice cover and requiring reviews of pipeline age and integrity," says an official statement. The pipeline legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The 20-day closure of the MacArthur Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan cost U.S.-flag Great Lakes vessel operators nearly $250,000, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). A misalignment of the miter gates forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close the lock on July 29, and it remained out of service until August 17. During those 20 days, U.S.-flag lakers were delayed 77 times for a total of 6.5 days. The cargoes delayed topped 1.8 million tons. “The lengthy failure of the MacArthur Lock adds more urgency to our efforts to build a second Poe-sized lock…

Prospects for ending the dredging crisis and resolving other pressing issues on the Great Lakes are the best in 12 years according to Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA), the trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the inland seas, in its State of the Lakes report issued today. Only uniform, Federal regulation of ballast water remains elusive, particularly since Canada has yet to issue its ballast water regulations. According to LCA, the greatest progress has been made on the dredging crisis. Just a few years ago more than 18 million cubic yards of sediment clogged ports and waterways and the backlog was projected to grow. Now, the backlog is down to approximately 17 million cubic yards and shrinking.

The Guarding Our Great Lakes Act, a bipartisan legislation designed to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of invasive Asian carp, has been introduced by U.S. Congressman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.). Additional cosponsors of the bill include Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-Mich.) and Congressman Gary Peters (D-Mich.). In 2012, Rep. Camp and Sen. Stabenow secured passage of the Stop Invasive Species Act, to expedite the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) being conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, which was supposed to formulate a plan to prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that two U.S. Areas of Concern, Deer Lake in the Lake Superior basin and White Lake in the Lake Michigan basin, have been removed from the binational list of toxic hotspots that were targeted for cleanup in the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. After decades during which only one U.S. Area of Concern was delisted, federal agencies have accelerated cleanup actions during the past five years by using Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, and four colleagues introduced legislation requiring a federal assessment of Great Lakes waters with significant cultural, historic or archaeological value for possible preservation as federal marine sanctuaries. The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Assessment Act would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to submit to Congress a report and recommendations on possible Great Lakes sanctuaries. Today, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron near Alpena, Mich., which protects scores of historic shipwrecks, is the nation’s only freshwater federal sanctuary. Cosponsors are Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., a vice chair of the Great Lakes Task Force; Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen.

A bipartisan group of Great Lakes senators, led by Great Lakes Task Force co-chairs Sen. Carl Levin and Sen. Mark Kirk, wrote today to Army Corps of Engineers leaders, urging them to direct additional funding for harbor maintenance projects to reduce the backlog of projects in the Great Lakes. The letter, from members of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy and Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, asks that…

The dredging crisis on the Great Lakes will again dominate Lake Carriers’ Association’s efforts in 2013. LCA’s 2012 Annual Report released today stressed that inadequate dredging took a real toll on Great Lakes shipping in 2012. “The drought has pushed water levels on Lake Michigan and Huron to record lows,” the Association noted. “The water level in the St. Marys River also declined as 2012 wore on; by year’s end ships were loading to less than 26 feet. In 1997, the last period of high water, ships routinely locked through the Soo drafting 28 feet or more.

Seasonal Decline in Water Levels Means Great Lakes Dredging Crisis Will Only Worsen. The water levels on the Great Lakes have begun their seasonal decline, so the impacts of the dredging crisis will become even more pronounced in the fourth quarter. Even before the Lakes began their dip, the largest ships were forfeiting more than 6,200 tons of cargo each trip. Each inch that the Lakes decline in the weeks and months ahead will slash another 50 to 270 tons from the already deflated totals. Funding for dredging the Great Lakes has been inadequate for decades.

Cantwell, Senators Urge Support for Dredging of Small Ports, Including Swinomish Channel, Port of Ilwaco. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has joined a group of Senators in urging key appropriators to include funding for dredging small and low-use ports in the fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget. Small and low-use ports are ports that don’t have enough tonnage to meet the Army Corps of Engineers’ threshold to qualify for annual dredging support but represent important economic engines of the communities they serve.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., introduced legislation that would ensure funding for federal ports and harbors across the nation. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is an original co-sponsor of the bill. If enacted, the bill would help ensure that all revenue collected by the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) would be used for its intended purpose: to properly maintain and operate harbors and ports. The bill has broad bipartisan and multi-regional support, with four Democrats and four Republicans sponsoring the legislation at the time of its introduction. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is the lead Republican co-sponsor of the bill.