Victory for Lake Superior in battle against invasives

When it comes to defending the Great Lakes from the assaults of invasive, destructive critters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has hardly lived up to its name. The federal agency hasn't even been enforcing the Clean Water Act, despite two court rulings, in 2005 and 2006, that it must.

After this week, the EPA may no longer be able to dodge its responsibility. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the lower-court rulings, obligating the EPA to finally begin regulating the discharge of ballast water from ships plying the Great Lakes.

"The court recognized the harmful effects of ballast water, which the EPA has too long ignored," Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said in a statement yesterday (she and the state were secondary plaintiffs in the case against the EPA). "This decision is a win in protecting Lake Superior from invasive species that harm both the economy and the environment."

Ballast water, used for stability, has been a major source of invaders such as round gobies, zebra mussels and spiny water fleas. They stow away in the water from their natural habitats and then wreak havoc once arriving in the Great Lakes and elsewhere. Their numbers have been known to grow until they overwhelm entire ecosystems. The result has been billions of dollars in damage to fisheries, recreation and public infrastructure.

Swanson's office called the problem an "epidemic," and may have been putting it mildly.

This week's court ruling allows ballast to be regulated by states, which generally enforce pollution rules. That's something Minnesota already had been planning to do on Lake Superior. Beginning Sept. 30, ballasted ships in the state's waters will need permits. Also, ships will be required over the next eight years to begin treating ballast water.

Elsewhere on the Great Lakes, legislation pending in Congress would phase in mandatory ballast treatment for some ships.

The ruling this week doesn't end the war against invasives, but it was a welcome victory in one battle.