| Northeast-Midwest Institute Weekly Update |
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NEMWI Releases "Harmful Microbes in Ballast Water: Protecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem"
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NEMWI released today a new Note to the Coalitions entitled "Harmful Microbes in Ballast Water: Protecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem". The NEMWI, with support from the Great Lakes Protection Fund (GLPF), led a team of experts from Cornell University, Old Dominion University, the University of Minnesota, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Great Lakes Commission in a multi-year project to explore the need for-and best tools and methods to accomplish-a cost-effective early-detection monitoring system for ship-mediated harmful microbes in the Great Lakes.
"The Harmful Microbes project is another example of how NEMWI uniquely aids the [NEMW] Coalitions by drawing together experts from a wide and unorthodox range of regional sources to provide policy decision makers with solid 'news they can use'," stated Steven LaTourette, former Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition Chairman, and current chair of the NEMWI Board of Directors. "It also shows the value of the Great Lakes Protection Fund in supporting investigations like these." "The Institute's team of leaders has created tools that helps transform pathogen management from damage control to early detection and prevention," commented David Rankin, Vice President of Programs at the Great Lakes Protection Fund. "Their work not only protects the ecological resources of the Great Lakes, but also safeguards the region's water transport system, water supply network, and recreational fishery."
The Note describes project findings around the following questions: Don't we already monitor everything in the Great Lakes? Why are we concerned about ships? Do ship-mediated microbes in the Great Lakes warrant early detection and monitoring? Is productive early detection and monitoring feasible? What would an early detection and monitoring program look like for harmful microbes, and how would it compare to and fit in with other Great Lakes monitoring programs? The Note concludes that early detection and monitoring of ship-mediated harmful microbes in the Great Lakes is warranted, useful and feasible using methods demonstrated through the project.
Ships have been shown to carry harmful microbes, including viable pathogens, in their untreated ballast water. Consequently, fish kills since 2005 in the lower Great Lakes arising from Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) fueled protracted debate over the need for restrictions on ship ballast discharges into the apparently yet unaffected Lake Superior. Conflicting assumptions as to the extent of the virus distribution led stakeholders to arrive at conflicting conclusions regarding how to best prevent further unnecessary environmental and economic costs. The project methods helped resolve the controversy around Lake Superior and VHSV, and help prepare the Great Lakes region for efficient and effective response to the inevitable next viral outbreak. The Note to the Coalitions summarizes the project's final report entitled: "Harmful Microbes in Ballast Water: Protecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem."
For more information, please contact Allegra Cangelosi, President, Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI Technical Advisory Committee Convenes in Herndon, VA
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As part of the NEMWI project Toward Sustainable Water Information, members of the Shale Gas Technical Advisory Committee convened last week in Herndon, VA. In cooperation with USGS, NEMWI is conducting research to determine whether the region's water monitoring programs at the Federal, state, and local levels are adequate to support decision-making. The Technical Advisory Committee is working on a case study to determine what data are needed and available to answer the question, "Do shale gas development activities contaminate surface or groundwater in the Susquehanna River Basin?" The committee includes members representing Federal, state and regional agencies, environmental organizations, industry, and academia. This project will ultimately provide recommendations on how to improve the use of our region's water monitoring infrastructure to inform policy decision-making that affects our water resources. The NEMWI project is supported by a cooperative agreement with USGS. For more information, contact Erik Hagen, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Webinar on New York State Combined Heat and Power
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The EPA Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership Program is hosting a webinar on the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority's (NYSERDA) most recent CHP-related Program Opportunity Notice (PON), CHP Acceleration Program, PON 2568. The PON includes a system catalog that is intended to reduce project development barriers for small to medium-sized CHP projects in the size range 50kW-1.3MW. The catalog also has the potential to serve as a model for other state policy makers as an effective tool to promote CHP. You can learn more about the webinar and register here.
For more information, please contact Fritz Ohrenschall, Research Associate at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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