(MN) Minnesota Public Radio – Critics of Minnesota’s new ballast water permit system will argue in court today that the system doesn’t do enough to protect Lake Superior from invasive species. They say with a deadly fish virus infesting every Great Lake except Lake Superior, the state needs to act more quickly and more effectively.
As a result, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency now requires ships to install equipment to kill organisms in the ballast, but the equipment doesn’t have to be in place and working until 2016.
The MPCA’s Jeff Stollenwerk said Minnesota’s system is a good one. He said Minnesota is the only state that has rules for all ships on its Great Lake — Wisconsin’s permit only covers ocean-going ships. More