Andrew Wetzler's Blog
Fish Ebola Poised to Hit the Mississippi
July 21, 2008
Posted by Andrew Wetzler in Reviving the World's Oceans , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , U.S. Law and Policy
The Washington Post reports that viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a disease often described as “fish ebola,” has been discovered in southern Lake Michigan and a reservoir in Ohio. Hemorrhagic septicemia is an invasive species, most likely brought into the great lakes in the ballast water of ships transporting cargo from the Atlantic. Like many invasives, it has spread rapidly, taking advantage of an ecosystem that never evolved the capacity to deal with it. Now the virus stands, literally, on the doorstep of the Mississippi, potentially providing it access to a whole new ecosystem in which to wreak havoc.
As I’ve blogged about before, the spread of invasives like hemorrhagic septicemia is one of the main reasons we need to get serious about controlling invasive species and, especially, ballast water pollution. The House of Representatives is taking up a bill (H.R. 2830) that contains provisions which would set rigorous standards for ballast water treatment and disposal. Unfortunately, the bill puts off implementation of these standards for years, preempts virtually all state laws addressing ballast water pollution, and could even be read as preempting the Clean Water Act itself, one of our bedrock environmental laws. In our view, that’s an unwise tradeoff, especially considering the agency that will be implementing the new federal standard will be the U.S. Coast Guard, which doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to protecting the environment.
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Comments
Kirsten — Jul 22 2008 10:39 AM
Ugh. This sounds horrible. If the House bill is no good then we don't want to tell our Reps to support it. But then what *is* the best way for people to get involved to help stop this kind of problem?
Andrew Wetzler — Jul 22 2008 12:43 PM
Good question Kristen. We need to support strong ballast water standards at both the federal and state levels. Several states are considering such legislation now and some--such as Michigan--have already passed ballast water control laws. On the federal level, we need controls similar to those proposed by the bill, but without the delays and waivers that the current bill incorporates. And that, I think, is the key message to convey.