Almost ten years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began spending millions of taxpayer dollars studying proposals to physically expand the St. Lawrence Seaway to allow in much larger ships. Seaway expansion would require dredging hundreds of millions of cubic yards throughout the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, removing portions of islands in narrow reaches of the St. Lawrence River, and replacing numerous locks to accommodate larger ships. This massive re-tooling proposal to enlarge Great Lake and St. Lawrence River shipping channels would destroy miles of fragile habitat, re-suspend polluted sediments and exacerbate the problem of invasive species coming into the Great Lake in ship ballast tanks.

The report – called the Great Lakes Navigation System Review – was met with fierce opposition across the Great Lakes basin. Hundreds of citizens spoke out against the plan at public hearings and submitted comments opposing further study of Seaway expansion. Hundreds of environmental and conservation groups weighed in demanding that expansion be removed as an option for the future of the St. Lawrence Seaway System.

Today – almost ten years later, the Corps has finally, formally removed these expansion options from the report, thereby removing the recommendation to further study the idea of Seaway expansion. This change signals a significant shift in direction, and an opportunity for the region to rally behind a healthy future for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River!

Visit Save The River’s Navigation Study page for more information. You can also read the full Supplement to the Great Lakes Navigation Study on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.

Background

Fifty years ago, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened amid great fanfare and ringing predictions of economic growth in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region. Unfortunately, these predictions went unfulfilled, while the introduction of invasive species from ocean going vessels to the fresh waters brought disastrous environmental consequences.

The Seaway operates well below its capacity, yet over the past 22 years citizens have had to repeatedly fight back expansion proposals that would seek to allow wider, longer, and deeper vessels to operate on the Great Lakes. Physical expansion would worsen the environmental impacts of the Seaway. Communities around the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River have called on the governments of the United States and Canada to make it clear that expanding the Seaway is no longer an option.

Today, we also know that there are specific and tangible economic benefits linked to a healthy Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. There is currently unprecedented momentum behind policies that will begin to restore the ecology of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region, and it is essential that commercial navigation activities on the Seaway are reformed to make them consistent with these restoration goals.

In the latest iteration of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has made a significant step forward by formally removing expansion from future planning for commercial navigation on the Lakes and River. This is a significant victory for communities around the region. We need your help to write the Corps and thank them for listening to and acting on community input.

For more information, download Save The River’s background fact sheet on the Great Lakes Navigation System Study.

Take Action!

Write the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and thank them for taking Seaway expansion off the table!

Find contact information and sample language below. Please call us with any questions, and thank you for speaking out for the protection of the St. Lawrence River!

Points to include in your Letter:

• Explain why the St. Lawrence River/Great Lakes is important to you.

• Support the Corps’ removal of Seaway expansion options in the Supplement to the Reconnaissance Study for the Great Lakes Navigation System Review.

• Urge the Corps to focus future study on reducing the existing, historic and future environmental impacts of commercial navigation on the resource.

• Thank the Corps for listening to the public and taking Seaway expansion off the table!

Send your comments by August 31st to the addresses below:

Project Manager

GLNS – Supplemental Recon.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

7th Floor

477 Michigan Avenue

Detroit, MI 48226

Thank you for speaking out on behalf of the health of the St. Lawrence River!

In 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a study to determine the feasibility of expanding the Seaway to accommodate movement of larger shipping vessels through the Seaway. (Visit our Navigation Study page for more background.)

The expansion of the Seaway would mean the destruction of miles of fragile habitat, re-suspension of polluted sediments and exacerbate the introduction of invasive species into the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

Today – more than ten years later, the Corps finally, formally removed these expansion options from the report, thereby removing the recommendation to further study the idea of Seaway expansion. This change signals a significant shift in direction, and an opportunity for the region to rally behind a healthy future for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River!

Download our backgrounder – Seaway Expansion and the Great Lakes Navigation System Review – for more information on the history of the issue and a summary of the current report. Or, download the full U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Supplemental Reconnaissance Study.

Take Action

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding a public comment period, which ends August 31, 2011. Download an action alert that includes details on how to submit comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Join Save The River and Great Lakes United for a free lunch-time briefing on the latest news from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Navigation study. (Learn more about Save The River’s involvement in this issue here)

For more information on the webinar and how to register, read on for information from Great Lakes United.

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. It’s not too late to reserve your spot at our free webinar! Join a discussion with experts Jennifer Caddick and Stephanie Weiss on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Navigation Study. This webinar will take place on Tuesday, August 2nd at 12:00pm EDT. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/617942966 Victory! Great Lakes- St. Lawrence River Navigation Study takes a 180! U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposals to widen and deepen locks and channels on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River have long been a point of contention for those concerned with Lakes and River protection and restoration. Widespread citizen engagement in Corps planning over the past decade stressed the need for commercial navigation to operate sustainably within this fragile freshwater environment. In a huge victory, the recently released final Great Lakes Navigation Review Supplemental Reconnaissance Report reflects citizen concerns and rejects initial recommendations to physically expand locks and channels. The Report also added some promising recommendations on determining how to reduce environmental impacts of commercial navigation. Join a discussion with Jennifer Caddick and Stephanie Weiss from Save the River to discuss the significant changes in the latest Corps navigation Report, and how your organization can get involved. Facilitator: Jennifer Nalbone, Great Lakes United Title: Victory! Great Lakes- St. Lawrence River Navigation Study takes a 180! Date: Tuesday, August 2, 2011 Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer Great Lakes United is pleased to offer this service to our members and the public. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Lauren Cheal at lcheal@glu.org.

Save The River has learned that an amendment has been added to the House version of the Climate Change bill that paves the way for Seaway expansion: an ill-conceived, economically unjustified, environmental disaster for the St. Lawrence River. The amendment was added by Mid-Western lawmakers looking to create a federal power authority in the Great Lakes region. Unfortunately, proponents also see the power authority as a source of funding for Seaway expansion.

Seaway expansion refers to the enormous infrastructure project of enlarging the locks and channels of the St. Lawrence Seaway to make way for larger vessels to access the Great Lakes.  This massive re-tooling proposal would destroy miles of fragile habitat, re-suspend polluted sediments and exacerbate the problem of invasive species coming into the Great Lakes in ship ballast tanks.

Only a few years ago, Seaway expansion was soundly rejected by the citizens of the Great Lakes basin, after it was proposed in a Corps of Engineers study called the Great Lakes Navigation System Review. A that time, citizens and lawmakers alike strenuously objected to any proposal that would adversely effect the St. Lawrence River’s ecology and vibrant tourist industry dependent on a healthy River. Also, in 2003, the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute did a study which cast serious doubt on the ability of an expanded system to draw the traffic necessary to make it economically justifiable.

In light of everything we know today about climate change and the increasing importance of our freshwater resource, physical expansion is not a sustainable direction for the navigation system. The industry must commit to a future that does not include physical expansion, and begin operating within the constraints of the Lakes and Rivers, instead of reshaping the Lakes and Rivers to fit the navigation industry.

Read more in coverage from the Watertown Daily Times.

Take Action!

Write to your Senators today to urge them to protect the River and Lakes by opposing any language in the Climate bill that could be used to pave the way for Seaway expansion.

Points to include in your letter to your Senators:

• I urge you to oppose the creation of a Federal Power Authority in the Great Lakes region, which could lead to expansion of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

• This authority was proposed in an amendment on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454) and should not become law because it could provide a funding source to expand the locks and channels of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes.

• Seaway expansion is the wrong direction for the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes, this priceless freshwater resource should be restored not degraded!

• In July of 2003, the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute did a study which cast serious doubt on the ability of an expanded system to draw the traffic necessary to make it economically justifiable.

• Seaway expansion has been shown to be environmentally disastrous for the freshwater of the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes – which hold almost 90% of the fresh surface water in North America

• Seaway expansion would destroy miles of fragile habitat, re-suspend polluted sediments and exacerbate the problem of invasive species coming into the Great Lakes in ship ballast tanks.

Send your comments to the addresses below:

The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand –
United States Senate
478 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Or, contact Senator Gillibrand directly via her website.

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
United States Senate
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-3201
Or, contact Senator Schumer directly via his website.

Don’t Vote in New York? We need your help too!

If you vote in a state other than New York, send a letter to your home Senators as well, using the following address:

The Honorable _______________________
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Not sure who your Senators are? Visit the U.S. Senate website and click on the ‘Find Your Senators’ box in the upper right hand corner.

In January 2008, Save The River and Great Lakes United teamed up with 44 organizations from around the Great Lakes region to release a critique of the Army Corps of Engineers report on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway shipping system.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has backed away from Seaway expansion, but missed an enormous opportunity to develop a blueprint for a sustainable shipping system,” argue the groups in a joint statement.

 Read the full statement by regional environmental groups here.

Read the formal comment letter submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers here.

In November 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Report, which is a follow-up to a highly controversial study recommending the physical expansion of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

While this most recent report doesn’t focus on physically expanding the Seaway – a victory for the River and Great Lakes, the report falls short of formally removing expansion options from further study.

Read Save The River’s statement (November 26, 2007) on the release of the Report.

Read our background fact sheet on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River study.