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by Jeff Alexander | Source: The Muskegon Chronicle

Freighters may continue to wash unlimited quantities of coal, limestone and other dry cargo residues into the Great Lakes under a new federal policy.

The U.S. Coast Guard Monday finalized an interim policy that allows the long-standing but controversial — and possibly illegal — practice of washing dry cargo residues into the lakes to continue indefinitely. The policy enacted Monday replaces a 1998 interim policy.

The new policy requires shippers to keep records of where and when they wash cargo residuals into the lakes and the quantities involved. It also banned the practice, known as washdown or dry cargo sweeping, in 11 ecologically sensitive areas on the lakes.

Read the for/against reactions from many stakeholders >>

Source: Lake Carriers Association

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.4 million net tons in August. While the total represents an increase of 12 per cent compared to a year ago, shipments in August of 2007 were sluggish, said the Lake Carriers’ Association.

“The five-year average is the better barometer,” said the Association, “and in that regard, this August was off the pace by nearly 100,000 tons.”

Although water levels have risen, the dredging crisis continued to limit the amount of stone vessels could deliver to customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Eric McGuinness | Source: The Hamilton Spectator

St. Marys Cement says a water-pumping test at the site of its proposed limestone quarry had no impact on groundwater off its property and no effect on drinking water wells in the area north of Carlisle.

Detailed results will go to the Ontario Environment Ministry for study prior to a proposed second round of testing the company wants to conduct this fall.

Read more about the history and testing of this project at the Hamilton Spectator >>

Jordana Huber | Source: Windsor Star

According to a report released in August by the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency, more than 500 tonnes of iron ore pellets, coal, limestone, cement, salt and grain are washed into the Great Lakes each year by U.S. and Canadian bulk carriers.

“Some say it is like a highway in Lake Ontario where the ships go because it is so littered with rock and limestone and coal that it has coated the bottom like a road,” said Mark Mattson, president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. “I have pictures of slicks from the water when they dump the coal and you can see it from the air and you can see them floating from the ships.”

… The results of the U.S. Coast Guard’s environmental analysis further confirms Canada’s regulations are appropriate, he said.

“Environmental impact studies suggest the impact is negligible for the cargos that are allowed to be discharged under the Canada Shipping Act,” said Riverin.

Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have all opposed cargo sweeping, along with 56 mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, who warn toxic metals seeping out of waste can harm wildlife and people who eat fish contaminated by the metals.

… A 1999 study by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that residues of cement, grain, coarse limestone and wood pulp are not likely to cause serious environmental damage or produce negative impacts on plants and animals in the Great Lakes.

The Coast Guard report said tests conducted in vessel track lines found larger particle deposits but chemical concentrations found in cargo at the bottom of the lakes were well below levels known to be harmful to organisms.

… According to the Coast Guard report, the amount of residual cargo swept overboard is equal to .0006 per cent of the 165 million tonnes annually transported across the Great Lakes.

“Of course there is damage but whether anyone can pin it on cargo sweeping as the problem — that is difficult,” Mattson said. “Everybody knows you shouldn’t throw garbage in the lake and the only people who don’t know it are the shipping industry, who say we can’t prove it is a problem.”

Fascinating story, much more detail & quotes at the Windsor Star >>

John Myers | Source: Duluth News Tribune

Minnesota officials call it a dirty practice that’s fouling Lake Superior, but ships carrying coal and taconite likely will continue “sweeping’’ their waste cargo into the Great Lakes.

The U.S. Coast Guard is about to approve a new regulation giving Great Lakes freighters a permanent pass on dumping some 2 million pounds of bulk cargo residue overboard each year.

U.S. laws and an international treaty prohibit ships from dumping waste into the Great Lakes or within 12 miles of shore in the ocean. But Congress in 1993 approved a temporary exemption continuing the practice of sweeping excess taconite pellets, coal and limestone into the Great Lakes.

In 2004, after a series of temporary exemptions, Congress extended the sweepings exemption through Sept. 30, 2008, and ordered the Coast Guard to study the issue and come up with a permanent plan.

The agency is scrambling to get a regulation in place by that deadline. If a permanent rule isn’t in place by Sept. 30, the Coast Guard technically would be required to fine Great Lakes ships for dumping any material into the lake.

… Great Lakes ship crews for at least 70 years have been “sweeping’’ or washing leftover bulk material overboard to keep from contaminating future loads of other materials and to keep their decks and equipment clean.

Shipping companies say they can’t operate without sweeping their ships and that regulations to dispose of the materials on land would be too costly.

… Ship owners claim the amount of cargo washed overboard is harmless and just a small fraction of the 165 million tons of cargo shipped on the lakes each year.

“The amount of dry cargo residue being washed down is truly minute,’’ said James H.I. Weakley, president of the Cleveland-based Lake Carriers Association, in comments to the Coast Guard. The group represents 63 U.S. freighters.

Much more to this story on both sides, quotes and specifics at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Source: Dredging News Online

The Lake Carriers’ Association in the US says shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.2 million net tons in July, a decrease of 4.8 per cent compared to a year ago, and a drop of nearly 9 per cent compared to the month’s five-year average.

“Although water levels are rising, not all ports are benefiting to the same degree,” said the Association. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Alternative Energy Foundation

Natural Source Printing (NSP), an FSC Certified and Carbon neutral source for sustainable, eco-friendly printing, packaging, and marketing materials has introduced FiberStone™ Papers- a line of tree-free, low carbon footprint papers. NSP has been producing labels, unit cartons, POP displays, casepacks, brochures, catalogs, annual reports and high quality pressure sensitive labels on the stone paper material.

FiberStone™ Tree-Free papers come from an abundant renewable, sustainable resource- limestone.

Loyer adds, “More and more green conscious companies are focusing on sustainable and low carbon footprint materials. Our own unique FiberStone™ Tree-Free Papers have a carbon footprint that is at least 1/3 that of virgin paper, half that of recycled paper.” Loyer explains that the production of FiberStone™ Papers uses no water in processing, no trees, no chemicals, and very little energy to produce.

Right now calcium carbonate is used as a whitening agent for regular virgin and recycled paper, but people have discovered that it can replace virgin or recycled paper altogether. To the touch, it feels like a regular coated paper. And because it doesn’t require water to manufacture, it saves more than just trees.

Read the full article at the Alternative Energy Foundation >>

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.2 million net tons in July, a decrease of 4.8 percent compared to a year ago, and a drop of nearly 9 percent compared to the month’s 5-year average.

Although water levels are rising, not all ports are benefitting to the same degree. For example, a large integrated tug/barge unit was able to deliver 34,442 tons of stone to a customer at the southern end of Lake Michigan, yet when destined for Lake Superior docks, its cargos fell to 30,411 tons and 30,144 tons. The water level on Lake Superior has been rising quickly, but lack of dredging still forced the vessel to lightload by 4,000 tons or more.

For the year, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 16 million tons, a decrease of 4.4 percent compared to the same point in 2007. Shipments are more than 10 percent behind the 5-year average for the January-July timeframe.

Source: Dowagiac News

Standing on Dock 63, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, hailed the return of commercial activity to St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Inner Harbor as the first commercial freighter docked Aug. 8.

Upton in late March called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to designate the harbor for emergency dredging after severe shoaling clogged the harbor and made it impassable for commercial traffic.

Upton’s emergency designation cleared the way for $1.8 million in federal funds to reopen the vital waterway for Great Lakes shipping.

… The freighter Sam Laud delivered the first commercial shipment of the season at 8:30 a.m. Friday - 12,800 tons of limestone for construction of the I-94/U.S. 131 interchange in Kalamazoo County.

Quotes, more about dredging and port operations at the Dowagiac News >>

by Nathan Phelps | Source: Green Bay Press Gazette

The St. Marys Cement terminal in Green Bay sees about 20 shiploads of cement a year.

It is one of more than a dozen businesses along the Fox River in Green Bay that handled 2.3 million tons of cargo last year — from cement to limestone and lumber.

“Moving the product by water is the most economical and cost-effective way of moving our product,” said Greg Leiteritz, who works out of the Green Bay terminal in sales and technical service.

While it may not be readily apparent, much of what comes through the port is used by the consumer on a daily basis, from road surfaces to coal for energy.

The Green Bay operation is one of three terminals St. Mary’s operates in the state, in addition to a plant in Milwaukee.

The cement passing through Green Bay is produced in Charlevoix, Mich., and is sent to Green Bay primarily via barge and tug combinations.

It’s then loaded onto trucks and sent to between 30 and 50 customers around a region stretching west to Wisconsin 13 and north into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Leiteritz said.

… St. Mary’s cement is used in applications, including ready-mix, block producers and pre-cast producers.

Roads, driveways and sidewalks are where most people will find cement from St. Marys, said Mike Vizer, terminal manager.

Arrow Concrete in Green Bay is one of the users who truck cement from the terminal to its ready-mix facilities and on to commercial, residential and farm work sites.

“Basement floors and walls, garage floors, commercial walls … barnyards, bunker feeders,” said Allan Duchateau, owner of Arrow.

Arrow uses about 16,000 tons of concrete a year on 100 to 150 projects in the Green Bay area, he said.

While cement and other bulk goods coming through the port may be taken for granted, they have an almost daily interface with residents — whether those residents know it or not.

“Almost everything, in one way or another, comes back to the consumer,” said Port Director Dean Haen. “Some things are more direct like cement — for driveways and foundations and roads — and liquid asphalt for tar.

“But even the limestone gets used in agricultural applications and in smokestack scrubbers,” he said.

Much more about the cargoes handled in Green Bay, throughout the lakes at the Green Bay Press Gazette >>

by Jeff Alexander | Source: The Muskegon Chronicle

A potential showdown is brewing between state and federal agencies over the U.S. Coast Guard’s longstanding practice of allowing freighters to wash unlimited amounts of coal and other cargo residues into the Great Lakes.

Each year, the Great Lakes shipping fleet washes upwards of two million pounds of cargo residue — primarily coal, limestone and iron ore — off freighters and into the lakes. The practice, used since the 1930s, prevents cargo residues from contaminating subsequent loads of other materials.

Federal law and an international treaty prohibit ships from dumping waste into the Great Lakes. But the practice has continued because Congress in 1993 approved a temporary policy, a loophole essentially, that allowed it on an interim basis. The Coast Guard now wants to make that policy permanent.

… “Minnesota solid waste rules prohibit the disposal of solid waste into waters of the state of Minnesota, including Lake Superior,” said Paul Eger, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, in a letter to the Coast Guard.

Eger disputed the Coast Guard’s claim that cargo residues washed off ships sink quickly and do not harm water quality.

“Coal has been observed and collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the shoreline beach of Minnesota Point, Duluth,” Eger said. “This coal did not dissolve or dissipate in the waters of the lake, but instead floated and accumulated along the beach in Duluth.”

Michigan officials said they were unaware freighter operators washed cargo residues into the lakes until 2006, when The Chronicle first reported on the practice.

“Such discharges appear to be in violation of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act,” said Rich Powers, chief of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Bureau, in a letter to the Coast Guard.

More to the story — quotes, rebuttals and study results — at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes from US and Canadian ports totalled 4.4 million net tons in June, a small increase - of just 11,558 tons, which represents one load of cargo in a 600ft long vessel.

The Lake Carriers’ Association said the dredging crisis in the Great Lakes continued to have an impact on the trade.

A large tug/barge unit that has carried more than 35,000 tons of limestone in a trip twice saw its load fall below 30,000 tons in June. The vessel’s top load in June was only 34,036 tons.

For the year, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 11.8 million net tons, a decrease of 4.2 per cent compared to the same point in 2007.

Shipments are more than 10 per cent behind the five-year average for the first half of the year.

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

The Lake Carriers’ Association says shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.2 million net tons in May, a decrease of 3.4% compared to a year ago. However, May stone cargos were nearly 11 per cent off the month’s five-year average.

“While demand remains sluggish in some markets, the dredging crisis continued to limit deliveries,” said the Association.

“A comparison of three cargos carried by the same vessel illustrates the debilitating effects of inadequate dredging. All three cargos were loaded at the same Michigan quarry. The first totaled 25,619 tons, or only 90 per cent of the vessel’s rated carrying capacity. Subsequent cargos slipped even more, first to 23,297 tons, and then to 21,751 tons.”

“Had the vessel been to deliver full loads, its customers would have received 86,000 tons of limestone. Instead, they received 70,667 tons.”

“For the year, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 7.4 million net tons, a decrease of nearly 6.7% compared to the same point in 2007. Shipments are more than 14% behind the five-year average for the January-May timeframe.”

ALAN INGRAM | Source: Morning Journal

LORAIN — The project to bring a limestone grinding mill to the industrial park on Lorain’s east side is on hold.

”The project is on hold from Carmeuse (Lime & Stone),” Mayor Anthony Krasienko said last night, adding that the city hasn’t received official in writing.

When Carmeuse acquired Oglebay Norton, Carmeuse was examining its needs for facilities, Krasienko said. Until that assessment is made, the project is on hold.

Giardini said the reevaluation has a direct correlation to the slow housing construction market. Crushed limestone is used in many different building materials, including wallboard, paint and the backing on roof shingles, he explained.

Read the full story at the Morning Journal >>

By Erica Dakins | Source: Marketplace Today

The Port of Green Bay released information on its economic impact today to help show the importance of the port to Green Bay.

“The port is an integral part of this area’s economy,” Port of Green Bay Manager Dean Haen says. “It co-exists with waterfront recreation opportunities and continues to be the most viable environmental method of transportation.”

In 2007, the Port of Green Bay had an economic impact of $76 million, which is slightly down from the reported economic impact of $88 million in 2006, according to the Port of Green Bay Web site. The port supported more than 600 jobs in 2007, which is less than the 725 reported in 2006.

… The Port has 13 active terminal operators, responsible for bringing in coal, limestone, cement, salt, fuel oil and other manufacturing needs to the Green Bay area. The port handled 2,537,522 metric tons of cargo in 2006.

Find business news from Northeast Wisconsin’s business magazine, Marketplace Today. Great site!

Source: Duluth News Tribune

Shipments of taconite rose as limestone shipments fell on the Great Lakes in May, according to reports issued by the Lake Carriers Association today.

U.S. vessels delivered 7.3 million tons of taconite pellets in May — 15.4 percent more than they did during the same month last year and 16.4 percent more than the five-year average.

Higher water levels helped, with some lakers able to carry about 1,200 tons more per trip than last year.

Yet the Lake Carriers Association continues its call for increased dredging, saying that if shipping channels were restored to their prescribed depths, some of the larger lakers could carry another 5,000 to 6,000 tons of taconite each trip. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Eric English | Source: Tri-Cities Business Review

Freighter operators will benefit from $2.5 million in dredging planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear shoals in the Saginaw River channel as far upstream as Saginaw.

“It won’t be perfect, but it will be in a lot better shape than it is right now. The river will have a lot more functionality,” said Wayne Schloop, chief of operations for the Army Corps in Detroit.

Two or three feet of silt is built up in some sections of the river’s channel, Schloop said. That forces freighters to lighten their loads - and consequently their profits - in order to keep from getting stuck.

…The Corps’ dredging plans are welcome news to William G. Webber, head of the Saginaw River Alliance, a group of 18 companies tied to the shipping industry.

“The river is in horrible condition, but hopefully by mid-August we’ll be in respectable condition,” said Webber, owner of Sargent Docks and Terminal Inc., which has facilities in Essexville and Saginaw.

Webber said the Saginaw River shipping industry also will benefit this year from significant demand for bulk products such as agricultural fertilizers and rock salt.

“All the (road commission) storage barns are completely out of road salt after the winter we had. We expect to see 350 tons shipped,” Webber said.

Bringing in road salt by truck instead of freighter would add $20 to $25 a ton to the cost, he estimates.

Ships also are expected to deliver large loads of potash, used in fertilizers, and limestone, used for roadbeds and construction, Webber said.

More interviews, information at the Tri-Cities Business Review >>

Related:

• Download LCA Report (PDF)

Source: Lake Carriers’ Association

Cleveland—With harsh, winter-like weather extending into April, the Great Lakes limestone trade got off to a slow start.

Shipments during the month totaled 3 million net tons, a decrease of 3 percent compared to a year ago, and 11 percent below the month’s 5-year average. Since much limestone is rinsed prior to loading, the trade must await warmer temperatures before resuming full-scale.

Dredging Crisis Still Has Stranglehold on Lakes

The dredging crisis continued to impact the trade in April. One U.S.-Flag Laker carried three limestone loads from a quarry in Michigan during the month, but the loads varied noticeably because of lack of dredging in the connecting channels and at discharge ports. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education — Great Lakes Maritime Transportation Education

For Grades 1-5

Lesson Overview
This activity will enable students to understand how much Great Lakes shipping impacts their lives everyday.  They will make the connection between raw materials that make up the cargo on the Lakers, to the finished products they produce.  The 6 raw materials used will be grain, salt, coal, iron ore, limestone, and sand/gravel.

Objective
To identify five products made from five different raw materials most commonly carried by ships on the Great Lakes.

Download the lesson plan (includes materials list, instructions, worksheets and photos) here.