Lake Michigan National Monument!
The two past presidents did it - they preserved marine sanctuaries as
they left office.
What a legacy for President Obama to leave for the world!
Reasons:
• Protect drinking water for millions of residents in Illinois,
Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.
• Increase commercial value to 4 bordering states. Mounting mercury levels already have caused severe economic harm to the area, especially to industries like
fishing and tourism.
• Evenly enforce mercury emissions regulations. The states are not up to the task.
Let’s make it happen!
For a fuller discussion, please read the following white
paper.
Lake Michigan Mercury Free
White Paper
Summary
Introduction
In the heart of the United States lies Lake Michigan, one of
the largest freshwater lakes in the world. Of all the Great Lakes –
Superior, Huron, Ontario, Erie and Michigan – only Lake Michigan lies entirely
within the borders of the United States. Lake Michigan contains assets,
resources and potential crucially important to the nation’s well being.
Major population areas rely on Lake Michigan for their water supply and
economic well-being.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this white paper is to support Presidential
executive action declaring Lake Michigan a national mercury free zone in order
to safeguard human health and to ensure lasting, efficient and comprehensive
protection and management of this major Midwestern drinking water supply, its
ecosystems and wildlife.
Advancement of environmental policy
Lake Michigan, under threat of mercury poisoning
and as the only Great Lake entirely within U.S. borders makes the perfect
prototype for this targeted action. The proposed action advances overarching environmental goals of the United States, especially climate
protection and clean energy, and is consistent with the President’s policy of
using executive action to advance those goals.
The complexity and fragility of environmental conditions,
interstate aspects of the lake, national interests in Lake Michigan and current
U.S. jurisdiction over its waters all impel comprehensive federal control that
will stop any and all mercury emissions before they can reach Lake Michigan.
I. Lake Michigan in its entirety needs to be mercury
free
A. Lake Michigan supplies drinking water to millions and
thus must be safeguarded against toxins. Neurotoxic mercury is a public
health hazard even in small amounts and must be kept from the Lake.
B. Lake Michigan’s fresh water is a strategic asset and will
become increasingly crucial as population and global competition for resources
grow.
C. A mercury-free environment will afford a clean,
hospitable place for humans to live, work, raise families and flourish.
D. A clean lake with a healthy ecosystem will be a
major source of food, but mercury contamination will destroy its capability to
provide this essential human need.
E. A healthy, mercury-free environment will drive
regional prosperity.
F. Polluters should pay. A mercury-free Lake
Michigan rightfully prioritizes the health and well being of the general public
over industrial polluters. Declaring Lake Michigan a mercury free zone
will shift the burden of mercury removal to polluters before mercury can enter
the Lake Michigan environment.
G. National action is required; the surrounding states
have failed to protect this national asset.
H. A mercury-free environment will safeguard diverse
ecosystems and wildlife habitats on the lakeshores.
I. The Third Coast was considered of such national
significance as to be included with the East and West Coasts under the auspices
of the United States Marine Protection Act; a mercury free zone will preserve
these marine-related assets and usher in a new era of economic prosperity as
illustrated by the Marine Sanctuary’s beneficial effects on Monterey,
California.
J. Historic significance - geologic, human and natural
- will be conserved in a mercury-free environment.
K. The solution of declaring Lake Michigan mercury free
is closely tailored to the problem.
II. Presidential executive action is imperative
Ample authority supports Presidential action
The President’s authority to act in this matter may be drawn
from a number of sources, including the following:
A. Emergency powers under the U.S. Constitution
B. Antiquities Act
C. National Marine Sanctuaries Act
D. National Environmental Policy Act
F. Clean Air Act
G. Fish and Wildlife Act
L. The Interstate Commerce Clause
For further discussion, see IV below.
III. Benefits to be gained from making Lake Michigan a
National Monument
A. Lake Michigan supplies drinking water to millions and
thus must be safeguarded against toxins. Neurotoxic mercury is a public
health hazard even in small amounts and must be kept from the Lake.
The Great Lake Michigan is one of the major freshwater
supplies in the world and provides drinking water for millions of people in the
four states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin that border it.
Mercury is highly toxic to all human and marine life, damaging brains and
nervous systems.
EndFragmentB. Lake Michigan’s fresh water is a
strategic asset and will become increasingly crucial as population and global
competition for resources grow.
Lake Michigan’s waters and shores bring economic vitality to
the Midwest; a mercury free zone will enhance these assets and usher in a new
era of economic prosperity as illustrated by the beneficial effects of marine
protected areas on the Monterey Bay region in California. The United
States has a compelling interest to protect this Great freshwater source
against mercury poisoning in order to preserve the continued health and
vitality of the region.
C. A mercury-free environment will afford a clean,
hospitable place for humans to live, work, raise families and flourish.
D. A clean lake with a healthy ecosystem will become a
major source of food, whereas mercury contamination will destroy this resource
of elemental human need.
Commercial fishing has disappeared from Lake Michigan due to
heavy metal contamination. Recreational fishing is restricted for the
same reason. A clean lake would allow these fisheries to be restored.
I. A healthy, mercury-free environment will drive regional prosperity.
but a polluted lake repels all human recreation and activity.
E. A healthy, mercury-free environment will drive
regional prosperity. Tourists come to swim, sail, visit coastal parks
lighthouses, and other historic sites along the lake, vacation at lakeside
resorts with local farm specialties, taste wines and buy fruit and produce –
but a polluted lake repels all human recreation and activity.
From its northern to southern tips, Lake Michigan’s beauty
and recreational opportunities draw visitors from all over the world.
Coastal parks dot the shorelines of all four states. Chicago’s 26 miles of
public beaches attract swimmers and boaters while paths along the shores lure
bicyclists, skate boarders and baby strollers.
Two national parks occupying a combined lake frontage of
approximately 80 miles, draw multiple millions of guests both domestic and
international each year and endow all four surrounding states with significant
economic benefits from recreational tourism, fishing and diving.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Rolling dunescapes and glacial moraines of Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore stand as sparkling monuments to the Ice Age when glaciers carved
lakes from rivers and left dunelands of finely polished sands along the
shores. Dunes nearest the water’s edge mark ancient shorelines from 2000
to 6000 years ago. Fossilized mollusks wash up with the waves, artifacts
from the freshwater lake’s past as a shallow saline sea. The Lake serves
as a museum repository of crinoids from the Paleozoic era, hundreds of millions
of year ago.
Most of the ecosystems that exist in the eastern United
States can be found within the Indiana Dunes parklands. The arctic pine
grows within steps of a prickly pear cactus; oak savannahs stand
close to wetlands.
Henry Cowles, father of Ecology, identified the theory of
plant progression by observing vegetation on dunes that now belong to the
National Lakeshore.
The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore received more than two
million visitors in 2010. The park offers 15 miles of Lake frontage with
dune and marshlands containing unique flora and fauna. Sand Dunes made of fine
glacier-ground grains rise up to 125 feet high along the lakefront; these
sands, almost entirely composed of quartz, have been melted into glass for
commercial use. Glacial moraines, vestiges from glacial action at the
south end of the lake, stretch inland for many miles. On its shores and in its
waters, crinoids and other fossils of early geologic ages are to be found, along
with stones that give areas special acclaim such as the Petoske stones.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
At the upper northeastern edge of the Lake, Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore sits along 64 miles of Lake frontage
and is reknown for 78 different species of fish. Its bluffs
soar to 450 feet; unique flora and fauna thrive on its coastal lands. The park
offers an outstanding combination of natural and cultural resources including
historic sites, such as lighthouses, the barns, farms, orchards of the
Historical Port Oneida Rural District, and a maritime museum.
Recreational activities include camping, swimming, guided hikes and bird
watching. Cultural features include the 1871 South Manitou
Island Lighthouse, three former Life-Saving Service/Coast Guard
Stations and an extensive rural historic farm district. In 2011, the area won
the title of "The Most Beautiful Place in America" from Good Morning
America.
F. Polluters should pay. A mercury-free Lake
Michigan rightfully prioritizes the health and well being of the general public
over industrial polluters.
The cost of pollution should be “privatized,” that is, the
polluters should pay the cost of detoxifying their waste discharges into the
Lake, rather than forcing the public to beat the costs of pollution. The
public should not be burdened with paying for cleanup; polluters need to
detoxify before discharge.
Invaluable assets are imperiled by toxic mercury poisoning
carried to the Lake by both air and water. Mercury is introduced
primarily by coal-burning power plants, and by discharges of oil refineries
into the Lake’s waters and tributaries.
Coal burning and other industrial plants around the Lake
release mercury into the air; airborne mercury, combining with other elements,
settles into Lake waters, accumulates and does not evaporate away. Oil
refineries discharge mercury-laden waste into Lake waters from processing
petroleum feed stocks, including Canadian tar sands.
Declaring Lake Michigan a mercury free zone rightfully
shifts the burden of mercury removal to polluters before it can enter the Lake
Michigan environment. Many companies profit from their production without
paying the external costs caused by releasing mercury into the air or
water. The cost of mercury removal should not be a burden on the
taxpayer.
G. National action is required; the surrounding states
have failed to protect this national asset.
The complex interstate networks of rivers, streams, winds
and precipitation that bring mercury into Lake Michigan from all four states
and beyond compel a unified national solution to keep mercury from reaching the
Lake.
The surrounding states of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Michigan have proven to be ineffective in protecting the Lake, including weak
enforcement of the Clean Air and Water Acts; Indiana permits BP to dispose of
almost nine times the amount of mercury into the Lake than allowable under EPA
guidelines.
H. A mercury-free environment will safeguard diverse
ecosystems and wildlife habitats on the lakeshores.
Lake Michigan’s 1638-mile shoreline, including its 238 miles
of islands, supports dynamic human and animal life in its waters and along its shores,
and its diverse ecosystem provides a home to many species of fish, birds,
marine mammals, and other flora and fauna including the endangered.
Lake Michigan’s coastal marshes, prairies, savannas, hardwood forests and
towering sands dunes – some up to 450 feet high – make excellent habitats for
extensive numbers and species of wildlife.
1. Fisheries
Prevalent fisheries on the Lake include trout, salmon,
walleye and small- and largemouth bass, bowfin, yellow perch, whitefish, smelt,
walleye; crawfish, freshwater sponges and sea lamprey, and a metallic violet
species of eel also inhabit the waters.
Successful stocking programs for Pacific salmon in the late
1960’s spawned a charter sports fishing industry in Lake Michigan.
Rising mercury levels have caused the cessation of
commercial fishing on Lake Michigan.
2. Wildlife
Bird populations are comprised of water birds such as ducks,
geese and swans, as well as crows, robins and bald eagles. Hawks, vultures and
other predatory birds also live along the lake, drawn by the abundant wildlife
prey. Endangered species like the piping plovers make their home there, along
with nocturnal bobcats, snowshoe hares and northern flying squirrels.
3. Vegetation
The endangered Pitcher’s thistle and the yellow Michigan monkey-flower
dot the shorelands. In the Lake’s northern waters South Manitou Island
reveals a dazzling array of wildflowers as well as an old-growth grove of giant
northern white cedars and a dozen species of orchids.
Fertile farmlands nestled within the watershed yield
bounties of fruits, berries, produce, wines and honey.
I. The Third Coast was considered of such national
significance as to be included with the East and West Coasts under the auspices
of the United States Marine Protection Act
The Great Lakes are recognized under the national Marine
Protection Acts as the Third Coast and need to be preserved the same way that
other national coastal shores like Cape Hatteras and Big Sur.
The Lake Michigan National Mercury Free Zone will facilitate
coordinated management among Federal and State agencies and other entities, as
appropriate, to provide comprehensive conservation of the marine and coastal
ecosystems and related marine resources and species consistent with applicable
authorities and management principles.
J. Historic significance - geologic, human and natural
- will be conserved in a mercury-free environment: the rich heritage of
the formation of the Great Lakes, the French and Native American fur trading
history, America’s movement west from original colonies, the Northwest
Territory, the fertile fields and clean rivers that attracted settlers from all
over the earth seeking opportunities in the New World, among others.
The area in and along the Lake has great cultural
significance to the entire country, particularly as a primary place of commerce
among early 17th century French and Native American fur traders who fished in
canoes and hunted along the water’s edge. Early French traders
established forts, trading posts and missions beginning in the 1500’s until the
mid-1700’s, leaving a rich legacy of navigation, global trading network on Lake
Michigan’s shores and leaving ancient vestiges in names like Racine (root),
Frankfort (Frankish fort), Sault Ste. Marie State Forest Area (a jumping point
to the St. Mary’s River) reflect this early heritage.
Historic and scientific national treasures held in Lake
Michigan’s waters and coastal lands depend on conservation and management of
these resources. Myriad objects of historic and scientific interest including maritime
heritage resources like museums and lighthouses are situated on the lands owned
or controlled by the Government of the United States in the waters and along
the shores of Lake Michigan.
As an example of the yet undiscovered antiquities that lie
beneath Lake Michigan’s waters, a row of stones paralleling an ancient
shoreline was discovered in 2007, with ancient carving that resembles a mastodon.
The U. S. Coastguard has recently taken aerial photos that
reveal a World War II shipwreck and the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association
asserts that 300 shipwrecks since the late 1600’s have been found beyond the
Lake’s surf line. The Great Lakes have acted as a natural transportation
system linking the center of the country to Canada and the world at large.
K. The solution of declaring Lake Michigan mercury
free is closely tailored to the problem. The lethal threat that mercury
poses is common knowledge; no one can want mercury in Lake Michigan’s
waters. Banning mercury in the entire Lake ties the remedy to the problem
in a targeted way with equal treatment to all four bordering states.
Declaration of the entirety of Lake Michigan waters as a
national mercury free zone provides an efficient and efficacious mechanism to
protect the drinking water supply and other national interests of the national
waters of Lake Michigan and its surrounding coastal area against the
acknowledged scourge of mercury poisoning that threatens all life in and around
the Lake;
IV. Presidential executive action is imperative
Ample authority supports Presidential action
The President’s authority to act in this matter may be drawn
from a number of sources, including the following:
A. Emergency powers (United States Constitution implied
power)
The Presidential power to take action when national assets
and personnel are imperiled has long been recognized as part of the executive
duties of the office.
B. Antiquities Act (16 U.S.C. 431)
Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225,) (the
"Antiquities Act") authorizes the President, in his discretion, to
declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric
structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are
situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States
to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the
limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible
with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.
In 2009 President George W. Bush proclaimed by executive
order “that there are hereby set apart and reserved as the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument (the "monument" or
"national monument") for the purpose of protecting the objects
described above, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the
Government of the United States within the boundaries described on the
accompanying map entitled "Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National
Monument" attached to and forming a part of this proclamation. The Federal
land and interests in land reserved includes approximately 140,000 square miles
of emergent and submerged lands and waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of
the objects to be protected.” In so doing he cited the Antiquities Act as
authorization for the President, in his discretion, to declare by public
proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other
objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned
or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments,
and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all
cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care
and management of the objects to be protected;
Whereas it would be in the public interest to preserve the
marine area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and certain lands as necessary
for the care and management of the historic and scientific objects therein. . .
“
C. National Marine Sanctuaries Act (33 U.S.C. 1401 et
seq.)
The National
Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce
to designate and protect areas of the marine environment with special national
significance due to their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical,
scientific, cultural, archeological, educational, or esthetic qualities as
national marine sanctuaries.
National
Marine Sanctuaries Act, (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and the National
Marine Sanctuaries Amendments Act of 2000,
Public Law
106-513, and in furtherance of the purposes of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.),
In 2000 President William Clinton ordered special protection
for 3.5 million acres of coral reefs in Northwestern Hawaii, citing authority
vested in him as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States of America, including the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, (16 U.S.C.
1431 et seq.), and the National Marine Sanctuaries Amendments Act of 2000,
Public Law 106-513, and in furtherance of the purposes of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), Marine
Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), Coastal
Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1362 et seq.), Clean
Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), National Historic Preservation Act (16
U.S.C. 470 et seq.), National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (16
U.S.C. 668dd-ee), and other pertinent statutes.
D. National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq.)
Declaring Lake Michigan to be a national mercury-free zone
is exactly the type of action envisioned by the National Environmental Policy
Act: "To declare national policy which will encourage
productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote
efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere
and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the
ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to
establish a Council on Environmental Quality.”
NEPA also provides, in pertinent part, that its purpose is
“to ensure that environmental factors are weighted equally when compared to
other factors in the decision-making process undertaken by federal agencies.
The act establishes the national environmental policy, including a
multidisciplinary approach to considering environmental effects in federal
government agency decision-making.”
E. Clean Water
Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.),
“The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure
for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States
and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was
enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the
Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. ‘Clean Water Act’
became the Act's common name with amendments in 1972.”
F. Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social
Welfare, chapter 85)
“The Clean Air Act is a federal law
designed to control air pollution
on a national level. It requires the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the
public from airborne
contaminants known to be hazardous to human health. The Clean
Air Act regulates 188 air toxics, also known as ‘hazardous air pollutants.’
Mercury is one of these air toxics. The Act directs EPA to establish
technology-based standards for certain sources that emit these air toxics.
Those sources also are required to obtain Clean Air Act operating permits and
to comply with all applicable emission
G. Fish and Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.)
The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 grants the Secretary of
the Department of the Interior broad authority to, “take such steps as may be
required for the development, advancement, management, conservation, and
protection of fish and wildlife resources. ...”:
H. Coastal Zone
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.)
The U.S. Congress recognized the importance of meeting the
challenge of continued growth in the coastal zone by passing the Coastal Zone
Management Act (CZMA) in 1972. This act, administered by NOAA, provides for the
management of the nation’s coastal resources, including the Great Lakes. The
goal is to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or
enhance the resources of the nation’s coastal zone.”
I. Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in
1973, it recognized that our rich natural heritage is of “esthetic, ecological,
educational, recreational, and scientific value to our Nation and its people.”
It further expressed concern that many of our nation’s native plants and
animals were in danger of becoming extinct.
The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled
species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is administered by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commerce Department’s National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS). The FWS has primary responsibility for terrestrial and
freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine
wildlife such as whales and anadromons fish such as salmon.
J. National
Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.),
The Congress found and declared that-
“(1) the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded
upon and reflected
in its historic heritage;
(2) the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation
should be
preserved as a living part of our community life and
development
in order to give a sense of orientation to the American
people;
(3) historic properties significant to the Nation's
heritage are being lost
or substantially altered, often inadvertently, with
increasing frequency;
(4) the preservation of this irreplaceable heritage is in
the public interest
so that its vital legacy of cultural, educational,
aesthetic, inspirational,
economic, and energy benefits will be maintained and
enriched for
future generations of Americans;
(5) in the face of ever-increasing extensions of urban
centers, highways,
and residential, commercial, and industrial
developments, the present
governmental and nongovernmental historic preservation
programs and
activities are inadequate to insure future generations a
genuine oppor-
tunity to appreciate and enjoy the rich heritage of our
Nation;
(6) the increased knowledge of our historic resources, the
establishment
of better means of identifying and administering them, and
the encour-
agement of their preservation will improve the planning
and execution of
federal and federally assisted projects and will assist
economic growth
and development; and
(7) although the major burdens of historic preservation
have been borne
and major efforts initiated by private agencies and
individuals, and both
should continue to play a vital role, it is nevertheless
necessary and appro-
priate for the Federal Government to accelerate its
historic preservation
programs and activities, to give maximum encouragement to
agencies and
individuals undertaking preservation by private means, and
to assist State
and local governments and the National Trust for Historic
Preservation in
the United States to expand and accelerate their historic
preservation
programs and activities.”
|
(16 U.S.C. 668dd-ee)
The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
ensures that the National Wildlife Refuge System is managed as a national
system of related lands, waters, and interests for the protection and
conservation of our Nation's wildlife resources.
It builds on the 1966 Act that provides guidelines and
directives for administration and management of all areas in the system,
including "wildlife refuges, areas for the protection and conservation of
fish and wildlife that are threatened with extinction, wildlife ranges, game
ranges, wildlife management areas, or waterfowl production areas."
L. The Interstate Commerce Clause (enumerated power in
U.S. Constitution)
The U.S. Supreme Court held in the case In re Debs, 158 U.S.
564 (1895) that the government had a right to regulate interstate commerce along
with a responsibility to ‘ensure the general welfare of the public.’
