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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	916
Proposal	2018 Platform Amendment - Protecting the Great Lakes
Presenter	Platform Committee Sponsored by Platform Committee
Floor Manager	Tony Ndege
Phase	Closed
Discussion	06/18/2018 - 07/15/2018
Voting	07/16/2018 - 07/22/2018
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	33 0.6666
Consens Quorum	79 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

The first Europeans to see the Great Lakes were astonished at the size and pristine quality of these bodies of fresh water which the French called “sweet seas.” The Great Lakes contain 90% of the surface fresh water on the North American continent and provide drinking water to around 40 million people in the Great Lakes Basin. It is critical that our nation afford these lakes the protection they deserve. Unfortunately, commercial uses have often trumped ecological wisdom and have led to preventable degradation of these “sweet seas” that should never have been tolerated. At this point in time, virtually all of the Great Lakes have fish consumption advisories for one or more toxic pollutants, suffer beach closures due to sewage contamination, have decimated fisheries, and are under growing threats from invasive species! It’s long past time to enact strong protective measures. Therefore, the GPUS Platform Committee submits the following proposed amendment to the GPUS Platform.

Proposal

Amend Chapter III: Ecological Sustainability Section H. Water by adding the following new paragraph on protecting the Great Lakes as point #10:

10. It is imperative that we protect the waters and shorelines of the Great Lakes, and Greens strongly urge the following actions:

1. Allocate funds to help upgrade and phase out aging municipal sewage systems and treatment plants, have mandatory inspections, and allow for composting and greywater system alternatives to septic systems.

2. Prohibit municipalities from dumping sewage into the Great Lakes with a “zero discharge” mandate.

3. Set clear and enforceable deadlines and standards for reducing nutrient runoff from agricultural lands.

4. Devise and implement a plan to stop the release of flame retardants and other toxins into the Great Lakes without further delay.

5. Immediately decommission and shut down the aging Enbridge Line 5 oil and gas pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac as it poses an unacceptable risk to the waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

6. Prevent the opening of a new sulfide mining district in northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula to protect the waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior from the inevitable pollution that would be caused by acid mine drainage from such mining.

7. Require ocean-going freighters to filter or treat their ballast water to meet high environmentally protective standards.

8. Close the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

9. Stop the dumping of toxins by petroleum refineries into the Great Lakes by making it unlawful. Such dumping is currently allowed and administered by the EPA through the purchase of permits or licenses.

10. Have the Federal government buy and protect more undeveloped areas of Great Lakes coastlines by designating them as National Lakeshores.

11. Encourage the planting of buffer strips of vegetation to act as natural filters of toxins and contaminants, prevent erosion, and provide species habitat between waterways and developed land.

Resources

Approval of this proposal will amend the 2018 GPUS Platform

CONTACT:
Platform Committee - Bruce Hinkforth, co-chair, bhinkforth@milwpc.com, 262-569-1370; Linda Cree, co-chair, creelinda@hotmail.com, 906-942-7076
Co-authors - LuAnne Kozma, luannekozma@gmail.com; Tom Mair, traversgreen@yahoo.com, co-author

References

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/09/americas-sewage-crisis-public-health/405541/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-great-lakes-pollution-20171128-story.html

https://www.nwf.org/Our-Work/Waters/Great-Waters-Restoration/Great-Lakes

https://vault.sierraclub.org/greatlakes/downloads/2008-06-activisttoolkit.pdf

https://greatlakes.org/campaigns/protecting-great-lakes-water/

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/01/16/aging-septic-systems-fouling-michigan-waters/96639750/

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