A state lawmaker says Wisconsin should prohibit shippers from dumping ballast water in state ports. Ballast water from ocean going ships that enter the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway is the source of invasive species that have damaged the lakes' ecosystem, and cost millions of dollars to counteract. State Senator Rob Cowles , a Green Bay Republican, wants to prohibit ocean-going vessels that use Wisconsin ports from discharging ballast water here, and says he hopes passage of such a measure will put pressure on the federal government to act.
David Naftzger, Executive Director of the Council of Great Lakes Governors , agrees; this is a problem best addressed by the feds. Cowles says the federal government is dragging its feet, which is why he and Kenosha Democrat, Senator Bob Wirch, are proposing the ban on ballast water dumping in Wisconsin waters. Naftzger, with the governors council, says frustration is growing, and he expects more states to act independently on the issue.