Environmental group sues to protect Lake Superior from fish virus

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy wants the state to prohibit freighters from dumping untreated ballast water.

By Tom Meersman, Star Tribune

Last update: August 27, 2007 - 9:41 PM

A state environmental group sued the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Monday for allegedly not taking action to protect Lake Superior and other state waters from a deadly fish virus.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, in a suit filed in Ramsey County District Court, wants the state to prohibit Great Lakes freighters from dumping untreated ballast water into Duluth Harbor and other ports. The suit claims that ballast water contains fish wastes, fish reproductive materials and infected fish that can spread a virus called viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS).

The virus is a "direct threat to Minnesota's important natural resources" and constitutes an "impending water pollution crisis," according to the complaint, because it kills fish by severe hemorrhaging that results in organ failure.

The virus has been found in all of the Great Lakes except Lake Superior and has killed large numbers of more than a dozen species, including walleye, muskellunge, smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch and black crappies. The suit contends that in addition to the Great Lakes, many of Minnesota's interior lakes and waters are at risk if the virus spreads.

In response to the suit, MPCA Commissioner Brad Moore said that the state is pursuing a two-track approach. National regulations rather than separate state laws would be a more effective way to regulate ships' wastes, Moore said, but the "MPCA is doing essential research and analysis" to prepare state rules in case federal authorities fail to act.

Minnesota is one of several states to have filed a friend of the court brief in a federal lawsuit requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate ballast water discharges through a permit program. That case was originally filed in San Francisco and is pending before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Kevin Reuther, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy attorney, said that the state's main strategy -- waiting and hoping for federal action -- is a mistake. He said federal authorities have delayed action for several years while the virus spreads rapidly.

"We acknowledge that there has to be a national or international solution eventually since ships are traveling all over," he said. "But Minnesota needs to be a leader, not a follower, especially since Lake Superior isn't infested yet."

Michigan is the only Great Lakes state so far to have passed a law regulating ship owners who dump ballast water in Michigan ports. That law, which became effective this year, requires all ships doing business in Michigan waters to have a state permit that either prohibits ballast water discharge, or allows it only if the water is treated or filtered to remove potential problems.

Tom Meersman • 612-673-7388

Tom Meersman • meersman@startribune.com

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