1.1    .................... moves to amend H.F. No. 74 as follows:
1.2Page 1, delete lines 4 to 21
1.3Page 2, delete lines 1 to 17 and insert:
1.4"WHEREAS, the Great Lakes are a tremendous value to Minnesota as an
1.5environmental and economic resource, both as the world's largest body of fresh water and
1.6as a crucial international shipping channel; and
1.7WHEREAS, aquatic invasive species, including the recent introduction of the fish
1.8killing VHS virus, have caused significant damage to native environments and industrial
1.9operations in the Great Lakes and around the world; and
1.10WHEREAS, Minnesota's Lake Superior ports provide Minnesota farmers, miners,
1.11and manufacturers with access to foreign markets through the Great Lakes/Saint Lawrence
1.12Seaway, with nearly 41.7 million metric tons of maritime cargo through the Port of
1.13Duluth-Superior in exchange for approximately 35.4 million metric tons of untreated
1.14ballast water in 2005; and
1.15WHEREAS, current federal law and enforcement governing the introduction of
1.16aquatic invasive species into United States waters via ballast water of oceangoing and
1.17Great Lakes ships and other sources are inadequate; and
1.18WHEREAS, because of the detrimental effects of imposing regional restrictions on
1.19shipping, there is a need for uniform federal regulation and control; and
1.20WHEREAS, there is currently nationally accepted standards for drinking and treated
1.21waste water quality that could be approved for ballast water treatment and made available
1.22to ship operators; NOW, THEREFORE,
1.23BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota:
2.1That the Minnesota Legislature has a great concern for the protection of its
2.2environmental and economic resources now imminently threatened by the VHS fish
2.3killing viruses invading Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario;
2.4That the Minnesota Legislature urges the United States Congress to acknowledge
2.5the national urgency of this problem and move quickly to enact federal legislation to
2.6establish a strong ballast water regulatory program sufficient to prohibit further VHS virus
2.7infestations and prevent future introduction of aquatic invasive species into all United
2.8States waters by requiring disinfection and sterilization of all ballast water;
2.9That the Minnesota Legislature declares its support for the efforts of the United
2.10States federal agencies, including the United States Geological Survey, the National
2.11Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Environmental Protection
2.12Agency, and the Coast Guard, and Canadian government agencies to put in place an
2.13international ballast water treatment and regulatory program for the Great Lakes and
2.14connecting channels; and
2.15That the Minnesota Legislature declares its support for a revised "Great Ships
2.16Initiative," applicable to Great Lakes monitoring and enforcement of aquatic invasive
2.17species prohibition and prevention efforts, a research and development project funded
2.18jointly by the Indiana Port Commission and other Great Lakes ports, the U. S. Department
2.19of Transportation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and other federal agencies
2.20with the revised goals of accelerating and improving existing applicable disinfection
2.21technology and the development of monitoring methods for disease and other invasive
2.22organisms found in ballast water.
2.23BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota
2.24is directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the
2.25United States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker
2.26and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, Minnesota's Senators and
2.27Representatives in Congress, federal agencies that regulate maritime transportation, the
2.28Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the International
2.29Joint Commission, United States-Canada."