Regulatory action needed now to stop the spread of VHS into Lake Superior

A new map (click here to open it, sorry I can't display it in this post), produced by Geoff Maas of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, makes frighteningly clear why we need immediate action to stop the unregulated discharge of ballast water from spreading invasive species in the Great Lakes.  Since 2003, the invasive fish disease Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) has spread through four of the five Great Lakes, with only Lake Superior still unharmed.  The map shows a chronology of the spread of VHS and the most significant “ballast water donor” and “ballast water receiver” ports.  Stopping the spread of VHS into Lake Superior is a major concern for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy in its ongoing litigation to force the state to regulate ballast water discharges.  President-elect Obama has also pledged a “zero tolerance policy for invasive species” which can be fulfilled by directing the EPA to regulate ballast water discharges and stop the spread of invasive species immediately.