Full Text of SR0098 98th General Assembly
SR0098 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0098 | | LRB098 07300 JDS 37363 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan Car Ferry, Inc., owns and operates | 3 | | the S.S. Badger , a 410-foot steam-powered car ferry that sails | 4 | | between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan, | 5 | | approximately 134 days each year; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Every day that the S.S. Badger operates it dumps | 7 | | into Lake Michigan nearly 4 tons of coal ash, which contains | 8 | | arsenic, lead, mercury, and other metals that can damage | 9 | | aquatic ecosystems; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The quantity of that discharge exceeds the | 11 | | combined coal, iron, and limestone discharges of the 125 other | 12 | | large freighters operating in the Great Lakes; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The S.S. Badger currently operates under a 2008 | 14 | | National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) | 15 | | General Permit that authorizes it to continue dumping coal ash | 16 | | into Lake Michigan until December 19, 2012; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, During the drafting of the 2008 Vessel General | 18 | | Permit, Lake Michigan Car Ferry, Inc., indicated that it would | 19 | | take steps to eliminate its coal ash discharges before December | 20 | | 19, 2012; and
|
| | | SR0098 | - 2 - | LRB098 07300 JDS 37363 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan Car Ferry, Inc., did not take those | 2 | | actions and has subsequently sought approval from the United | 3 | | States Environmental Protection Agency to continue dumping | 4 | | this hazardous material into Lake Michigan for another four | 5 | | years under an individual NPDES permit; therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the | 8 | | Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection | 9 | | Agency to protect the aquatic ecosystems that sustain life in | 10 | | and around Lake Michigan by denying Lake Michigan Car Ferry's | 11 | | NPDES individual permit application for the S.S. Badger; and be | 12 | | it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 14 | | delivered to the Administrator of the United States | 15 | | Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of Region 5 | 16 | | of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the | 17 | | Illinois Congressional delegation.
|
|