In January 2008, Save The River and Great Lakes United teamed up with 44 organizations from around the Great Lakes region to release a critique of the Army Corps of Engineers report on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway shipping system.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has backed away from Seaway expansion, but missed an enormous opportunity to develop a blueprint for a sustainable shipping system,” argue the groups in a joint statement.

 Read the full statement by regional environmental groups here.

Read the formal comment letter submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers here.

In November 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Report, which is a follow-up to a highly controversial study recommending the physical expansion of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

While this most recent report doesn’t focus on physically expanding the Seaway – a victory for the River and Great Lakes, the report falls short of formally removing expansion options from further study.

Read Save The River’s statement (November 26, 2007) on the release of the Report.

Read our background fact sheet on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River study.

Save The River kicked off its Clean Up the Ballast Campaign by endorsing a Great Lakes United petition calling for an immediate moratorium on ocean-going ships. The petition calls for a moratorium until strong ballast protections are in place to prevent new aquatic invasive species introductions into the River and Great Lakes. Individuals, businesses and organizations can sign on to the petition at www.saltfreelakes.org

For more information:

• ‘Clean Up the ballast Campaign’ launched Watertown Daily Times 4.23.07
• STR Ballast campaign fact sheet  
• STR Invasive species fact sheet  

A hearing on invasive species and ballast issues was held by Assemblyman Darrel Aubertine and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney on September 17th at the Clayton Opera House. Save The River provided testimony about the damage caused by invasive species and the need for Federal and State regulation.

To read Save The River’s testimony click here.

March 21st, 2007 marked the earliest Seaway opening ever. The opening date was predetermined in February and did not take into consideration the conditions on the River.Read our press release and letter to the Seaway Administrator outlining our opposition .

Read Save The River’s Press Release: Save The River Urges Seaway Officials to Reconsider Opening Date, Defines Criteria for Opening.

Read Save The River’s Letter to Seaway Administrator Collister ‘Terry’ Johnson

The Seaway opened on March 22nd for the 2008 shipping season, whis was the second earliest opening date on the River.

To learn more about Save The River’s concerns about early opening of the Seaway, read our position paper Save The River Policy Statement on Opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway Shipping Season.

In 2007, most of the beaches tested were within state and federal standards for swimming water quality, however Wilson Beach still had high bacteria levels. In response to consistently high bacteria levels at Wilson Beach in 2006, Save The River increased sampling at the beach for the 2007 season to gather more information on swimming water quality. Wilson Beach results for this summer have improved since 2006, but bacteria levels have still spiked above water quality standards for two out of the five weeks of sampling.

To learn more:

• BeachWatch 2007 Fact Sheet
• BeachWatch 2007 Full Listing of Results

The Summer 2008 snapshot of water quality at local beaches was overall within the state and federal standards for swimming water quality. Bacteria levels at Wilson Beach spiked above water quality standards on one sampling date, July 22. Overall this is an improvement over past years when multiple sampling dates indicated high bacteria levels at the beach. All other swimming areas were within standards for all sampling dates.

Below is information on the 2008 sampling season results:

• BeachWatch 2008 Sampling Results 
• Save The River 2008 Beach Watch Report