WASHINGTON D.C. —Today, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced that 26 Great Lakes steam and diesel vessels will be able to continue carrying cargo on the Great Lakes. She championed changes in the Senate to exempt existing steam ships from strict EPA emissions standards on Great Lakes vessels. Diesel vessels will be able to apply for a waiver from EPA regulations. Without both the exemption and the waiver, these vessels would likely be decommissioned due to the high costs of retrofitting each ship, reducing the Great Lakes fleet by 50%.

“The Great Lakes fleet and our commercial harbors are vital to the transportation of American goods and is an essential part of our nation’s economy,” said Stabenow. “Making sure these vessels remain in service is critical to commerce that accounts for 180 million tons transported annually on the Great Lakes and over 235,000 jobs. I am pleased to have helped craft a deal to keep the Great Lakes fleet at full strength.”

Great Lakes steamships operating exclusively within the Great Lakes and their connecting and tributary waters will be exempted from the EPA rule under the FY2010 appropriations conference report for the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and related agencies. Great Lakes Category 3 diesel vessels will be able to apply for a waiver with the EPA to be exempted from the rule due to lack of fuel availability or because compliance under the rule would lead to a significant negative economic impact.