Letter to The Honorable Ken Salazar, Secretary Department of the Interior
Letter
The Honorable Ken Salazar, Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
Dear Secretary Salazar:
I write today in strong opposition to the designation of the S.S. Badger as a National Historic Landmark.
Operated by the Lake Michigan Car Ferry Service, the 58 year-old S.S. Badger is the last coal-fired ferry operating in the United States. As the ship sails from its home port of Ludington, MI, to Manitowoc, WI, it dumps more than one ton of coal ash into Lake Michigan on each crossing. That is more than 500 tons of coal ash each year. Coal ash contains arsenic, lead, and mercury. All of these chemicals can cause cancer when consumed in drinking water, cause serious damage to fish populations, and poison fish that are part of our food supply.
Under an agreement negotiated between the owners of the SS Badger and the US EPA, the current EPA vessel general permit gives the SS Badger a December 2012 deadline to retrofit the ferry with a new boiler that would prevent further coal ash dumping. While the Michigan Car Ferry Service had over four years to make upgrades to the ferry, it now appears it has quietly been working to either extend this deadline or gain a permanent waiver from EPA regulation.
The National Historic Landmark designation was created to commemorate properties that have special significance in American history. The designation has been appropriately used to protect sites including the home of President Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, IL, and the S.S. Milwaukee Clipper, a retired steamship in Muskegon, MI. It appears Lake Michigan Car Ferry Service may be attempting to use this designation to circumvent efforts by EPA to ensure that the ferry stops dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan. The National Historic Landmark designation was never intended to allow polluters, like the Lake Michigan Car Ferry Service, to avoid complying with federal regulations.
Lake Michigan is the primary source of drinking water for more than ten million people and a key component of the $7 billion Great Lakes fishing industry. We cannot let Historic Landmark Status be used to evade the federal regulations we rely on to protect public health and the environment.
This is more than a car ferry with a venerable tradition. This is a vessel that generates and dumps four tons of coal ash laced with mercury and arsenic into Lake Michigan every day. This Great Lake cannot take any more toxic dumping, no matter how historic or quaint the source may be.
Sincerely,
Richard J Durbin
Source