Ohio -- Protecting Lake Erie is part of a bipartisan bill that passed in the U.S. Senate last week.

In a 94 to 6 vote, the Frank Lobiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act made it through the Senate and will now head to the U.S. House of Representatives.

  • Bipartisan bill passes Senate and heads to House
  • Bill passes 94-6 with measures to protect lake Erie
  • Main purpose it to continue funding U.S. Coast Guard

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said the bill aims to keep the lake safe by addressing a long-term problem.

“You have the ships coming in with their ballast water, where they let the water out, and it’s important that they don’t bring these invasive species from elsewhere, introducing them into the Great Lakes,” Brown said in an interview with Spectrum News.

The bill’s main purpose is to continue funding the U.S. Coast Guard, but it was reworded over the last few months to include ballast water regulations that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will set and the Coast Guard will carry out.

Brown worked on rewording it after blocking an earlier version that he said would have harmed Lake Erie, which already faces challenges.

“Off the coast of Toledo, it’s only 30 feet deep,” Brown said. “Contrast that with Lake Superior, the largest Great Lake, is 600 feet deep. So we know it’s vulnerable to algae blooms, we know it’s vulnerable to pollution generally, we know it’s vulnerable because of location.”

Ballast water helps keep ships upright, but it can contain invasive species like zebra or quagga mussels if it’s not treated.

Senators Brown and Rob Portman said this bill will protect Lake Erie, while helping fund the Coast Guard and keep businesses that rely on the Great Lakes thriving.

“That lake is so important to our drinking water, to our commerce, to our recreation, to who we are as a state,” Brown said.

In a statement, Portman thanked Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who serves as co-chair with him of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, for working with him to get the bill passed:

“This bill will both protect the Great Lakes against the spread of invasive species and ensure that our shipping industry in Ohio and across the Great Lakes is competitive,” Brown said.