Michigan Sen. Peters highlights Port of Monroe during tour with customs officials
Monroe, MI – A local seaport’s campaign to more broadly participate in international trade attracted some of the country’s highest-ranking border security officials.
On Monday afternoon, the Port of Monroe hosted a delegation of bureaucrats from Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that has largely barred the port from handling international containerized and break bulk cargo. Experts have said those actions have cost the community millions of dollars in revenue, job creation and economic growth.
Joined by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, Port Director Paul LaMarre III spoke with Troy Miller, the acting commissioner of CBP, and a gathering of CBP officials and local politicians.
“Every time CBP officers are at the port, we’re incredibly thankful,” LaMarre said. “… Because of (CBP’s current policies), we have lost more cargo than we’ve handled.”
During a tour, LaMarre pointed to several partnerships in which the port has played a part, as well as future potential for further projects. It currently handles synthetic gypsum and bottom ash through its work with DTE Energy, which operates the Monroe Power Plant.
The port also works with General Electric Wind, Ventower and Gerdau Steel, LaMarre said, adding that he is proud of the work that the port has been able to accomplish.
But LaMarre expressed his desire to expand the port’s ability to handle international cargo. Peters, the chair of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, said the hope is to find a cooperative way in which to facilitate that venture.
“(The port) has a significant impact on economic development — not just in Monroe County, but the entire region,” Peters said. “A key partner in that is Customs and Border Protection.
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway also have the ability to ease the burden placed on ports on the country’s coasts, where costs are dramatically rising, Peters said. “… We have this underutilized resource that can bring cargo right into the heartland of the United States, and in the process create good-paying jobs in Michigan,” Peters said.
A federal grant of nearly $771,000 was awarded to the port earlier this year. The grant will be used to fund the purchase of upgraded cargo screening equipment, specifically a radiation portal monitor, which scans cargo for traces of nuclear or radiological material.
LaMarre said the port is also in the process of pursuing a $14.4 million federal port development grant, which would be used to upgrade the seaport’s security gate, pave additional areas of the port and construct an additional security facility.
The port has long sought to increase its ability to handle containerized cargo and break bulk cargo. LaMarre has often pointed to Monroe’s location on Lake Erie, which gives it proximity to Canada and the St. Lawrence Seaway, as advantageous. Its proximity to major transportation routes also gives it a competitive edge, he said.
“We would immediately be able to capitalize on regional manufacturing (companies) and become a hub,” LaMarre said.
CBP previously intervened in two deals spearheaded by the port. A pilot program with Ford Motor Co. in 2016 would have positioned the port to export Ford Mustangs in containerized cargo to Europe via the St. Lawrence Seaway. That deal fell apart when CBP said it could not regularly dedicate the manpower needed for such efforts.
A year later, as a ship neared the Port of Monroe carrying break bulk cargo earmarked for Arauco North America, CBP officials rerouted that ship to the Port of Cleveland, stating the local port needed to make a series of security upgrades to be able to handle such cargo.
Such restrictions were not in effect at the Cleveland or Toledo ports, which has fueled criticism of trade policy inequities among Great Lakes states.
A 2018 University of Michigan study examined the two cases, and determined CBP’s policies cost the community jobs and tens of millions of dollars of revenue.
Peters has been an active partner with the port in attempting to address the issue. For years, he has sought answers as to how CBP implements its policies and why restrictions differ state to state.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, has also pressed for answers from CBP. And earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a resolution calling for equitable regulations for all Great Lakes ports.
LaMarre said discussions to revive the Ford Mustang project have persisted, despite the current policies in place. The project would move several thousand vehicles a year through the port and the seaway.
Similar talks have also occurred between the port and other auto companies manufacturing vehicles and parts in the state. The port also would likely be able to attract additional opportunities with other manufactures operating in Michigan, LaMarre added.
“The opportunities are still out there,” he said. “We fight for them every day.”
Read more at this link: https://www.monroenews.com/story/news/2021/08/16/sen-peters-port-monroe-underutilized-resource/8146247002/?fbclid=IwAR3FpxeX2B9LLhrcpOHzadyRE0RrX898I-BOhqPSZDB6FAxHC28t3YMwa2A
Despite wet summer, water levels in Lake Michigan not expected to reach record peaks
Holland, MI – Water levels in the Great Lakes have decreased from record heights in 2019 and 2020, although they still remain above their average levels, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicated in its weekly forecast.
On Aug. 6, water levels in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, which are measured together, were forecasted to be 17 inches lower than at the same point last year, USACE data shows. However, the forecast indicates the lakes are still 17 inches above their average water levels.
Despite heavier than average rainfall in Michigan in June and July, USACE researchers do not expect lake levels to set new records.
“Very heavy rainfall occurred across a large portion of the Great Lakes basin in late June and July,” USACE Detroit District Great Lakes Watershed Hydrology Chief Keith Kompoltowicz said in a release.
“This significant precipitation led to a rise in Lake Michigan-Huron water levels in July after a several months stretch of stable water level conditions.”
The pier at Holland State Park greets waves from Lake Michigan on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Park Township, Mich. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicated while water levels in the Great Lakes remain above average, they are down from record highs in 2019 and 2021.
Michigan is known for its abundant water, but elevated lake levels can pose issues for property owners in coastal regions. Higher water leads to shorter beaches and can accelerate shoreline erosion, which in turn could threaten homes and buildings built on beaches.
Addressing coastal resiliency has been a priority for lawmakers. In a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill which recently passed the U.S. Senate and is poised to become law, $500 million is earmarked to create a low-interest loan program for local governments specifically for spending on bolstering shorelines against threat of erosion.
“Extreme flooding, rising water levels and coastline erosion are destroying lives and livelihoods on the Great Lakes and across Michigan,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said in a statement. Peters authored the legislation which became the loan program earlier this year.
Stones along the pier at Holland State Park are swept with waves on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Park Township, Mich. After years of record high water levels in Lake Michigan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released data indicating the lake’s level has decreased since last year.
At the local level, water levels can be a factor for planning infrastructure as well. Sean Mullligan, park supervisor at Holland State Park, said officials take water levels into account when building or constructing improvements to walkways and structures at the park.
“With the levels as high as they were in the past, it was impacting some of our infrastructure a lot more,” Mulligan told The Sentinel. “We’ve got so much beach out there that it really doesn’t affect the beach so much, it’s more along the lines with the channel walkways and things like that.”
While there are not many structures along the beach at Holland State Park, erosion that threatens homes has found a way to affect the park in the past. Mulligan said in previous years when water levels were higher, debris like docks and beach access stairs have washed up on the beach after being “claimed” by Lake Michigan.
Holland Sentinel
