WHEREAS the existing commercial navigation system on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River has led to permanent ecological damages including introduction of exotic species, lower water levels, wetlands degradation, stress on fish populations and destruction of aquatic habitats;

WHEREAS previous efforts to operate vessels in the Upper Lakes during the winter months caused damages to shoreline vegetation, shoreline structures, dispersal of contaminated sediments, and ice jams in the connecting channels that cause flooding to sections of the Great Lakes basin;

WHEREAS previous U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Feasibility Studies found that replacing the existing locks on the St. Lawrence River and Welland Canal with larger locks, and the associated need to deepen the St. Lawrence River and Connecting Channels to accommodate large ships could not be economically justified;

WHEREAS the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is once again proposing another feasibility study to evaluate “improvements” to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Navigation System that would at a maximum build a channel 35 foot deep and up to 60 feet wider from Montreal to the North and West shores of Lake Superior;

WHEREAS deepening the connecting channels and St. Lawrence River as much as 9.5 feet below the authorized depth would necessitate the dredging and disposal of hundreds of millions cubic yards of spoils, some of which could lead to public health and wildlife impacts because contamination of those sediments;

WHEREAS such improvements will increase the risk of additional exotic species entering the Great Lakes, thereby wreaking havoc on water dependent industries, including the $4 billion commercial and recreational fish industry;

WHEREAS the Great Lakes Navigation System Review conflicts with ongoing efforts by the states, provinces, federal agencies, non governmental organizations and segments of the public to restore the aquatic habitat integrity of the Great Lakes;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Great Lakes United calls on the U.S. Congress to immediately stop the Great Lakes Navigation System review, and calls on the Canadian Government to withhold financial or administrative support to the said study.