Great Lakes Center of Expertise will focus on oil spills

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters recently issued a media release regarding actions he has helped take to prevent oil spills in the Great Lakes.

Peters said he and others took action after realizing the state isn’t adequately equipped to handle a potential spill in the Great Lakes. As a result, the U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes Center of Expertise was created.

He said the state simply lacked the scientific research and technologies to quickly address an oil spill in freshwater. Such an incident, he said, would be catastrophic, particularly a spill in the Straits of Mackinac, where strong winds and fluctuating tides would cause oil to spread far and wide.

Peters said Detroit PBS and Great Lakes Now have teamed up to produce a TV segment highlighting the work of the Great Lakes Center of Expertise and those who support its critical mission.

The Great Lakes Center of Expertise brings together national and international experts to devise techniques and solutions that will help ensure we are prepared to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a spill.

Its headquarters are dual headquartered at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor.

The TV segment can be found through a link on Peters’ webpage.