There’s an important issue looming in Michigan, one that has been overshadowed of late by understandable media focus on road funding, national politics, international terrorism and refugees.
I refer to the commendable efforts of Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters to push for federal support of a new super-sized shipping lock at Sault Ste. Marie.
They announced last week that the Army Corps of Engineers and White House budget officials now support a $1.35 million cost-benefit study that, assuming it comes out as Michigan hopes, could, as noted by the Detroit Free Press, “be the first step toward a new $600-million lock in Sault Ste. Marie that freight companies, steelmakers and other industry partners have wanted for years.
“For more than a year, members of Michigan’s congressional delegation have been urging the Corps to undertake a new study of the economic rationale for building a second lock the size of the existing Poe Lock at the key choke point between Lake Superior and the lower lakes on the Upper Peninsula.”
Stabenow said: “The Soo Locks are the gateway for Great Lakes freighters. This support will allow the Army Corps to start the process of making upgrades and building a replacement lock. A failure of the aging locks causing even a temporary outage could cost our economy millions of dollars.”
Peters, noting that the Soo Locks are among the nation’s busiest, said: “This funding will help the Army Corps of Engineers make critical upgrades.”
Retiring 1st District U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, is a long-time advocate on the issue. He said: “Ever since I came to Congress, I have been fighting to see a replacement lock built at the Soo. This study by the Army Corps is an important step in the process, and I am pleased to see that it is moving forward.”
It’s not just the congressional delegation that warns of consequences of a Poe Lock shutdown. State Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, who represents counties in both peninsulas, said in a commentary in the St. Ignace News:
“The Lake Carriers’ Association predicts such a shutdown would affect Michigan’s economy so deeply that more than 22% of the state’s workers would become unemployed.”
Snyder gets bum rap
As of this writing, Gov. Rick Snyder has been getting a bum rap on the refugee issue for his call for a “temporary pause” in admissions to Michigan until the Obama Administration spells out its vetting system to assure terrorists don’t enter.
Snyder initially was portrayed in some reports as wanting to block settlement of Syrian refugees in Michigan. For speaking out so early, he was a focus in the national press, including Time Magazine, as speaking for the majority of the nation’s governors.
He said: “Our state must be open to the people looking to rebuild shattered lives just as it should be open to those who come here to learn in our universities or those who come to build or invest in our state’s industries.
“We must never confuse the people who look to us for safety and opportunity with those who wish to do us harm. I am simply asking for assurance that the federal process will know the difference.”
Snyder reiterated that Friday in an interview with National Public Radio. Also last week, Oscar-winning documentary film-maker Michael Moore said in a letter to Snyder:
“I just wanted to let you know that contrary to your declaration of denying Syrian refugees a home in our state of Michigan, I myself am going to defy your ban and will offer MY home in Traverse City, Michigan, to those very Syrian refugees you’ve decided to keep out. I will contact the State Department to let them know I am happy to provide a safe haven to any Syrian refugee couple approved by the Obama administration.”
He expressed disappointment “in you, Governor Snyder, for your heartless and un-Christian actions.”
My bet is that the federal vetting process will satisfy Snyder. But I would not venture a bet on Snyder accepting Moore’s invitation to “Stop by any time for a hot chocolate this winter.”
George Weeks, a member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, for 22 years was political columnist for The Detroit News and previously with UPI as Lansing bureau chief and foreign editor in Washington. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features.