On the recordDecember 19, 2012
While the water levels are at historic lows in Lakes Michigan and Huron, Lake Erie, which my State borders, also has water levels below its long-term average. Because the Great Lakes navigational system is interconnected, with shipments often moving from Duluth to Cleveland to Buffalo, a problem in one harbor can have negative impacts across all of the 60 commercial projects in the Great Lakes system. The light-loading of ships has repercussions across our transportation system with very real impacts on jobs and our manufacturing and agricultural sectors. This year's drought across Ohio, Michigan, and other parts of the upper-Midwest has been nothing short of a natural disaster.
