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 The
Great Lakes Fishery Trust was created in 1996 as a part of a
court settlement for fish
losses at the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant hydroelectric
facility jointly owned by Consumers Power Company (now Consumers
Energy) and the Detroit Edison Company. The facility has operated
since 1972 under a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
license on Great Lakes bottom lands leased from the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Although both the FERC
license and the state lease required measures to prevent entrainment
and destruction of fish in the facility, many fish were killed
as a result of the operation of the project.
After
a decade of negotiations between the state and the utilities
failed to eliminate the fish losses at the facility, the Michigan
United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) and the National Wildlife
Federation (NWF) filed a legal action with the FERC, and in
a second action sought regulation of the facility in federal
court under the provisions of the Clean Water Act. Subsequently,
the state of Michigan filed an action in state court for compensation
for fish losses at the facility and intervened in the FERC
proceedings seeking the installation of barriers to reduce
future damages to Great Lakes fishery resources. The MUCC
and NWF, along with the U.S. Department of the Interior and
several Indian tribes who also had compensation claims, joined
with the MDNR in a comprehensive settlement
with the utilities.
The following are the settlement's major
components:
- A Trust is established
to manage the assets generated by the settlement
- A scientific advisory body is established
to advise the Trust board and monitor compliance with the
amended FERC license
- The utilities, to minimize fish losses
in the future, will maintain a seasonal barrier net to restrict
the number of fish entering the facility
- The utilities will make annual compensation
payments, based on the net's effectiveness, to the Trust
- The utilities, in compensation
for past damage to the fishery, will provide increased angler
access at the utilities’ properties at Harbor Beach,
Marysville, Detroit, and Monroe and pay for improvements
to public access for pier fishing on Lake Michigan at Pentwater,
Montague, and Fruitland Township
- Consumers Energy will deed to the Trust
ownership of 10,800 acres of land in Michigan
- Consumers Energy will deed to the MDNR
ownership of 15,600 acres of undeveloped land in
Michigan
- The Trust will use the proceeds from
the sale of transferred lands and the compensation payments
to make grants to governmental units and nonprofit organizations
for projects to mitigate for the
fish losses
- Grantees will be required to
use the funds for projects that benefit the Great Lakes
fishery
The Trust is administered by a six-member
board of trustees representing the MDNR, Michigan Department
of Attorney General, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians, MUCC, NWF, and U.S. Department of Interior; the Tribal
Councils of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians have designated
provisional trustees. A 12-member Scientific Advisory
Team monitors the effectiveness of the barrier net under the
FERC license, and advises the Trust board on projects and
the sale of land transferred to the Trust.
Trust Grants
The Great Lakes Fishery Trust will provide grant funds to
nonprofit organizations and government entities for the following
purposes:
- Research projects that benefit Great
Lakes fishery resources
- Rehabilitation of lake trout, lake
sturgeon and other Great Lakes fish species
- Protection and enhancement of Great
Lakes fisheries habitat
- Public education about the Great Lakes
fishery
- Property acquisition for the above
purposes or to provide access to the Great Lakes
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