Ross joins Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Board

News

Superior Telegram
Published Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is announced Superior Mayor Dave Ross has been elected to join its 16-member board of directors, which includes eight mayors from the United States and eight from Canada.

Ross has been an active member of the Cities Initiative since 2003, when he was first elected to office. The Cities Initiative is a coalition of 62 U.S. and Canadian mayors working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

“I am very pleased that Mayor Ross will be joining the Cities Initiative Board,” said Mayor Lynn Peterson of Thunder Bay, chair of the Cities Initiative. “It has become clear to me, after working with him through the Cities Initiative and on issues pertinent to port cities, that Mayor Ross has made a real commitment to promoting the environmental and economic health of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region.”

Ross has led a number of initiatives to address water quality issues and habitat restoration in and around Superior. After an investment of about $8 million in wastewater infrastructure improvements over the last decade, Superior has been successful in reducing overflows to Lake Superior. To help manage stormwater and comply with requirements under the Clean Water Act, the City established a stormwater utility in 2006. The city has also worked to preserve crucial wetlands while encouraging responsible development.

In 2007, the city partnered with Douglas County to preserve 442 acres adjacent to Allouez Bay, one of the largest freshwater marshes in Lake Superior. Additionally, the city has agreed to administer select wetland fill permits according to a prescribed set of rules developed through a multi-agency approach.

Recently, Wis. Gov. Jim Doyle formally nominated the St. Louis River Estuary as a National Estuarine Research Reserve, as further recognition of Ross’ leadership.

“Mayor Ross has been a leader in Great Lakes restoration and advancing the sustainable growth of Superior,” said Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, founding U.S. chairman of the organization. “He will bring great knowledge and energy to the Board.”

“Mayor Ross and I have worked closely together on economic and environmental issues facing our port and the entire Great Lakes seaway,” said Mayor Don Ness of Duluth, a director on the board. Duluth and Superior share one of the largest inland seaports in the world and the 16th largest port in the nation. “We in the Twin Ports know how passionate Mayor Ross is about shipping and Great Lakes issues; he'll make an outstanding addition to the Board."

Ross said the city’s participation in the organization is important and his appointment to the board “really gives the city of Superior some leverage when it comes to Great Lakes issues.”

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a binational coalition of mayors founded by Daley in 2003.