CLEVELAND -- Cleveland has recently taken giant steps in turning the page on a national reputation of decline that began with the infamous Cuyahoga River fire of 1969. While we still strive to live down that incident nearly a half century later, our community has begun not only to repair our brand, but also to restore and protect our waterways and our environment while building our economy. The port of Cleveland is committed to leading this effort, leveraging our great lake and its connection to global maritime via the St. Lawrence Seaway in responsible and innovative ways.

William D. Friedman, president and CEO of Port of Cleveland

In 1959, a binational partnership with Canada led to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, providing the Midwest and Great Lakes with direct maritime access to the world economy. Since then, the Seaway system has supported millions of jobs and trillions in commerce, allowing businesses and manufacturers in the U.S. heartland to be more competitive in getting their goods to market.

Cleveland has benefited from its location as the first major Great Lakes port along the Seaway system. A recent port-sponsored study by Martin Associates found that the port and Cleveland's maritime industry now produce more than $3.5 billion of annual economic value and support more than 20,000 jobs in Northeast Ohio.

In 2014, the port launched the Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE), the only scheduled container vessel service between the Great Lakes and Europe and points beyond. This service uses access to the Seaway to make it quicker, easier, and more cost-efficient to move goods in and out of Ohio and to world markets.

Of equal importance to the economic benefits the Seaway system provides are the environmental benefits that shipping goods by water provide. Researchers have shown that transport by rail (39 percent more carbon dioxide emitted) and by truck (371 percent more CO2 emitted) produce significantly more air pollution than maritime transport. By leveraging the Seaway, we are not only building our economy, we also are protecting our environment.

The Seaway system's successes have not come without growing pains. When the system first opened, invasive species hitchhiked on vessels entering the system. Since then, government and industry have partnered to eliminate further introductions of invasive species through open-ocean flushing and exchange of ballast water. In place for more than a decade, these efforts have been proven effective, and efforts continue to harmonize disjointed ballast water regulations nationally and internationally.

The port treasures our link to the St Lawrence Seaway and the entire Great Lakes region; and we value the economic and environmental benefits of the Seaway and believe they are in harmony with our own mission.

We have consistently been both an advocate and innovator in keeping the waters of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River clean and healthy.

We have become a national leader in managing sediment from dredging of shipping channels by developing environmentally friendly and beneficial methods as an alternative to open-lake dumping. This helps keep PCBs and other contaminants out of the food chain, including fish like walleye, and out of our drinking water and recreational venues.

The port's desire to steward Cleveland's waterfront also led to the creation of the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve - which was previously a confined disposal facility for sediment, and is now a vibrant refuge for a diverse array of wildlife and a popular hiking destination.

Five years ago, we custom-designed and launched twin workboats, Flotsam and Jetsam, that remove hundreds of tons of trash and debris from Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River annually.

And we have recently embarked upon collaborative efforts to stabilize Irish Town Bend, protecting the Cuyahoga River from a potential environmental disaster.

As we continue to leverage the St. Lawrence Seaway to drive our economy on the Great Lakes and in the Midwest, the port of Cleveland will also continue to be a leader in demanding that clean water and vibrant wildlife are in harmony with our jobs and commerce.

William D. Friedman is president and CEO of the port of Cleveland and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

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