Section 426o · Great Lakes navigation and protection

Using available funds, the Secretary shall expedite the operation and maintenance, including dredging, of the navigation features of the Great Lakes and Connecting Channels for the purpose of supporting commercial navigation to authorized project depths.

Using available funds, the Director of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in coordination with the Secretary, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall carry out a pilot project, on an emergency basis, to control and prevent further spreading of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in the Great Lakes and Connecting Channels.

In this section, the term “Great Lakes and Connecting Channels” includes Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, all connecting waters between and among such lakes used for commercial navigation, any navigation features in such lakes or waters that are a Federal operation or maintenance responsibility, and areas of the Saint Lawrence River that are operated or maintained by the Federal Government for commercial navigation.