This week the International Joint Commission is holding its 1999 Great Lakes Water Quality Forum in Milwaukee. As part of that forum, there will be a one-day workshop on Exotic Species. Among the speakers will be Eric Reeves, who penned a "White Paper" on the topic for the IJC. The White Paper draws on an earlier study Reeves undertook for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Michigan DEQ forwarded their paper to LCA for comment. LCA found significant errors and flaws in the sections that dealt with ship design, ship systems, shipping economics and ship operations. Following are LCA's letter to Michigan DEQ and an attachment highlighting some of the errors in the paper.