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NEMWI To Host Great Lakes Environmental Summit
Sponsored This Year by The Nature Conservancy
The Northeast-Midwest Institute is convening its annual Great Lakes Environmental Summit in Washington, DC, during the first week of February. The Summit, which is an invitation event, convenes Great Lakes policy experts, advocates, and stakeholders to discuss the issues that are most impactful to the health of the Great Lakes. Participants at the Summit also include Members of Congress and their staff, Congressional committee staff, and Administrative officials discussing the 2020 federal policy agenda as it pertains to the Great Lakes. The Summit also provides an opportunity for the Great Lakes community and Congressional staff to identify and discuss regional legislative opportunities in the ever-evolving legislative and appropriations process.
NEMWI is excited that The Nature Conservancy is the sponsor of this year's Summit. The Nature Conservancy, which is one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world, has continued to be a leader in providing critical resources to protect the world's largest source of freshwater. For over 65 years, The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 100 sites throughout the Great Lakes, including prairies, savannas, forests, wetlands and rivers, as well as working collaboratively with farmers, foresters, elected officials, agencies, and communities across the region to protect this globally significant freshwater ecosystem.
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Great Lakes Senators Push For Continued GLRI Funding
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators sent the Administrator a letter last week urging it to include at least $320 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in the FY 2021 President's budget. The GLRI is the largest federal program aimed at addressing the most serious issues that threaten the Great Lakes, including invasive species, pollution, and toxic contamination.
The letter, which was led by Senate Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), along with Vice-Chairs Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Todd Young (R-IN) and other Task Force Members, was sent to both the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and calls for the inclusion of no less than the FY 2020 appropriated amount in next year's budget request. Additional Senators to sign onto
the letter include: Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Bob Casey (D-PA).
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New Report Reveals PFAS Contamination in Drinking Water of Many Major US Cities
A new report released by the Environmental Working Group showcased the results of water samples taken from 44 places in 31 states as well as the District of Columbia. Out of all 44 water tests, only one area had no detectable PFAS. High levels of PFAS were detected in the drinking water of major US cities including Miami, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. Washington, DC also had elevated levels of PFAS. Only two of the samples contained PFAS over the current EPA limit of 70 ppt. However, the Environmental Working Group have endorsed the findings of a number of independent scientific studies that have recommended a PFAS limit of only 1 ppt for that drinking water to be considered safe. All but three locations sampled failed this health-based guideline.
The PFAS family of chemicals contains thousands of different compounds. While PFOA and PFOS are the two most frequently found in drinking water, EWG's samples contained, on average, six or seven different PFAS compounds, with one sample containing 13. This family of chemicals are known as "forever chemicals" as they do not break down with time and bioaccumulate in our bodies and those of wildlife. PFAS exposure has been linked to an increased risk of cancer and damage to the development of fetuses among other harms. PFAS has been found in the blood of around 95% of Americans.
To read the full report click
here
.
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Revised WOTUS Rule Removes Wetland Protections
On Thursday, January 23, the Trump administration released the final version of the revised Navigable Water Protection Rule, otherwise known as the Waters of the United States or WOTUS rule. The revision removes federal pollution regulations for around 51% of the nation's wetlands and ephemeral streams, which are streams that don't flow year-round.
Ephemeral streams make up roughly 18% of streams in the US and while they don't flow year-round, when active almost always drain into larger permanent waterways that often serve as drinking water sources. By removing these protections, industry and other actors would be allowed to dump chemicals or other pollutants in these now unprotected streams and wetlands. Additionally, this revision opens the door for extensive development of wetlands which would reduce the ability of our nation's wetlands to filter pollution out of our water and absorb floodwaters.
Environmental groups have broadly decried the move as a step back in time to when polluters could dump contaminants in US waterways without penalty. Even the EPA's Science Advisory Board, composed largely of Trump administration appointees, released a letter last month stating that the proposed rule "decreases protection for our Nation's waters and does not support the objective of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity' of these waters."
Please contact Senior Policy Analyst, Chris Askew-Merwin, for more information. |
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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