NEMWI Webinar Provides Watershed Conservation Primer and Orientation
The Northeast-Midwest Institute presented a Primer and Orientation on Watershed Conservation on Monday, July 26. Entitled “Watershed Conservation Primer and Orientation: Policy-Makers and Stakeholders,” the webinar was an introduction and update on federal watershed conservation policy. A recording of the webinar is available HERE.
The webinar addressed watershed conservation policy-making and issues, including from the Capitol Hill perspective of the principal committees of jurisdiction and from the stakeholder organization perspective.
Participating on behalf of Senate and House committees engaged in watershed conservation were:
Adam Tarr (Office of Senator Debbie Stabenow), Senior Professional Staff Member, Senate Agriculture Committee.
Felix Muniz (Office of Congressman David Scott), Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee Staff Director, House Agriculture Committee.
Participating on behalf of major stakeholder organizations engaged in watershed conservation were:
Raj Shukla, Midwest Director of Freshwater Policy, The Nature Conservancy.
Kelly McGinnis, Executive Director, Mississippi River Network.
Eric Deeble, Policy Director, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
The Northeast-Midwest Institute’s Watershed Conservation Primer and Orientation Program is made possible with support from the Walton Family Foundation.
U.S. House Passes Major PFAS/PFOA Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed H.R. 2467, the “PFAS Action Act,” by a vote of 241 to 183, with 23 Republicans voting in the affirmative. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), and would increase pressure on the EPA to implement greater regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS/PFOA), which have been dubbed the “forever chemicals.”
PFAS/PFOA have continually posed a threat to safe drinking water throughout the country, but especially in the Northeast and Midwest region. The bill would regulate both PFAS and PFOA under the Safe Drinking Water Act, while designating them as hazardous substances under federal Superfund law. The bill also gives the EPA a five-year window in which to decide whether to extend regulations to the entire PFAS family. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, however it is unclear if and when the bill might be brought up for a vote.
U.S. House To Consider Key FY 2022 Appropriations Bills
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up the bulk of the annual FY 2022 spending bills this week. The House will consider a multi-Appropriations bill, H.R. 4502, that contains the FY 2022 appropriations for the Labor, Health and Human Services, & Education bill; the Agriculture & Rural Development bill; the Energy & Water Development bill; the Financial Services & General Government bill; the Interior & Environment bill; the Military Construction & Veterans Affairs bill; and the Transportation & Housing and Urban Development bill. Additionally, the House could also consider the State & Foreign Operations bill; the Commerce, Justice, & Science bill; and the Legislative Branch bill.
The House is expected to adjourn for its summer recess at the end of the week. NEMWI will continue to monitor the appropriations cycle as it continues to unfold.
U.S. Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Environmental Justice Populations
The Senate Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight held a hearing on July 22nd on “Examining Current Issues Adversely Affecting Environmental Justice Populations.” The hearing examined the deep and widespread environmental injustices across the nation with a variety of experts and community members directly impacted by environmental events presenting testimony.
It was noted that inaction, neglect, and lack of funding for programs that invest in infrastructure and aid have left vulnerable low-income communities and communities of color trapped in cycles of poverty for years. Members of the Subcommittee emphasized their commitment to these issues under the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative and the American Jobs Plan.
Testifying at the hearing, Dr. Laura Pulido, Head of the Department of Ethnic Studies & Geography at the University of Oregon, emphasized the urgent need to address the cumulative impacts of climate change on environmental justice populations. “Almost all policy and permitting systems treat polluters individually while disregarding the cumulative impacts of industrial concentrations,” Pulido stated. There is a “need to take into account multiple forms of pollution and vulnerability that impact geographic communities.”
“We cannot ignore the fact that while we all feel its effects, the worst consequences of pollution and the ravages of climate chaos disproportionately fall on communities of color and communities with the fewest resources for either adapting or recovering,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said.
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