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Briefing Next Tuesday on
Lead, PFCs and Other Threats
to Safe Drinking Water
Tuesday, December 5, 1:30 PM
122 Cannon House Office Building
The Northeast-Midwest Institute will hold a briefing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, December 5, featuring experts on safe drinking water policy and management.
Please join the Northeast-Midwest Institute, in coordination with Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-20) and Dan Kildee (MI-05), for a Congressional briefing on the threats posed by lead and perflurochemicals (PFCs) to our region's drinking water, public health, and the economy.
Safe drinking water is under threat across the U.S. from legacy contaminants, found both within the water system itself and in the surrounding environment. Older infrastructure and denser communities make the Northeast and the Midwest especially vulnerable. For example, the Flint water crisis exposed a community to the toxic effects of lead in water, and resulted in other cities around the region discovering the extent of the problem in their own communities. The recent discovery of PFCs leaching out of industrial sites and military bases highlights the need for constant protection against threats to public health.
The panelists in this briefing will elaborate on the various threats to safe drinking water in the region, the extent of the issue, response from the government and affected communities, and changes needed in our policy to prevent future occurrences. Panelists will also discuss the issue of affordability as it relates to mitigation of these contaminants.
The list of speakers includes:
- Claire Barnett, Founder and Executive Director, Healthy Schools Network
- Tom Neltner, Chemicals Policy Director, Environmental Defense Fund
- Alan Roberson, Executive Director, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
Moderating the panel will be Dr. Sridhar Vedachalam, Director of the Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program at NEMWI. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session with the panel.
For more information, please contact Sri Vedachalam, Director of the Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program, or
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Briefing Next Wednesday on
Upper Mississippi Water Quality
Water Quality in the Upper Mississippi Basin:
Nitrates, Treatment Costs, and the Role of Agriculture
Wednesday, December 6, 2017, 10:00 AM
202 Senate Visitor Center
The Northeast-Midwest Institute will hold a Capitol Hill briefing in collaboration with Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) on Wednesday, December 6, featuring national, state, and local experts on the impacts of agriculture on water quality.
The increasing costs of treatment associated with nitrate removal were brought to national attention in early 2015 when Des Moines Water Works (IA) filed suit to recover these costs from three upstream counties. The case was eventually dismissed in federal court, but it highlighted the relationship between farming practices and drinking water quality. The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEWMI) is conducting a study to identify connections between source water quality in the Mississippi River Basin and treatment costs at drinking water treatment facilities. This study will enable targeted solutions to keep water treatment costs low, promote sustainable agriculture, and maintain clean water in the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
This briefing will elaborate on the presence of nutrients in the Mississippi Basin, sustainable farming practices adopted by farmers, and the impact of excess nutrients on water treatment and water treatment costs. Panelists will examine the relationship between nutrients and water treatment, and NEWMI staff will provide an overview of the project, list study locations being considered, and solicit feedback from briefing participants.
The list of speakers includes:
- Kelly Warner, Illinois-Iowa Water Science Center,
U.S. Geological Survey
- Alyssa Charney, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
- Jeff Boeckler, Northwater Consulting International
- Michael Mucha, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Additionally, Dr. Sri Vedachalam and Joe Vukovich of NEMWI will discuss the methodology of the study and possible legislative impacts.
For more information, please contact Sri Vedachalam, Director of the Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program, or Joe Vukovich, Senior Policy Analyst for the Mississippi River Basin Program.
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Briefing Planned on
Great Lakes Maritime Issues
Thursday, December 14, 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
209-08 Senate Visitor Center
The Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers will host a Congressional briefing highlighting the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Maritime Day on Thursday, December 14. Speakers will focus on critical maritime issues impacting the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region that include the Soo Locks, autonomous vessels, and cruising/customs issues.
For more information, please contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Senate Science Committee to Vote on Controversial NOAA Nominee
On Wednesday,
November 29, the Senate Science Committee will hold a
hearing
to consider the nomination of Barry Myers to be the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Myers, who has degrees in
business and law
, has faced criticism for his lack of scientific expertise due to the fact that he would be running a highly scientific agency tasked with overseeing issues including climate change, fishery management, and weather forecasting. Myers has responded by pointing out that he is the CEO of
AccuWeather
, a private company that deals in weather forecasting. However, this has prompted new criticisms as well.
Critics such as Senator Bill Nelson (FL), who has opposed efforts to privatize NOAA's work in the past, have expressed concern that Myers could favor private forecasting companies at the expense of the agency itself. In addition, Myers' brother, Joel Myers, runs a hedge fund named
Weather Prophets
, leading to concern that the hedge fund could benefit from privileged information if Barry Myers is confirmed.
The confirmation hearing will this Wednesday at 10:30 AM in Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253.
For more information, please contact Joe Vukovich, Senior Policy Analyst for the Mississippi River Basin Program.
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Senate Interior and Environment
Appropriations Bill Released
The Senate Committee on Appropriations released last week its
draft text and
explanatory statement of the FY18 Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. It is not expected that the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a formal markup in the near future.
The Senate Interior bill provides $32.6 billion in discretionary funding, which is roughly $300 million below the FY17 funding level, but is a $1.2 billion increase from the House's version of the bill. Key funding levels included:
- $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
- $73 million for the Chesapeake Bay program
- $8 million for the Long Island Sound program
- $8.4 million for the Lake Champlain program
- $9 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service's efforts to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.
For more information, please contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Harmful Algal Bloom Legislation
Introduced to House
Representatives Kaptur (OH-09) and Joyce (OH-14) have introduced
H.R.4417, the bipartisan Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2017. The bill was referred to t
he House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
The bill reauthorizes the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998--which governs federal inter-agency efforts to research and respond to hypoxia and harmful algal bloom events--all the way through FY 2023. H.R.4417 would also allow federal disaster-like funds to be used to combat an algal bloom declared to be a "Event of National Significance". Additionally, the bill adds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia.
A section-by-section summary of the bill can be found
here
.
The bill's Senate companion,
S.1057
, was passed on September 26 and was cosponsored by Senators Portman (OH), Peters (MI), Baldwin (WI), Brown (OH), and Schumer (NY).
Representatives Joyce and Kaptur are both on the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition's Great Lakes Task Force. Representative Joyce co-chairs the Coalition and Representative Kaptur co-chairs the Task Force.
In August 2014, a harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie led to water use bans affecting hundreds of thousands in Ohio and Michigan.
For more information, please contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, or Ankita Mandelia, Policy Analyst at the Toward Sustainable Water Information Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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This Week on Capitol Hill
The House will be considering a number of bills on the floor.
H.R. 3017, the
Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act of 2017, will be considered Thursday.
Senate GOP leadership will be working to bring the tax reform bill to the floor this week in an effort to pass the bill before the scheduled end of the session on December 15. Additionally, the September continuing resolution--which keeps the federal government funded under FY17 levels--will expire on December 8.
A full list of key Congressional committee activity that impacts the region can be viewed below:
Wendesday, November 29
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and Environment will meet to consider the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be Deputy EPA Administrator at 10:00 AM in 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a nomination hearing to consider Barry Lee Meyers to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at 10:30 AM in 253 Russell Senate Office Building.
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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