|
|
|
House Great Lakes Task Force Sends Letter in Support of Great Lakes Provisions in WRDA
The bi-partisan House Great Lakes Task Force sent a letter yesterday to the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (OK) and Ranking Member Barbara Boxer (CA) and to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (PA) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (OR) supporting the inclusion of several key Great Lakes provisions that were included in the Senate and House passed versions of the Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA). A copy of the letter can be viewed here. Both the House and Senate passed WRDA earlier this fall and will look to reconcile differences between the two bills when Congress returns for a lame duck session after the election.
Both the House bill (H.R. 5303) and Senate bill (S. 2848) include a five year authorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) at $300 million a year. The House bill's GLRI provision is identical to legislation introduced by Rep. David Joyce (OH), while the Senate bill's GLRI language is identical to legislation introduced by Sen. Mark Kirk (IL). The final language will likely be negotiated when the two chambers meet during conference committee.
The letter, which was led by House Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs, Reps. Candice Miller (MI), Louise Slaughter (NY), Sean Duffy (WI), and Marcy Kaptur (OH), includes the signatures of 31 Great Lakes Members of Congress. They include Reps. Richard Nolan (MN), Bill Huizenga (MI), Mike Quigley (IL), Debbie Dingell (MI), Brenda Lawrence (MI), Dan Kildee (MI), Sander Levin (MI), Brian Higgins (NY), Mike Bishop (MI), Gwen Moore (WI), Dave Trott (MI), Glenn Thompson (PA), Pet Visclosky (IN), Mark Pocan (WI), Luis Gutierrez (IL), John Moolenaar (MI), Marcia Fudge (OH), Robin Kelly (IL), Janice Schakowsky (IL), Andre Carson (IN), Elise Stefanik (NY), Robert Dold (IL), Joyce Beatty (OH), Chris Collins (NY), Tim Walz (MN), Betty McCollum (MN) and Tim Ryan (OH).
Other key provisions that the letter urges to be included in a final WRDA bill include:
House Bill
- A provision making permanent the 10% Great Lakes priority funding set-aside for Great Lakes Navigation System;
- A provision allowing up to 10% of the Great Lakes Fishery & Ecosystem Restoration (GLFER) funds to be used for recreational enhancements; and
- A provision lifting the GLFER spending cap.
Senate Bill
- The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2016, as introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN);
- The Waterfront Community Revitalization and Resiliency Act, as introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI);
- A provision authorizing a GAO study on the St. Lawrence Seaway;
- A provision creating a Great Lakes Harmful Algal Bloom Coordinator;
- A provision reauthorizing sewer overflow control grants;
- A provision promoting green infrastructure; and
- Provisions addressing drinking water emergencies such as the recent Flint, MI water lead contamination.
For more information, contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program
at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
|
|
Great Lakes Commission to Host Great Lakes and
St. Lawrence Ballast Water Workshop
On November 16 & 17, the Great Lakes Commission will host a Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Ballast Water Workshop at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit, Michigan. The workshop is free to attend, but participants are asked to register here by October 31.
The workshop, which is also being sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Institute, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, will focus on the current status of preventing aquatic invasive species introduction and spread through ballast water discharge in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region, while also providing the opportunity for representatives of federal, state and provincial government, industry, ports, research facilities, environmental groups and other key stakeholders to come together to discuss the challenges and achievements of ballast water management in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region. A preliminary agenda for the workshop and information on hotel accommodations can be found at the Great Lakes Commission's
website
.
For more information, contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program
at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
|
|
NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
