| Northeast-Midwest Institute Weekly Update |
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Great Lakes Governors and Premiers Host Summit on Mackinac Island
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Over the weekend, top officials from the eight Great Lakes states and the two provinces of Ontario and Qu�bec gathered at the Governors' Summit on Mackinac Island to discuss Great Lakes issues. Council of Great Lakes Governors co-chair and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder kicked off the event highlighting the need to focus on both the economic and environmental needs of the Great Lakes when pursuing the continued revival of the region. The summit included attendees from all over the region and interests, including nonprofits and industry. Panelists beyond the ten government leaders or their representatives included officials from Dow Chemical Company, U.S. Steel Corporation, Ford Motor Company, The Nature Conservancy, and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. Representatives of the federally-recognized tribes and First Nations delivered an invocation at the beginning of the summit, blessing the proceedings and offering their support as sovereign partners in pursuing further restoration and management efforts. During the summit, the governors and premiers unanimously agreed to eight resolutions:
- Creation of a Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Maritime Initiative;
- Expansion of international trade and export opportunities;
- Launch of the "Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Water Partnership";
- Identification of a least-wanted list of aquatic invasive species;
- Promotion of economic cooperation between the U.S. and Canada;
- Establishment of a beach safety awareness week and emphasis;
- Improvement of water quality by addressing nutrient enrichment and harmful algal blooms; and
- Coordination of regional efforts to monitor water quality and quantity.
These resolutions form the basis of their agreed-upon agenda to pursue joint restoration and renewal of the Great Lakes region.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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| Recap: NEMWI Great Lakes Water Levels Management Briefing |
On Thursday, May 30, the NEMWI's Great Lakes Washington Program coordinated a briefing for congressional staff on the recent water levels management report and recommendations from the International Joint Commission (IJC). Speakers from the IJC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers described the peer-reviewed report that proposes modest improvements to the management of water flowing out of Lake Superior into Lakes Michigan and Huron, particularly in times of extremely low water levels. The IJC recommended further study on ways to restore Lakes Michigan and Huron by 5-10" without exacerbating future high water levels. Finally, the speakers explained the developing Adaptive Management plan to address the impacts of fluctuating water levels, given the anticipated future fluxes associated with changing environmental and climatic conditions. Staff received information on the long-term monitoring, modeling, and assessment needed to fully and properly implement an Adaptive Management program. Additional information on the Adaptive Management plan, including a detailed powerpoint on the draft report, is available here.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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EPA Seeks Input on Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Training Academy
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On Tuesday, June 11, from 3-4pm EDT, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Sustainable Communities will hold a listening session on the design of the new Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Training Academy. Through the Building Blocks program, EPA delivers short-term, targeted technical assistance to communities wishing to create more sustainable neighborhoods, cities, and regions. EPA now wishes to create a training program for staff from public agencies and nonprofit organizations that provide technical assistance to communities for land use and planning. The training program will help these staff understand the Building Blocks tools and incorporate them into their technical assistance. The session is open to the public. Join the meeting by logging in here as a guest.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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| Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan Under Review, Open for Public Comment |
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking public comment on the Action Plan for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) for its second four-year period (2015 to 2019). The GLRI, an Obama Administration budget initiative funded since 2010, provides funding for restoration projects in the Great Lakes and aims to clean up areas that have been environmentally impaired, termed Areas of Concern. Since 2010, the GLRI has provided over $1.3 billion dollars to fund projects, including clean up, habitat restoration, and Asian carp monitoring and control. The Action Plan, originally based on the work of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, provides guidance on the funding priorities.
The public teleconference will be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. The teleconference number is: (877)226-9607; Participant code: 4218582837. More information on the GLRI and the schedule of public comment opportunities and questions can be found at www.glri.us.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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| Minnesota Creates Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program |
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed legislation authorizing and funding the state's new agricultural water quality certification program. Under the new program, agricultural producers who implement a significant degree of conservation practices to reduce nutrient run-off and erosion will receive assurance (or "certainty") from Minnesota that their farms will meet the state's water quality standards and goals throughout the ten-year duration of a certainty agreement between the state and producer. This first-in-the-nation program resulted from a state-federal collaborative effort among the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency, Department of Agriculture, Board of Water and Soil Resources, and Department of Natural Resources. The state's Department of Agriculture will administer the program; the department is developing operational measures and identifying four watersheds that will be used to roll out the program on a pilot scale. The Obama Administration has been exploring a variety of certainty mechanisms in conjunction with several states for some time, and the Minnesota initiative could be viewed as one component of a wider Administration action plan, announced in January 2012, to address challenges facing ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources.
For more information, contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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