On July 10, the House passed the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2609, which funds, among other agencies, the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Energy. Total funding for the Army Corps was reduced to $4.676 billion, compared to $4.98 billion in FY2013 (not including Superstorm Sandy emergency funding) and $4.726 billion requested in the FY2014 President's budget (including all rescissions). Funding for Operations and Maintenance, the source of funds for dredging and maintaining navigation channels, was $2.682 billion, $272 million above FY2013 and $94 million above the request. Not less than $30 million of this amount is set aside for small, remote or subsistence harbors and waterways. The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) will provide $1 billion of the total Operations and Maintenance Fund. The HMTF comprises taxes assessed on cargo that moves through ports and was intended to cover maintenance of ports and harbors, including dredging and navigation structures. The HMTF is projected to take in $1.85 billion this year, more than the amount projected to be spent from it under either the House bill or the FY2014 President's budget. For over a decade, the HMTF has not been fully spent on operations and maintenance needs. NEMW Congressional Coalition Co-Chair Rep. Mike Kelly (PA-03), along with Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chair Rep. Sean Duffy (WI-07), secured a floor amendment that would prevent funding from the HMTF from going to purposes other than the intended uses, such as port enhancements or dredging additional channels. The current dredging backlog in just the Great Lakes region is estimated at around 18 million cubic yards, which would cost well over $200 million.

H.R. 2609 also provides funds for the study and prevention of further spread of invasive species. The bill fully funds the Great Lakes-Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), which the Army Corps is expected to finalize at the end of 2013. The bill also prioritizes the further spread of invasive mussels like quagga and zebra that have greatly impacted the Great Lakes, as well as provides authority for the Army Corps to implement recommendations from the GLMRIS study to prevent further spread of invasive species, namely Asian carp, between the two basins. NEMW Coalition Co-Chair Kelly (PA-03) and NEMW Member Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water Development, also engaged in a floor discussion on expanding authorization for further multi-agency work to combat Asian carp in additional rivers, including the Ohio River Basin and tributaries.

The NEMWI compiled a full list of regionally-relevant provisions within the bill, as well as all amendments passed.   

 

For more information, contact Kate Ostrander, Legislative Director at Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition or Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

The MS River Photo Exhibit--organized by NEMWI's Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, in partnership with member-city arts organizations--showcases the beauty and challenges of the River through 47 photographs. The exhibit served as a backdrop for a March 2013 Capitol Hill meeting of mayors from MS River states, who came together to laud the formation of a bicameral MS River Caucus and unveil their platform to help the waterway for 2013. Underwritten in part by Ingram Barge Company, the exhibit, displayed atop a map of the River, featured the work of artists from cities spanning the entire length of the waterway. The exhibit is now on display in Dubuque, IA, and is headed down the River throughout the summer and fall of 2013. In addition to Dubuque, seven cities along the River will host the exhibit: Ft. Madison, IA; St. Louis, MO; Alton, IL; Osceola, AR; Memphis, TN; Vicksburg, MS; and New Orleans, LA. See photos of the exhibit and follow it via the MS River Photo Exhibit facebook page.

For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

The Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Water Environment Federation will co-host a public briefing sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), and Reps.  Donna Edwards (D-4-MD) and Jim Moran (D-8-VA) at the U.S. Capitol on July 19, on new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) findings about the ecological health of the Nation's streams. During the briefing, USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and state officials will describe the results of a national assessment of stream health, along with challenges and successes related to assessing aquatic life impairment and restoration. The presentations will emphasize the importance of assessing various stream health indicator and stress factors, and the implications the study findings have for establishing protection and restoration priorities. The briefing will run from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in SVC Room 209-208 of the Capitol Visitor Center. For more details on the briefing, the NAWQA study and its key findings, see here.

For more information, contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

Congressman Enyart (IL) worked with the mayors of the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRCTI) to include in the House Farm Bill the formation of a National Drought Council. The Council would equip the nation with its first drought preparedness and response plan, a recognized priority in the aftermath of the 2012 drought. The Council would be comprised of agency appointees, governors, county executives, and mayors. Council responsibilities would include submitting recommendations to Congress within one year after passage of the act. By almost every measure, 2012 was an exceptional year in terms of the breadth of drought conditions throughout the country, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin. According to the USDA's Economic Research Service, grain prices could rise 2.5% to 3.5%, while meat, poultry, and dairy prices could rise 3% to 4% in 2013 due in part to the drought. But, the House-passed Farm Bill did not include a nutrition title, which is something cities depend on as well. This exclusion places the fate of the overall bill this year in jeopardy.

 

For more information, contact Colin Wellenkamp, Director of the MS River Cities & Towns Initiative at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

Scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science determined low-oxygen "dead zones" are altering the distribution and abundance of "demersal" fish - those that live and feed near the Bay bottom. The species of fish most affected include recreational favorites like Atlantic croaker, striped bass, and summer flounder, all of which also support large commercial fisheries. The scientists saw movement of fish away from these dead zones that generally occur in late summer to other areas with higher oxygen levels. They believe the movement is linked to the food these fish eat, which can be stressed or killed when in low-oxygen conditions. The data came from the Chesapeake Bay Multi-Species Monitoring and Assessment Program, also known as ChesMMAP, which is funded through the Sportfish Restoration Trust Fund.

In other news, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission are working on a $2 million project to reuse fossilized oyster shells to rebuild oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay. By moving the shells out into the Bay, the reefs provide new habitat for baby oysters to attach and grow, providing an additional boost to the overall restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its oyster population. The shell replenishment program is projected to place about 1 million bushels of shells, or about 1 billion individual shells, on state oyster grounds this year. The efforts have already begun to bear fruit: Virginia's oyster harvest has increased 10-fold in the past decade, causing a shortage of oyster "shuckers."  

 

For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a collaboration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coordinates federal investments in infrastructure, facilities, and services in an effort to get better results for communities and use taxpayer money more efficiently. In celebration of its fourth anniversary, the Partnership is sponsoring a series of events, including a summer webinar series on housing, transportation, and the environment. The first webinar, "The Challenge-TIGER Experiment," will take place on Thursday, July 25 from 1-2:30pm (ET). The webinar will feature two grantee communities that engaged in integrated housing and transportation planning with the assistance of jointly awarded HUD Community Challenge and DOT TIGER II Planning grants in 2010. Email sustainablecommunities@hud.gov by July 19th to RSVP and receive additional webinar information. 

For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.