The Great Lakes Legislative Caucus continues to monitor noteworthy developments at the federal level, including through its federal legislative tracker. Here are some notable recent developments in the nation's capital:

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that the open waters of Lake Erie be designated as impaired due to harmful algae and occurrences of microcystin, which impacts drinking water. This decision is part of a biennial report on water quality that the state does to meet its obligations under the Clean Water Act.

According to The (Toledo) Blade, this new designation (a reversal of previous decisions by the Kasich administration not to designate Lake Erie's open waters as impaired) had long been sought by environmental advocates and will "invariably mean tighter rules for agriculture and others that release nutrients into western Lake Erie tributaries." A webinar on the Ohio EPA's draft report will be held on April 25.

Michigan already has designated its part of western Lake Erie as impaired.

The Great Lakes Legislative caucus recently updated its state and provincial legislative tracker, which monitors bills related to clean water and safe drinking water. If you have legislation to add to the tracker, please contact Tim Anderson. Here is a review of some of the recently introduced bills.

According to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the recently approved FY 2018 budget bill will require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take near- and long-term actions to combat the threat of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes. Language in the bill, she said, would require the Corps to make all reasonable efforts to finalize the Brandon Road study by February of next year and to take immediate steps to prevent Asian carp from moving into the Great Lakes via the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has launched a new Great Lakes Partnership to Block Asian Carp. In part, Snyder is seeking buy-in from other Great Lakes jurisdictions to collectively pay for the $8 million in annual operations and maintenance costs associated with the Corps' proposal to install a mix of new structural and nonstructural barriers at the Brandon Road Lock & Dam in Joliet, Ill. Under the governor's plan, each jurisdiction would pay a percentage equal to its share of total Great Lakes surface water (see table). 

Earlier this year, the government of Canada announced it would invest $20 million over the next five years to protect the lakes from Asian carp.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has begun its review of the city of Racine's application to divert up to an average of 7 million gallons of Lake Michigan water a day. Of that 7 million gallons, 4.3 million would be returned to Lake Michigan and 2.7 million gallons would be consumptively used. The request is related to the water needs of a large new manufacturing facility for Foxconn Technology Group. The Great Lakes water would be diverted to the town of Mount Pleasant, which lies within the Mississippi River basin. Only the state of Wisconsin must approve this application. A review by other Great Lakes states and provinces is not required because of the rules in place for "straddling communities" in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.