Despite the COVID-19 pandemic seeming to slow things down, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus has had a very fast-paced few months as we approach the end of 2020. In September and October, the GLLC held its 2020 Annual Meeting over four virtual sessions, each one focusing on an issue on the GLLC’s policy agenda: lead in drinking water, nutrient management to protect water quality, PFAS contamination, and meeting the needs of coastal communities through partnerships with other organizations (e.g., the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative). Recordings of all four meetings are available on the GLLC website, along with the briefing book that accompanied the meetings.

GLLC members also conducted business during the virtual events. Members voted to focus the Patricia Birkholz Institute for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Policy on the subject of helping communities to become climate resilient. This work will build on efforts of the Great Lakes Commission's Standing Committee on Climate Resilience, which is developing an action plan for the region. The institute will take place in late 2021; a steering committee of GLLC members and representatives of partner organizations will develop the plans beginning in January.

Members also approved seven policy resolutions on topics that included the need for action to address PFAS contamination of drinking water, the dangers of coal-tar-based sealants, and a LIHEAP-like program for water and wastewater utility customers. The GLLC also passed a resolution honoring GLLC chair Ed Charbonneau, state senator from Indiana, as his term as chair winds down. All eight resolutions are available on the GLLC's virtual meetings web page.

As the final item of business, GLLC members elected a new leadership team for the upcoming biennium. Succeeding Sen. Charbonneau as chair in 2021-2022 will be Illinois Rep. Robyn Gabel, the GLLC’s current vice chair. She previously served three terms as Illinois’ representative on the GLLC Executive Committee. Minnesota Rep. Jennifer Schultz, a two-term member of the GLLC's Executive Committee, was elected to serve as vice chair.

The Executive Committee will welcome five new members in 2021-2022: Illinois Rep. Sonya Harper, Indiana Rep. David Abbott, Michigan Rep. Joe Tate, Minnesota Sen. Carrie Ruud and New York Assemblyman Mark Walczyk.

Wisconsin Rep. Nick Milroy will be returning to the committee, having served previously in 2017-2018. Rounding out the GLLC’s leadership team are Ontario MPP Jennifer French, Québec MNA Gilles Bélanger, Pennsylvania Rep. Curt Sonney, Wisconsin Sen. André Jacque (chair of the GLLC Task Force on Nutrient Management), and past GLLC chairs Minnesota Sen. Ann Rest and Indiana Sen. Ed Charbonneau.

In September, following the recommendation of the Task Force on Nutrient Management, the GLLC Executive Committee adopted "Model Policies to Reduce Nutrient Pollution in the Great Lakes Region." This document was developed over the course of a year following the inaugural Patricia Birkholz Institute for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Policy, which took place in October 2019 in Detroit. The task force is led by Wisconsin Sen. André Jacque.

Task force members are now charged with the significant task of seeking to implement these model policies across the region — ideally with help from their GLLC member colleagues. To track progress, the task force is working with staff from the Great Lakes Commission to develop content for the Blue Accounting platform. State and provincial legislative activity will be recorded on the site as the task force takes coordinated regional action to implement evidence-based policies for keeping excess nutrients out of the Great Lakes and other waterbodies throughout the region.

The task force will also organize one or two webinars in 2021 to educate legislators about model programs for incentivizing agricultural producers to adopt best practices for managing nutrients. In 2019, Birkholz Fellows learned first-hand about Michigan's Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program by touring Darling Farms, a MAEAP-verified farm (see photo above). Another program of note is Wisconsin's Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants program. A demonstration of the continually evolving and improving Blue Accounting website will also be on the calendar of GLLC events next year. (This site is managed by the Great Lakes Commission.)

On Nov. 13, during the Task Force on Nutrient Management's most recent meeting, members heard from Nicole Zacharda of the Great Lakes Commission about "Conservation Kick" — an innovative pilot program that seeks to bring water utilities and upstream agricultural producers together to promote conservation practices. These practices benefit producers by reducing nutrient losses, which then benefit water utilities by protecting source water. The commission is seeking producers and water utilities that would be interested in participating in the pilot program. Successful partnerships will involve drinking water utilities buying credits created by agricultural producers to reduce the amount of nutrients entering the Great Lakes, their tributaries and other waterbodies. As part of this grant-funded project, the commission will provide up to $10,000 in matching funds to each of five municipalities that participates in Conservation Kick. To learn more, read this informational fact sheet. To explore whether your community might be a good fit for the project, reach out to Nicole Zacharda of the Great Lakes Commission staff.

More information on the Task Force on Nutrient Management can be found on the GLLC website. New members are always welcome to join. Simply email Lisa Janairo about your interest in serving.ore information on the Task Force on Nutrient Management can be found on the GLLC website.