Join us for the 2017 Annual Member Meeting and Conference this June 14 - 16, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec to explore how strategic partnerships advance Great Lakes and St. Lawrence protection and restoration, and benefit municipalities. Panel topics include Indigenous-municipal partnerships to advance water management, city to city partnerships to encourage municipal leadership, public private partnerships that succeed, intergovernmental collaboration to protect water resources, and strategic partnerships to advance action on climate change. To register, visit https://glslcities.org/events/annual-meeting/montreal-2017/. For those already registered, book your hotel before May 23 at: https://aws.passkey.com/event/48965656/owner/17634/landing

In early May, the US House and Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2017 omnibus bill, thus funding the US federal government through the end of FY 2017 (which ends on 9/30/17).  The bill maintains funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 Million, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund at $1.39 Billion and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund at $839 Million - all at the same levels as FY 2016.  Focus is now shifting to the FY 2018 budget process (FY 2018 beings on October 1, 2017).  We anticipate the President will release his budget proposal towards the end of May.  This full budget proposal is expected to include the significant cuts to Great Lakes funding, and agencies like the US EPA, that he proposed back in March.  Efforts to demonstrate the need for and importance of Great Lakes funding continue, especially as the House and Senate may move ahead on preparing their budget resolutions before any hearings on the President's budget proposal are even held.  

Intense rainfall and snowmelt this spring have caused very high levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River and their tributaries not seen since 1993, resulting in serious flooding, erosion, and property damage.  Many municipalities have declared states of emergency because of the flooding and erosion. The Cities Initiative is deeply concerned about the situation and would like to help those communities in need. It is clear that the changing climate and the resulting intense precipitation events are at the heart of the problem, and will require long term actions to mitigate and adapt to the conditions.  At this time, the immediate needs of the affected communities should be uppermost in everyone's mind.  Efforts to lay the blame with the International Joint Commission's Plan 2014 are misguided and unproductive.   Plan 2014 is the result of many years of rigorous work and meaningful consultations with Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River leaders from both Canada and the United States. This is a plan intended to benefit the people of both countries, both water bodies, and balance the needs of the ecosystem with those of the communities.  It is still in its very early stages of implementation.  Any call to turn back to the previous guidelines would be premature and would distract attention from the real problems and solutions.  If you have any questions, please contact David Ullrich at 312-301-4516 or [email protected] . 

Cities Initiative Board Requests Information on U.S. Steel Spill

In a recent letter to the United States Steel Corporation, the Board of Directors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative urges greater transparency and increased safety and emergency preparedness measures following an April 11th hexavalent chromium spill at U.S. Steel's Portage facility. "Instead of hastily restarting production, U.S. Steel should have provided more information about what has been done to ensure future incidents will not occur, such as an independent review of facility operations and emergency response procedures" said the letter. In light of federal budget cuts, the letter also articulates support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5 office in Chicago. To read the full letter, click here.