Congress in its year-end session was able to pass a massive bill that provides government funding for the remainder of FY 2021, along with additional relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The more than $1.4 trillion fiscal year 2021 appropriations omnibus bill funds all twelve appropriations bills, while also containing an additional $900 billion in emergency coronavirus relief and the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) of 2020. Many key appropriations accounts saw continued support from Congress, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which is set to receive $330 million in FY 2021, a $10 million increase from the FY 2020 funding level. Additionally, critical components in WRDA 2020 that would impact the Great Lakes include:

• Authorization of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) - Brandon Road project.

• A federal/non-federal cost share adjustment for the construction phase of the Brandon Road project from 65 percent/35 percent to 80/20 percent.

• A comprehensive assessment of the Great Lakes System with recommendations to respond to changing hydrologic and climatic conditions in the region. Additionally, this section authorizes the Corps to focus on resiliency issues for the Lake Ontario and the Chicago shorelines.

• Renames the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

Additionally, Congress also approved a multi-year reauthorization of the GLRI. Led by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), along with Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) Dave Joyce (R-OH), the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act reauthorizes and expands funding for the Great Lakes for another five years. The bill increases the current authorization level from $300 million to $375 million in FY 2022 and increases funding by $25 million per year until it reaches $475 million in FY 2026. The bill now awaits the President's signature.

Focus: The Great Lakes region is experiencing record flooding events which have adversely impacted the region's economy and quality of life.  With continued record high water levels due to increased rain events across the region, the region continues to focus on new strategies to make communities more resilient. These record high water levels, and associated chronic erosion, have taxed existing aging infrastructure, some of which were designed almost a hundred years ago. Roads, bridges, wastewater and drinking water systems throughout the Great Lakes continue to be pushed beyond their original design purposes. With changing water patterns, warming lake temperatures, and other climate trends, extreme high and low lake levels look to be the norm for the foreseeable future.