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W E E K L Y  U P D A T E  November 4,  2019
 
In This Issue
Senate Approves GLRI Funding
Miss. AG to Sue U.S. Army Corps over Spillway
Mn. Report Reveals Climate Change Mitigation from Strategy
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Senate Approves Appropriations Bill Increasing GLRI Funding

The Senate approved a multi-bill appropriations package that included the annual FY 2020 Commerce, Justice, and Science bill; the FY 2020 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration bill; the FY 2020 Interior and Environment bill; and the FY 2020 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development bill.

The package included an amendment sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters (MI) and cosponsored by other Great Lakes Senators including Sen. Rob Portman (OH), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN), Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH), Sen. Dick Durbin (IL), and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI), that increases funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) from $301 million to $310 million. The House included $320 million for the GLRI in the Interior appropriations bill that it passed earlier this summer, and will now have to be negotiated between the two chambers' appropriators for a final GLRI funding allocation for FY 2020.

The current continuing resolution that is funding the government is set to expire on November 21. Details of the Senate passed spending package can be found  here . 

Please contact  Matt McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, if you have any questions.
Mississippi's Attorney General Set to Sue U.S. Army Corps over Bonnet Carre Spillway

The attorney general of Mississippi, Jim Hood, announced plans to sue the U.S. Army Corps this week over the use of the Bonnet Carre spillway. The Corps opened the spillway for two prolonged periods this year, February 27 - April 10 and May 10 - July 26, in order to protect New Orleans from flooding. Attorney General Hood argued that the opening of the spillway for such prolonged periods harmed the economy of Mississippi by damaging fish and oyster populations in the Gulf of Mexico. Each time the spillway is opened freshwater is released into the Gulf in large quantities which can harm marine wildlife. 

The Army Corp's Commanding General and Chief of Engineers, Lieutenant General Todd Semonite, defended their decision during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, stating, "Anything we can do to do this better, we want to do. But the last thing we want to do is hold water back and kill a human when we're trying to preserve the environment."

In an effort to find a better solution to flooding along the Mississippi River, Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi called for the addition of a comprehensive study of water management techniques to the 2020 Water Resources Development Act. 

Local news articles on the topic can be found at  Fox 8 Live and  CBS Channel 3 News.

Please contact Senior Policy Analyst,  Chris Askew-Merwin, for more information.

Minnesota Report Finds Climate Change Mitigation Potential from State's Nutrient Reduction Strategy for Water Quality

A report released this month from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency outlines the potential for the state's nutrient reduction strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in addition to its intended impacts on water quality. The nutrient reduction strategy is comprised of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) including planting cover crops during off-seasons, reducing tilling and planting shelterbelt trees to reduce nutrient run-off. By reducing run-off, these practices reduce the build-up of excess nutrients in waterways which have harmful impacts on water quality downstream such as harmful algal blooms (HABs) or hypoxia (extremely low dissolved oxygen in water). While the benefit of these BMPs on water quality has been long understood, this report examined each of the 21 BMPs to estimate their greenhouse gas reductions. 

From the report, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency estimated that if BMPs were implemented across Minnesota's 20 million acres of agricultural land then the emissions produced by the agricultural sector could be reduced by 5-10%. As agriculture accounts for roughly 25% of Minnesota's total greenhouse gas emissions, this could be a significant incentive to expand the state's nutrient reduction strategy. With this report, Minnesota has shown the country how win-win strategies are possible for both water and climate. 

For more information on Minnesota's nutrient reduction strategy click  here. To read the full report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency click  here.

Please contact Senior Policy Analyst,  Chris Askew-Merwin, for more information.

This Week in Washington

In the Senate:


In the House:

 

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