Reps. Kaptur, Gallagher, Introduce Bill To Reduce Phosphorus Runoff

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), GLTF member, last week introduced the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023.

The bill seeks to combat harmful algal blooms by reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP). It would establish a pilot program that directs the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to target DRPs in “priority watersheds” in the Great Lakes region in the Midwest, and the Chesapeake Bay region in the Northeast. The NRCS would create an action plan for each priority watershed, and monitor its progress.

“Even though the federal government has spent billions of dollars trying to protect our waterways from harmful algal blooms, we still deal with the issue in Northeast Wisconsin and across the country,” Rep. Gallagher said. “The Healthy Farms Healthy Watershed Act would require the government to take a budget-neutral, innovative approach to the way we’re treating harmful algal blooms to ensure we’re targeting the root cause of the problem and not continuing to fund the status quo.”

Read the bill here.

Great Lakes Navigational System Highlighted

in WRDA Hearing

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held its second hearing on the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) last Wednesday, this time focused on stakeholder perspectives. 

One of the witnesses was Jim Weakley, President of the Lake Carriers Association, who highlighted the impact that previous WRDAs have had on the Great Lakes Navigation System (GLNS). “WRDA has resuscitated the GLNS, and placed it on a healthier diet of regular authorizations and more funding,” Weakley said.

The Lake Carriers’ Association has two requests for WRDA 2024, Weakley said. First is that the five Great Lakes connecting channels -- the St. Mary's River, the Detroit River, the St. Clair River, the Channels in Lake St. Clair, and the Straits of Mackinac -- be 100% federally funded instead of requiring a nonfederal sponsor. The other request is that the Middle Neebish Channel, in the St. Mary’s River, be authorized at just one depth of 27/28 feet instead of being split lengthwise between a 27/28 foot depth and a 21 foot depth.

Weakley also noted that the two-year WRDA cycle, established and sustained over the past decade, has improved how the GLNS gets funding. “I know the Great Lakes Navigation System may need further authorizations to address material management and to provide beneficial use opportunities,” he said. “The two-year WRDA cycle provides the needed flexibility for better stewardship of infrastructure, environmental resources, and precious tax dollars," he noted.

Member WRDA requests in the House opened last Monday, December 11th, and will close on January 12th. View a recording of the hearing here.

NEMWI will continue to follow the progress of WRDA 2024.

Rep. Kaptur Gives Floor Speech on GLA

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) gave a floor speech last Tuesday calling on the Biden Administration to launch the Great Lakes Authority (GLA), which was authorized in last year’s omnibus funding bill at $33 million per year. While the GLA has been authorized, it cannot convene or begin work until the Biden Administration nominates a federal co-chairperson to lead it.

“For decades and decades, the Great Lakes region lacked authorization for a regional development instrumentality that might begin to emulate the success of the Tennessee Valley Authority,” Kaptur said. “Now, coupling the Great Lakes authority with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, our region stands poised for new investment in good-paying jobs and economic opportunity to turbocharge revitalization.”

“All our Great Lakes region asks the Biden Administration for is equal footing,” she concluded. “Don't leave us out.”

Watch a video of Rep. Kaptur’s speech here.

Happy Holidays From The Northeast-Midwest Institute!

This will be the last Weekly Update of 2023. Have happy holidays, stay safe, and we'll be back in your inbox on January 8th, 2024!

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