The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) will hold the second session of the 2021 Great Lakes Primer and Orientation Program this Friday, May 7, at Noon EDT. The topic will be Invasive Species in the Great Lakes. Registration for this second webinar session can be found here. Panelists at the session will include:
Mr. Marc Gaden, Communications Director and Legislative Liaison, Great Lakes Fishery Commission;
Mr. Marc Smith, Policy Director, National Wildlife Federation; and
Mr. Patrick Kocovsky, Invasive Specialist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The 2021 Great Lakes Primer and Orientation Program is a series of one-hour webinars that endeavor to provide Congressional staff with a fundamental policy education on the most critical issues that directly impact the health of the Great Lakes at the federal level. The planned schedule of sessions includes the following:
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI);
Invasive Species in the Great Lakes;
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes; and
Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency in the Great Lakes.
The first session of the Great Lakes Primer and Orientation Program was this past Friday, April 30. A recording of the first session which was on the GLRI can be viewed here. Additionally, if you have any questions, please email Matt McKenna at mmckenna@nemw.org.
NEMWI and ACRCC To Host Webinar
on Invasive Carp Action Plan Next Week
The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) will co-host a webinar on the 2021 Asian Carp Action Plan (Action Plan) on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 1 p.m. EDT. The 2021 Action Plan serves as the ACRCC’s comprehensive portfolio of initiatives focused on protecting the Great Lakes basin from invasive carp. The ACRCC is a collaborative bi-national effort among U.S. and Canadian federal, state, provincial, tribal, and municipal agencies to combat the spread of invasive carp to the Great Lakes.
The 2021 Action Plan, funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and annual agency appropriations, includes 61 detection, prevention, and control projects. These efforts include coordinated monitoring and early detection, aggressive reduction of invasive carp populations along established fronts, large-scale field trials of potential fish deterrent technologies, and actions to address black and grass carp threats.
The briefing will be led by the ACRCC co-chairs: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and will include presentations from key ACRCC partners..
To RSVP, please visit here, and for any questions, please email Matt McKenna at mmckenna@nemw.org.
U.S. Senate Passes Water Infrastructure Bill
The U.S. Senate last week passed a bipartisan water infrastructure bill by an overwhelming 89-to-2 vote. S. 914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, would increase authorized funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund by investing more than $35 billion in water resource development projects across the country. More specifically, the bill would:
Invest significantly in small, disadvantaged, rural, and tribal communities through grant programs that promote environmental justice.
Provide states with increased funding and program flexibilities to invest in community water projects that address aging infrastructure and improve water quality through the State Revolving Loan Funds.
Connect households to public water and wastewater services, decentralized wastewater services, and improve sanitation in Alaskan rural and native villages.
Increase investments in lead abatement through grant programs and assistance.
Promote resiliency projects to address the impacts of climate change.
Increase investment to address recruitment, training, and retention challenges facing the water and wastewater utility workforce.
Invest in the drinking water and wastewater needs of tribal communities.
Provide significant investments in technical assistance and new and emerging technologies that result in cleaner, safer, and more reliable water.
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