NEMWI Releases Updated Manufacturing

Legislative Tracker

NEMWI's Manufacturing Legislative Tracker is newly released today with the tracker updated to December 1, 2023. Overall, the updated tracker reflects very few newly introduced manufacturing bills and very little if any progress with the already introduced bills, largely due to the paralysis in the House of Representatives due to the Speakership battle and other crises.

Among the newly introduced bills is the Opportunity Act of 2023, sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), which seeks to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing assistance, and for other purposes. Senator Klobuchar stated that this legislation will “strengthen the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Products Assistance Program and will continue to create jobs and solidify America as a leading manufacturer of these products.”

Also newly introduced is the the Job Creation through Energy Efficient Manufacturing Act, sponsored by Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-8), which seeks to establish the Financing Efficient Manufacturing Program under the Department of Energy to provide onsite renewable energy resources for U.S.-based manufacturing facilities, including smart grids and energy reuse systems. This bill serves a dual purpose of bolstering U.S. manufacturing by promoting job growth and efficiency, while using green technology that cuts down on waste and emissions. 

Looking forward, as more procedural issues plaguing Congress are resolved, progress on bills relating to the manufacturing sector can be expected. An important bill to look for is the Agriculture Right to Repair Act, which responds to a longstanding battle to grant consumers more rights in servicing and maintaining agriculture equipment by making replacement parts accessible, affordable, and compatible with self-assembly.

A link to the updated Manufacturing Legislative Tracker can be found here.

Reported by NEMWI Intern James Li, Brown University

Congress Introduces HABHRCA Reauthorization

Both chambers of Congress have now introduced reauthorizations of the Harmful Algal Bloom Research and Control Act (HABHRCA). In the House, Rep. David Joyce (OH-14), a Great Lakes Task Force (GLTF) Co-Chair, is a co-sponsor of the Act, which was recently added as an amendment to the Weather Act Reauthorization. That bill, H.R. 6093, was passed out of committee last month. The Senate’s companion, S.3348, co-sponsored by GLTF member Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI), was introduced last week.

The bill authorizes funding through 2028 at $27.5 million per year, $7.5 million higher than the amount authorized from 2018-2023. It also contains provisions to help federal agencies, particularly the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coordinate to achieve the aims in the bill. Finally, the bill codifies NOAA’s HAB Control Technologies Incubator Program into law for the first time.

NEMWI is following progress on these bills and others with our Great Lakes and Water Legislation Tracker, which you can find here.

Reported by Alex Eastman, NEMWI Staff

Great Lakes Governors Push For 

100% Federal Funding of Brandon Road Project

The Great Lakes Governors and Premiers have released a letter signed by all eight Great Lakes Governors advocating for full federal funding of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project. The letter was addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the committees responsible for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). 

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam would prevent three species of invasive carp -- bighead, silver, and black carp -- from entering the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River. The project was first authorized in the 2020 WRDA with a 65% federal cost share, which was increased to 90% in 2022. The Governors say this still does not go far enough. 

“While the increased federal cost share was greatly appreciated…remaining costs are well beyond the typical non-federal sponsor obligations and stretch the capacity of the State of Illinois and the remaining Great Lakes States,” they wrote. Illinois and Michigan have split the non-federal construction cost estimate totaling $114 million, but they are far from the only beneficiaries of the project. Invasive carp pose a major threat to the ecosystem and economy of the entire Great Lakes region, but as it stands, Illinois is shouldering much of the burden. “This project, as a true national interest, requires full federal funding as for other major infrastructure projects that similarly safeguard the regional and national economies,” the Governors concluded. “We strongly support the inclusion of full federal funding for the remaining costs of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam Project in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2024.”

NEMWI will continue to monitor the Water Resources Development Act as progress continues this spring.

Read the letter here.

Reported by Alex Eastman, NEMWI Staff

EPA Releases New Proposed Lead and Copper Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposal Thursday to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule with the goal of getting lead out of drinking water across the U.S. The new rule would require water systems in most U.S. cities to replace 100% of their lead service lines within 10 years. 

A notable exception to the proposed rule is Chicago, which still has 40-50 years to remove 400,000 lead pipes, per Axios here.

Another change the rule would make is to lower the lead action level -- the minimum amount of lead that would require a water system to warn the public and take action. Currently, that number is 15 parts per billion (ppb), and the new rule would lower it to 10 ppb. For context, during the peak of the Flint water crisis, 25% of homes had water that exceeded 15 ppb, with some as high as 13,200 ppb. 

This proposal is the latest in a string of actions that the Biden Administration is taking to combat lead in drinking water, such as $15 billion in funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and partnerships with local communities to access that funding, which NEMWI covered here. 

Read more about the rule here.

Reported by Alex Eastman, NEMWI Staff

Connect With the Northeast-Midwest Institute

on LinkedIn

CONNECT with us on LinkedIn! The Northeast-Midwest Institute is re-vamping our LinkedIn page with new updates and information on our regional research and policy education programs. On LinkedIn we’ll be sharing timely updates on upcoming briefings, hearings, and events. NEMWI will also share important Great Lakes, water conservation, and manufacturing policy developments on LinkedIn to keep you in the know. 

Please check out our LinkedIn page here. And be sure to FOLLOW us to keep up to date with NEMWI on LinkedIn!