Congressional Leaders Call on Administration To Appoint a New Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Administrator
A bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers sent President Joe Biden a letter last Friday calling for him to appoint an Administrator to lead the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLSLSDC). The GLSLSDC is responsible for operating and maintaining the U.S. portions of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a deep draft commercial waterway that links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and connects the region’s ports to world markets. The GLSLSDC Administrator position has been vacant since 2017.
The letter, which was led by Congressional Great Lakes Task Force (GLTF) Co-Chair Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and signed by 40 Senators and Representatives, highlights the Seaway's economic impacts on the Great Lakes region through the 90,000 jobs it helps support in the navigational and commerce industries. In addition to Representative Kaptur, Senate GLTF Co-Chairs Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), and House GLTF Co-Chairs Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), and David Joyce (R-OH), all signed onto the letter.
NEMWI’s updated Manufacturing Legislative Tracker keeps tabs on bills on manufacturing policy being developed in the U.S. Congress.
A bill that is making recent progress is Representative Eddie Johnson (D-TX-30)'s “America COMPETES Act of 2022”. This bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to implement a National Engineering Biology Research and Development Initiative to advance societal well-being, national security, sustainability, and economic productivity and competitiveness. Among other activities, the initiative must include sustained support for research centers, individual investigators, technologies, and training. This bill was introduced in the House on July 21, 2021 and originally passed the House on February 4, 2022.
A companion bill that includes more ambitious proposals including major parts of the Endless Frontier Act and is sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) passed the Senate on March 28, but with new amendments made to it, and this Senate bill was sent back to the House.
Because the House bill and the Senate bill have many differences, it is up to the House to vote to go to conference committee as early as this week. The Senate already has agreed to go to conference committee. The conference committee is expected to work through April and May in an effort to reconcile the House and Senate bills. The final legislation then will have to pass the House and Senate again before being sent to President Biden for his signature.
Legislation introduced in Congress earlier last month would address federal red tape that has made it difficult in the past for communities to replace lead and galvanized steel pipes in homes that are privately owned by residents. The Financing Lead Out of Water (FLOW) Act (H.R.6985), which was introduced by Representative Dan Kildee (MI-05), and cosponsored by Representatives Bill Pascrell (NJ-09) and Gwen Moore (WI-04), would allow public water utilities to issue tax-exempt bonds which bypass the IRS’ so-called “private business use test” for qualified private lead service line replacement. By relieving these administrative burdens faced by water systems, communities will be able to more efficiently help private citizens replace their home pipes in a cost-effective manner. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
For more information on the bill, please visit Representative Kildee’s website for his press release on the bill.
Invasive Carp Action Plan Report Released
The Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ICRCC) last week released its 2022 Invasive Carp Action Plan, which details a series of projects focused on protecting the Great Lakes from invasive carp. The Action Plan, which the ICRCC has released on an annual basis, serves as a strategic plan outlining the work by 28 U.S. and Canadian federal, state, provincial, tribal, regional, and local agencies, to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), highlights of the 2022 Action Plan include:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-led Brandon Road Lock and Dam Aquatic Nuisance Species Barrier Project in Will County, Illinois which incorporates structural and non-structural control measures to prevent invasive carp from moving upstream in the Great Lakes
Continued operation of the electric dispersal barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System
Large-scale field testing and development of new technologies to block invasive carp migration
Illinois Department of Natural Resources efforts to increase focused commercial fishing to remove adult invasive carp in the upper Illinois River
Continued efforts led by Ohio and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources to remove grass carp in Lake Erie
Continued support for state-led efforts in basin-wide early detection monitoring and contingency response actions
The 2022 Action Plan is funded through the GLRI, annual agency appropriations, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
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