NEMWI Releases Updated Great Lakes and Water Legislation Tracker

Since the last update of NEMWI’s Great Lakes and Water Legislation Tracker, Members of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced three major bills relating to water and Great Lakes policy. These are the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2023, or HABHRCA, (which also has a Senate companion bill), the Healthy Farms and Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023, and lastly, the Mapping the Great Lakes Act.

The HABHRCA reauthorization was introduced in the House on November 6th, and in the Senate three weeks later. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Suzanna Bonamici (D-OR) and co-sponsored by Great Lakes Task Force (GLTF) Co-Chair Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), would reauthorize the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 through 2028 at $27.5 million per year.

The Healthy Farms and Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023 was introduced in the House on December 4th by GLTF Co-Chair Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and GLTF member Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8). The bill aims to combat harmful algal blooms through reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP). The bill would create a program that directs the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to target DRPs in “priority watersheds” in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay regions. 

H.R. 7020, the Mapping the Great Lakes Act, was introduced in the House on January 17th by GLTF member Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI-9), and is co-sponsored by GLTF Co-Chair Debbie Dingell (D-MI). The bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to perform a high-resolution remapping of the Great Lakes lakebed, finished by 2030. As of today, only 15% of the Great Lakes lakebed has been mapped in high density, and many of the maps that exist today are outdated. A higher resolution map using technology such as LiDAR would allow officials to map in much more detail, showing objects like pipelines, cables, and shipwrecks. More detailed mapping could inform environmental protection policies and help study how climate change affects the Great Lakes. 

View these bills and more in NEMWI’s updated Great Lakes and Water Legislation Tracker here.

Reported by NEMWI Intern Aiden Meyer, Nazareth University

President Biden Visits Blatnik Bridge

President Biden made a trip to the John A. Blatnik Memorial Bridge in Superior, Wisconsin on Wednesday to highlight the work being done under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA. The bridge connects Superior to Duluth, Minnesota, and services 950,000 trucks and 3.4 billion tons of goods per year, but is 63 years old and deteriorating. It is no longer safe for heavy vehicles to use the bridge, which causes supply chain problems. 

After remarks by speakers including Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, the President took the stage. He announced $1 billion from the IIJA to modernize the bridge and bring desperately-needed improvements, part of a $5 billion investment that will fund 37 total projects across the country. “Invest in America. That’s what we’re doing. Bringing work, hope, and opportunity to communities all across this country,” Biden said. He also expounded upon the broader importance of the bridge. “This bridge is also critical to the largest port on the Great Lakes [Duluth], serving critical industries like forestry, agriculture, clean energy, supporting so many communities,” he said. “I mean, it really is consequential.”

The President also spoke on other Great Lakes issues addressed in the IIJA, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and lead service line removal. “We’re also investing $1.1 billion in [Wisconsin] to provide clean water and replace poisonous lead pipes,” he said. “Every lead pipe is going to be taken out so you can turn on your faucet and drink clean water without getting sick.” Late last year, the EPA proposed a new Lead and Copper Rule, which would require water systems in most U.S. cities to replace 100% of their lead pipes within 10 years.

Biden concluded by articulating why infrastructure projects like Blatnik Bridge matter, beyond the physical improvements or economic impact. “When you see the shovels in the ground and cranes in the sky and people hard at work on these projects, I hope you feel a renewed sense pride — pride in your community, pride in what we can do, pride in America, pride in knowing we can get big things done still together in America.”

Watch President Biden’s speech here.

Reported by Alex Eastman, NEMWI staff

U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Holds Hearing on Succession Planning in Local Communities

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship met on January 24 to discuss how older business owners, especially in rural or small town communities, are not prepared for the succession of their businesses.

Committee Chair Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said in her opening statement that the aging population is growing as a whole, and more than half of all businesses in the United States are owned by people over the age of 65. “This hearing is an opportunity to think about how we help those small business owners transition their businesses” she said, and “how we help them retain the legacy of those small businesses.”

Ranking Member Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) added that nearly one-third of all business owners plan to pass their business on to a family member. In many of these cases, she said, the estate tax is extremely harmful to those inheriting the businesses. “We are now in the time of Biden-omics,” she stated, and “there are very high interest rates and rising costs.” 

The first witness was Palmer Schoening, Chairman of the Family Business Coalition in Washington, D.C. He remarked that tax laws and regulations are changing so regularly that a business can never be comfortable or safe. Schoening advocated for a permanent extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and to work with local colleges to provide business owners with more education about government policies that are there for their support. 

Tabitha Croscut, a shareholder and attorney at Devine-Millimet and Branch, brought up the importance of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). She also stated that mentorship is very important, as well as more access to capital. 

Theresa Hildreth, the Executive Director of Calhoun County Economic Development Corporation in Iowa, advocated for saving the family farm. “The average age of Iowa farmers is 57,” Hildreth stated, “and there are four times the amount of farmers over 65 than there are under 35.” Supply chain issues, fuel costs, high interest rates, and high inflation were all mentioned as factors that inhibit young farmers from inheriting their family farm. 

President of the Exit Planning Institute in Ohio Scott Snider was adamant that better educational programming is needed for small business owners to pass their businesses on, and also stated that within the 30 million small businesses in the U.S. today, 90% of the wealth is trapped in the business itself. 

NEMWI will continue to monitor the progress of small business and job opportunity legislation. A recording of this hearing can be found here.

Reported by NEMWI Intern Molly Lienemann, Augustana University

U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget Holds Hearing 

on the Climate Crisis and its Effects on the Ocean

The U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget met on January 24 to discuss climate change and its impacts on the world’s oceans. This hearing was the 14th in a series to discuss what can be done to alleviate the impacts of climate change.

Committee Chairman Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) focused his opening statement on the economic impact of climate change. Forty percent of all Americans live on the coast and together make up the third-highest GDP in the world. Billion-dollar industries including tourism and fisheries are at risk.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), in place of Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA), said that while he knows that the globe is warming, he is not a “climate alarmist” and with the Inflation Reduction Act and other climate change spending, the U.S. already has put $6.2 trillion into trying to solve this problem. 

Five distinguished witnesses provided testimony at the hearing, and each one was adamant that quick changes are needed. Dr. Andrea Dutton, an expert geologist and paleo-oceanographer, stated that “the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of action,” and that we have been unprepared for marine life to already be reaching critical thresholds. Dr. Rashid Sumaila, bio-economist and professor at the University of British Columbia, explained that fish are moving north to cooler waters, which in turn is making the U.S. lose GDP while Canada is gaining it. Also the oceans are becoming more acidic, losing oxygen, and the sea levels continue to rise. These “Deadly Four” steps will cause problems in the near future. “The ocean provides job security,” he went on, “generating income for an estimated 260 million people worldwide. We are all connected by the ocean.”

Captain Kyle Schaefer, a fishing guide and charter business owner, stated that his businesses can only succeed with normal fish and climate patterns, and without immediate positive change, he is likely going to have to close or sell. The profitable fish are migrating away, with foreign fish now filling the nets and disrupting the ecosystem on the northeast coast. Fires on the Western coast and Canada have adversely affected staff members’ health and their ability to sight fish. 

NEMWI will continue to monitor these hearings and the legislation that may come from them. A recording of the hearing can be found here.

Reported by NEMWI Intern Molly Lienemann, Augustana University

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