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Three Briefings Upcoming on Calendar
- The Hypoxia Task Force Report to Congress
January 31, 10:30 AM |Senate Visitor Center Room 200
- Soo Locks and the American Steel Industry
January 31, 2:30 PM | CVC Congressional Meeting Room North
- Invasive Asian Grass Carp and the Great Lakes
February 6, 2:30 PM | 234 Cannon House Office Building
Please see the full announcements below for more details and to RSVP.
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Briefing This Wednesday on the
Hypoxia Task Force Report to Congress
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 10:30 AM
Senate Visitor Center, Room 200
A briefing by the Northeast-Midwest Institute on Wednesday, January 31, at 10:30 AM will examine the conclusions of a recently-released report by the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force.
High nutrient
loadings
from the agricultural landscape and discharged treated sewage entering the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi River have created the largest recurring hypoxic zone in the United States, where oxygen becomes too depleted to support most marine life. This "dead zone" is disruptive to ecosystems and causes hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage to fisheries by some estimates. Last summer, the dead zone was a record size: 22,720 square kilometers, or roughly the size of New Jersey. While this dead zone is a problem concentrated in the Gulf, the solutions involve the entire Mississippi River Basin.
In November 2017, the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force released a report describing progress towards attaining the goals of its own Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan of 2008. The Task Force is a collaboration of federal and state agencies, co-chaired by EPA and Iowa. The briefing is an opportunity to educate Congressional staff and oth
er interested stakeholders of the important conclusions in the report which are relevant to several upcoming pieces of legislation. Presenters will include:
- Katie Flahive, EPA Nonpoint Source Management Branch, federal co-chair of the Hypoxia Task Force Coordinating Committee.
- Matt Lechtenberg, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Water Quality Initiative Coordinator.
- Dr. Amanda Gumbert, University of Kentucky Extension Water Quality Specialist.
- Dr. Beth Baker, Mississippi State University Assistant Extension Professor.
For more information, please contact
Joe Vukovich
, Senior Policy Analyst for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Briefing This Wednesday on the
Soo Locks and the American Steel Industry
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at
2:30 PM
CVC Congressional Meeting Room North
A briefing by the Northeast-Midwest Institute on Wednesday, January 31, at 2:30 PM will examine the importance of the Soo Locks to American steel and manufacturing industries.
The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan serve as one of the nation's most economically vital systems, acting as a critical component in the American steel supply chain. More than 10,000 one-way trips and about 80 million tons of cargo annually pass through the Soo Locks, including nearly all of the iron ore that is mined for the American steel industry. According to a study released by the Department of Homeland Security, a six-month closure at the Soo Locks would lead to the loss of $1.1 trillion in gross domestic product and 11 million American jobs, directly impacting agriculture, appliances, automobiles, construction, and infrastructure industries.
The briefing will focus on such issues as the Soo Locks' role in the steel supply chain, efforts to modernize the Soo Locks, and the direct impact the Soo Locks have on American manufacturing. Presenters will include:
- Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Sugrue, Commander of Detroit District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Tom Dower, Senior Director, Government Relations, ArcelorMittal.
- Matthew McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, Northeast-Midwest Institute.
For more information, please contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Briefing Scheduled Next Week
on Asian Grass Carp
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at
2:30 PM
234 Cannon House Office Building
A briefing by the Northeast-Midwest Institute on Tuesday, February 6, at 2:30 PM will exami
ne
perspectives from federal and state officials, conservation NGOs, and sportsmen groups about invasive Asian grass carp in the Great Lakes.
The topics and speakers will include:
- Risk assessment of grass carp and the differences of the governance approaches compared to other invasive Asian carp
- Dr. John Dettmers, Great Lakes Fishery Commission
- Great Lakes State efforts and response to grass carp
- Mr. Seth Herbst, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Mr. Rich Carter, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
- Current research on grass carp
- Dr. Leon Carl, U.S. Geological Survey
- Conservation and sportsmen perspectives - what's at risk?
- Mr. Dan Eichinger, Michigan United Conservation Clubs
- Mr. Matt Misicka, Ohio Conservation Society
- Mr. Gildo Tori, Ducks Unlimited
For more information, please contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Senate Confirms Assistant Secretary for
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Senate last Thursday confirmed R.D. James as the new Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA), which serves as the lead civilian in charge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. James previously served on the Mississippi River Commission for 36 years, where he focused on navigational and environmental issues on the river.
During his
Senate Armed Services Hearing in November, Senator Gary Peters asked James about the potential of Asian carp coming into the Great Lakes through the Mississippi River Basin and the delayed action of the Army Corps of Engineers to implement a strategy against this invasive species until 2025. James responded that he has visited the Brandon Road Lock and Dam site and will continue to have an open dialogue with lawmakers and stakeholders moving forward to prevent the transfer of invasive aquatic species between basins.
For more information, please contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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This Week on Capitol Hill
The President will address Congress on Tuesday for his first official State of the Union Address at 9:00 PM EST.
The Senate continues to negotiate an immigration reform deal as the most recent federal funding deadline, February 8, approaches.
The House is considering a wide range of bills this week, including a new version of the FY18 defense appropriations bill. Previous versions of the same bill have passed the House twice already but saw no action in the Senate.
A full list of key Congressional committee activity that impacts the region can be viewed below:
Tuesday, January 30
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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