NEMWI President Allegra Cangelosi and NEMWI Great Lakes Washington Program Director Danielle Chesky were each presenters last week at the Healing Our Waters' Great Lakes Coalition 10th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference in Grand Rapids (September 9-11, 2014). Cangelosi, Principal Investigator for the NEMWI's Great Ships Initiative, presented on the current status of ballast water management system (BWMS) technology development, testing and approvals as part of a larger session on invasive species in the Great Lakes. Cangelosi stated that there has been a notable increase in BWMS development and testing this year since the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations and testing guidelines have become clear. She emphasized the importance of solid, up-front testing to assure the BMWSs that are installed on ships work well from the start to avoid costly environmental, economic, and regulatory impacts of failures in the field. Chesky presented on an upcoming NEMWI report, which identifies opportunities for state and local authorities to receive federal resources to build local climate resiliency. The report, expected to be released this fall, identifies resources such as federal strategic guidance and direct and indirect resources, including data portals, technical assistance, grants, and cooperative agreements. The federal resources can help support resiliency through habitat restoration, flood protection, and infrastructure improvement. Climate change adaptation will help Great Lakes states and communities adapt to ever-increasing climate impacts and extreme weather events, so that they can continue to benefit from their nationally-significant freshwater resource.

 For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director, Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, or Allegra Cangelosi, President of the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Leaders, including NEMW delegation member Chairman Bill Shuster (PA), last week introduced the bipartisan Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014, or PRRIA (H.R. 5449). The bill builds upon the last rail authorization, which expired in 2013, and aims to improve Amtrak and the Nation's passenger rail transportation system by improving infrastructure, reducing costs, leveraging private sector resources, creating greater accountability and transparency, and accelerating project delivery. Among other changes, the bill would cut federal funding for Amtrak construction by 40%, slightly increase spending on current train operations, and require Amtrak to reinvest money from its only profitable route-the Northeast Corridor-back into the corridor through a trust fund. More information is available here. Full committee markup of the bill is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 17.
 

For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.