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NEMW Regional Maritime Priorities Supported in Final House Spending Bill
The House of Representatives last week approved its FY2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which primarily funds the Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As part of its tracking of federal spending, the Northeast-Midwest Institute has published an updated review of the bill, including funding for harbor maintenance, energy efficiency programs, advanced manufacturing, and projects within the Mississippi River Basin.
During consideration on the House floor, NEMW region members offered multiple amendments to boost spending. Notably, Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI-02) offered an amendment (which was adopted) to boost operations and maintenance spending for harbors to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) target levels. WRRDA, passed in 2014, provided for increases of funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to maintain the nation's harbors. Additionally, Rep. Sean Duffy (WI-07), co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, offered an amendment (which was adopted) intended to provide base funding to the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration (GLFER) Program. GLFER provides matching funding for habitat restoration. The bill, as in years past, also includes some policy provisions, which NEMWI covers in its updated review:
- a prohibition on open lake disposal of dredged materials in Lake Erie without approval by the state's water quality agency;
- a prohibition on spending for the Administration's Waters of the U.S. rule; and
- encouragement for the Corps to expedite its work on invasive species matters, including work with local and regional research partners and actions related to Asian carp.
The bill will now head to the Senate, which will likely consider its own spending bill and plan.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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BRIEFING RECAP: Nutrient Trading - Can it Help Make the Lake
Less Green?
On Monday, April 27, 2015, the NEMWI hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on the potential for nutrient trading to help address nutrient management challe
nges (
webinar recording
;
webinar slides
). Speakers for the event highlighted the many aspects, challenges, and benefits of nutrient trading, and its potential to improve the health of water resources affected by nutrient pollution. Bruce Knight (Strategic Conservation Partnerships) and Alex Echols (Terra Altus) provided background on the need for innovative solutions to manage nutrients. They highlighted recent advancements in technology that allow for precision farming and innovative solutions like nutrient trading to work, as well as potentially save money with strategic implementation. Brent Fewell (Troutman Sanders, National Water Quality Trading Alliance) provided details on necessary components and challenges to trading, including trade ratios that require greater projected nutrient reductions from nonpoint sources compared to point sources to account for the uncertainty and weather variability, as well as the need for nutrient trading programs to improve overall water quality. He also provided background on nutrient trading's driving mechanisms for reducing nutrient pollution, like the Clean Water Act, and the potential pitfalls for nutrient trading programs, like managing liability and contracts.
Elin Betanzo (NEMWI) described tools for measuring water quality outcomes of nutrient trading programs and presented preliminary results from NEMWI's upcoming report on water quality monitoring in the Lake Erie drainage basin, noting that large nutrient reduction goals and a five to ten year monitoring timeline are necessary to measure water quality improve
ments that result from nutrient trading and other nutrient reduction strategies. Victoria Pebbles (Great Lakes Commission) provided attendees with a specific case study, the
Fox P Trade pilot
, which identifies potential trades between agriculture and point sources, like wastewater treatment plants, to reduce the flow of phosphorus into Green Bay and, hopefully, make the bay less green.
All speakers highlighted the potential for nutrient trading to be part of the solution to nutrient management challenges, whether in the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, or throughout the country.
Honorary cosponsors of this briefing were Senate Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Senators Mark Kirk and Debbie Stabenow, Senate Vice-Chairs Senators Rob Portman and Amy Klobuchar, House Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Congresswoman Miller, Congresswoman Kaptur, Congressman Duffy, and Congresswoman Slaughter.
For more information, contact
Danielle Chesky
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Great Lakes Hill Happenings:
April 2015
April saw high levels of activity on the Hill, including: introduction of Great Lakes-specific legislation relating to dredging and restoration; passage of the funding bill for the US Army Corps of Engineers; a briefing on one tool to help address nutrient management in the Great Lakes and beyond; and a briefing on successful stories of invasive species management that originated in the Great Lakes. For the full stories and details, click here.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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U.S. Department of Labor Makes $150 Million Available for New Sector Partnerships National Emergency Grants
The U.S. Department of Labor is making $150 million available through the new Sector Partnerships National Emergency Grant program to help states develop innovative employment and training services that focus on enhanced regional and industry-specific collaborations. Sector partnerships are employer-driven partnerships of industry, education and training, and other stakeholders that focus on the workforce needs of key industries in a regional labor market. The NEMWI co-hosted a briefing in February that featured sector partnerships as one of several proven, cost-effective approaches to workforce and economic development. This initiative will encourage the development of training strategies based on these partnerships to better address regional workforce needs. The funding will be used to help states offer new services such as regional sector planning, enhanced career services to dislocated workers, and work-based training opportunities. Grants will range from $500,000 to $7 million and all states, territories and federally-recognized tribes are eligible to apply for funding. Applications must be received by May 29 to be considered. More information on applying for funding is available in Training and Employment Guidance Letter 31-14.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Sr. Policy
Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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