Last week, Congress reauthorized the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2014 (S. 1254), which was first passed in 1998 and last reauthorized in 2006. The bill, co-sponsored by Great Lakes delegation member Sen. Rob Portman (OH), passed both chambers unanimously.  In addition to addressing marine waters, the act creates a new Great Lakes section to ensure that federal agencies prioritize monitoring and mitigation efforts on fresh water bodies. Algal blooms degrade all five of the Great Lakes, with notable events such as the massive bloom of 2011 and the 2013 harmful algal bloom occurring in Lake Erie. The presence of toxins during the 2013 bloom caused 2,000 residents to lose access to safe tap water. The Ohio Farm Bureau, The Nature Conservancy, academics, and recreational users endorsed the bill, indicating the high level of impact algal blooms have on the local economy and ecosystem. Last June, the NEMWI hosted a briefing on the impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes and what communities and businesses are doing to prevent them.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) last week announced the immediate availability of two new resources for assessing the risks of chemical exposures at specific hazardous sites: the Dose Calculator and the Brownfields and Land Reuse Site Tool. The Dose Calculator can be used to compute the amount of a toxic substance (dose) to which an individual may be exposed. Users enter information about route of exposure-air, soil, water, fish consumption-and can customize exposure parameters, including age, quantity of soil/water/fish ingested, and duration of exposure (days). The Brownfield and Land Reuse Site Tool includes a "how-to" guide for conducting a site visit. It also allows users to: screen for multiple chemical exposures; assess sites; and create a list of sites that are potentially contaminated. The NEMW region's manufacturing history and strength has left a legacy of highly polluted sites; the region is home to over 900 (about 52%) of the country's Superfund sites.

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