On Wednesday, June 12, the NEMWI coordinated a briefing on the implementation of the U.S. Coast Guard Ballast Water Standard (authorized in the National Invasive Species Act) and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water Act-based Vessel General Permit (VGP), both of which cover discharges of ballast water from vessels. Agency representatives provided history on the formation of their respective regulations, including the nature of public input in the final rules. The EPA described the unique role of state certification in their permit. The U.S. Coast Guard provided information on the Alternative Management System, which provides temporary acceptance of foreign type-approved systems, for use in vessels in the U.S, pending U.S. type approval. Additionally, the speakers provided background on their respective requirements to protect the Great Lakes, and how they are avoiding unnecessary overlap or regulatory conflicts. Question and answer period discussion focused on complementarity of the programs, and possible unanticipated gaps. Carolyn Juneman of the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration, Craig Middlebrook of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, and Allegra Cangelosi, President of NEMWI and Director of the Great Ships Initiative, were on hand to answer questions. The Great Lakes Task Force Co-chairs, Reps. Candice Miller, John Dingell, Sean Duffy, Louise Slaughter and Sens. Carl Levin and Mark Kirk, served as honorary co-sponsors of the briefing. Slides from the presentation are available here.

 

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

On June 13 and 14, NEMWI participated in a Bi-National Workshop on Sharing Agricultural Science, Technology, and Data to Improve Great Lakes Water Quality in London, Ontario. Workshop participants shared approaches to measuring Best Management Practice (BMP) effectiveness using water quality monitoring and modeling and experiences in both the United States and Canada. NEMWI presented its "Toward Sustainable Water Information" project, which is assessing the availability of decision-useful water quality data. This focuses on data for evaluating BMP effectiveness in the Lake Erie Basin to inform resource management decision making. The workshop participants discussed: data collection and modeling challenges; the state of the science and agricultural trends on both sides of the border; and socio-economic issues that influence use of BMPs and consequently their ability to improve water quality over time.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a full Committee Hearing on Thursday, June 20, entitled "Developing a Skilled Workforce for a Competitive Economy: Reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act." The hearing will take place at 2:30pm in 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building and is also available via webcast at the HELP committee website. Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to help address the challenges of a global economy and to encourage economic development for the business community by growing companies and jobs, and improving productivity. Workforce development and job training issues are of particular importance to the NEMW region. WIA is the primary federal program that supports workforce development activities, including job search assistance, career development, and job training. The law gave state and local government the primary responsibility to establish broad-based labor market systems using federal job training funds for adults, dislocated workers, and youth. Most WIA programs' authorization expired at the end of FY2003, leaving WIA programs to be funded through the annual appropriations process since then. The House previously passed H.R. 803 on a close vote of 215-202, which would amend WIA and consolidate and/or repeal programs previouslyauthorized by WIA. H.R. 803 is now under jurisdiction of the Senate HELP Committee for any further action.

  

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

NEMWI seeks an experienced, detail-oriented administrative assistant and outreach manager to assist with management of external relations (especially with states and the Coalitions), project and Hill event planning and implementation, press and public relations, preparation of major publications, board scheduling, and office management. Those interested in the position can find out more on the NEMWI website here.