Northeast-Midwest Institute Weekly Update |
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NEMW Coalition Chairs Co-Lead Letter on CDBG Program
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NEMW Coalition Co-Chairs Reps. Mike Kelly and Jim McGovern and Urban Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Mike Turner and Chaka Fattah co-led a letter signed by 101 Members of Congress to the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee expressing concern on the subcommittee's proposed programmatic funding level for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The subcommittee-approved bill would reduce CDBG formula grants by nearly 50 percent, from $3.071 billion in FY2013 to $1.637 billion in FY2014. Funds help support a range of projects, including lead-abatement and public infrastructure improvements, critical objectives of the NEMW region, especially within older cities. Members delivered the letter before the full Appropriations Committee met to consider the legislation on June 27. During committee consideration, Rep. Fattah further highlighted the issue by offering an amendment to restore CDBG funding to FY2012 enacted levels. Although the amendment failed in committee, Members may have another opportunity in July, if the legislation is scheduled for House floor debate.
For more information, contact Kate Ostrander, Legislative Director of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition.
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Mississippi River Mayors Hold 2nd Annual Meeting in St. Cloud; Sign First-Ever Agreement with USACE
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Twenty-three mayors gathered from nine of the Mississippi River states for the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRCTI) annual meeting. On June 27, mayors announced with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a first-ever Memorandum of Common Purpose outlining methods for a coordinated approach to responding to the River issues relevant to local governments as a whole system. MRCTI Co-Chairs Mayor Slay of St. Louis and Mayor Kleis of St. Cloud, Missouri Valley Division Commanding General John Peabody, and Edward Belk, senior civilian member of the Mississippi River Commission, executed the agreement. Mayor Wharton of Memphis signed as the witness. Also in St. Cloud, mayors elected new co-chairs: Mayor Wharton (Memphis, TN) and Mayor Buol (Dubuque, IA). They also voted in a new executive committee, and created a new executive committee role entitled "The Founder's Seat," which will be occupied by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay; Slay was the first mayor to join MRCTI and one of its inaugural co-chairs.
For more information, contact Colin Wellenkamp, Director of the MS River Cities & Towns Initiative at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI's Great Lakes Hill Happenings: June 2013 Now Available
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The June edition of Great Lakes Hill Happenings is now available. This edition includes:
- Updates on legislation, including introduction of the Great Lakes Navigation System Sustainability Act in the House and the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act in the Senate;
- Links to the briefings on ballast water regulations and harmful algal blooms coordinated by NEMWI, with the Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs as honorary co-sponsors; and
- An update on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Annual meeting, the resolutions passed by the municipalities, and efforts going forward to build resiliency to a changing climate.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI Great Ships Initiative Offers Freshwater Filter Testing Opportunity
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NEMWI's Great Ships Initiative (GSI), in collaboration with several US and Canadian ship-owners, is inviting ballast treatment filter system developers to participate in a testing opportunity at the GSI land-based ballast treatment testing facility in Superior, Wisconsin. GSI will supply the tests and data free of charge to the filter system developers, thanks to funding support from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. These GSI filter tests will inform treatment inventors about their filters' operational and biological effectiveness in fresh water systems like the Great Lakes, where organisms entrained in the ballast water uptake have become invasive, incurring severe environmental and economic damage. The tests will occur this summer and GSI will publish test results publicly, identifying each filter by a numeric code rather than trade name, unless the developer requests otherwise. Filter system developers should visit www.greatshipsinitiative.org to learn more and apply to participate in the tests.
For more info, contact Allegra Cangelosi, Director of the Great Ships Initiative and President of the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Senate Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Reintroduce Bill to Restore Great Lakes
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The Senate Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs, Sens. Car Levin (MI) and Mark Kirk (IL), along with seven of their colleagues, reintroduced the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013. The bill, which was introduced under a slightly different name in the last Congress, authorizes President Obama's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) at $475 million annually. So far, Congress has appropriated over $1.3 billion to the GLRI for Great Lakes projects, including habitat and fisheries restoration, as well as removal of contaminated sediments. The bill would also re-authorize the Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Protection Office at $25 million, and the Great Lakes Legacy Act at $150 million. The Legacy program provides funds to clean up coastal areas that Canada and the United States deem so contaminated that beneficial uses are impaired (known as "Areas of Concern"). The bill authorizes all programs through 2018. Additionally, the bill codifies the role of an Interagency Task Force to coordinate federal Great Lakes restoration and development activities, as well as that of the Great Lakes Advisory Board, to provide input and advice to the Administration on Great Lakes restoration and protection. Original co-sponsors of this legislation are: Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Sens. Carl Levin (MI) and Mark Kirk (IL); Great Lakes Task Force members Sens. Debbie Stabenow (MI), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Sherrod Brown (OH), Richard Durbin (IL), Al Franken (MN), Charles Schumer (NY); and Great Lakes Delegation member Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI). A bill was last introduced in the House during the 111th Congress and garnered bipartisan support among 43 co-sponsors.
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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House Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Introduce Great Lakes Navigation Bill and Build Bipartisan Support
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In June, House Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Reps. Candice Miller (MI) and Louise Slaughter (NY), along with Reps. Dan Benishek (MI), Bill Huizenga (MI), and Brian Higgins (NY), introduced the Great Lakes Navigation System Sustainability Act of 2013. The bill authorizes a $200 million regional set-aside out of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for funding operation and maintenance work on Great Lakes ports. Funding provided for the entire Great Lakes region as a system, similar to the Mississippi River, will lead to greater consideration of the interdependency of the ports in planning dredging and other harbor maintenance actions. The bill also prioritizes dredging for recreational harbors that can provide a 50% cost share. Since introduction, the bill has built bipartisan support with 20 co-sponsors, including Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Reps. Sean Duffy (WI) and John Dingell (D).
For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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