WEEKLY UPDATE June 11, 2014

In This Issue

Water Resources Bill Becomes Law: Critical Provisions for NEMW Region

NEMWI Coordinates Chicago Beach Visit for Congressional Staff

NEMWI's Great Lakes Hill Happenings: May 2014

HUD "Rebuild By Design" NEMW Region Winners to Receive Almost $1 Billion

Call for Session Proposals for Smart Growth Conference

COMING SOON

NEMWI Briefing: Wastewater Infrastructure in the Great Lakes
Mon., June 23, 2014
1:00 pm
Capitol Visitor Center SVC-214

NEMWI Briefing: Asian Carp Monitoring Framework 2014
Tues., June 24, 2014
1:30 pm
Capitol Visitor Center SVC-200

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Northeast-Midwest Institute

Mississippi River Basin Blog

News

Water Resources Bill Becomes Law: Critical Provisions for

NEMW Region

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act (H.R. 3080) passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, was signed by President Obama, and became law on Tuesday, June 10, 2014. A NEMWI summary of the bill can be accessed here. The enacted WRRDA: provides authorizations for new projects and operation and maintenance activities; reforms water and navigation infrastructure projects; and provides new guidance on flood control, in addition to addressing other issues. Specific provisions of key interest to the NEMW region include authorization of:

Innovative financing mechanisms for water infrastructure projects;
A Great Lakes port-range designation as a single navigation system;
Provisions to expand use of the HMTF fees for harbor maintenance activities;
Corps consideration of extreme impacts and events in future new and reconstruction projects; and,
Set-asides for operation and maintenance activities in smaller harbors.

NEMW Coalition and Great Lakes Task Force leadership supported the bill. As a follow up to the bill signing, the House Great Lakes Task Force sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to explicitly support the designation of the Great Lakes as a single navigation system and provide additional guidance on implementation of the designation.

Focus on Army Corps of Engineers programs will now shift to the appropriations process where non-governmental groups have already begun to provide their perspectives, including those of industry and navigation stakeholders (expressed here). The House Appropriations Subcommittee recently marked-up (i.e., reviewed and revised) and approved the appropriations bill, which would allocate approximately $1.1 billion of the estimated $1.8 billion collected annually into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to Corps harbor and waterway projects. Greater use of the trust fund revenues has been a focus for Congressional and navigation industry attention, especially in the Great Lakes where low water levels in recent years impact shipping tonnage capacity.

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

NEMWI Coordinates Chicago Beach Visit for Congressional Staff

Last week, the NEMWI's Great Lakes Washington Program coordinated a visit to Chicago's local beaches for Congressional Staff. The visit featured the 63rd St Beach, where the Chicago Parks District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Geological Service have coordinated efforts to restore, monitor, and maintain a healthy recreational and wildlife area. Staff also visited Northerly Island, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Chicago Parks District are collaborating on construction and restoration of the park area. Agency members presented on their own work as well as the collaborations that make Chicago's urban beaches accessible and safe to the public. Staff from five House and Senate offices attended, as well as a representative from the Chicago Mayor's office and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. The group was able to see the potential for collaboration among the federal and local agencies and the economic and ecological benefits to the region.

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

NEMWI's Great Lakes Hill Happenings: May 2014

The May 2014 edition of the Great Lakes Hill Happenings is now available and includes details on:

Upcoming NEMWI-hosted briefings on innovative monitoring technology, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, wastewater infrastructure, and Asian carp monitoring and prevention efforts;
Letters signed by the House Great Lakes Task Force requesting designation of the Great Lakes as a Critical Conservation Area under the new Farm Bill and by the Senate Great Lakes Task Force requesting a hearing on the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act (GLEEPA); and
Appropriations updates on floor action in the Chambers and Committees, including Commerce, Justice, Science.

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

HUD "Rebuild By Design" NEMW Region Winners to Receive

Almost $1 Billion

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced last week that the agency will allocate approximately $920 million (total) to New York, New Jersey, and New York City to begin implementation of their Rebuild by Design proposals. The funding was included in HUD's most recent allocation of approximately $2.5 billion in Community Development Block Grants - Disaster Recovery for areas directly affected by Hurricane Sandy. The President's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force created the Rebuild by Design competition in the summer of 2013 as a way to develop ideas capable of dramatically improving the physical, ecological, and economic resilience of coastal areas. The six teams with winning proposals are:

The BIG U (East River Park) - Manhattan
Living with the Bay (Slow Streams) - Nassau County, Long Island
New Meadowlands - Little Ferry, Moonachie, Carlstadt, Teterboro
Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge - Hoboken, Weehawken, Jersey City
Lifelines - Hunts Point, South Bronx
Living Breakwaters -Tottenville, Staten Island

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

Call for Session Proposals for Smart Growth Conference

The Local Government Commission is conducting a formal "Call for Session Proposals" for the 14th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference program, to take place in Baltimore from January 29-31, 2015. The conference theme is "Practical Tools and Innovative Strategies for Creating Great Communities," underscoring this year's stronger emphasis on implementation. The program will feature tools, strategies, focused training and new technologies that will help communities now. The deadline for session proposals is Friday, July 11. An electronic submittal form along with detailed instructions can be found here.

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

The Northeast-Midwest Institute:

Taking the Rust out of the Rust Belt!