Making Waves Newsletter October 2021

The Cities Initiative releases its newsletter, “Making Waves,” once per month. Stay up to date on current initiatives, important government programs, webinars, etc.

Introduction of New Canadian Policy Director

We are excited to introduce Phillipe Murphy-Rhéaume as our new Canadian Policy Director. Phillipe has extensive policy and advocacy experience in the Canadian federal, provincial and municipal spaces. Early in his career, he worked for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the nation’s largest nature conservation charity. He also occupied several policy and communications roles for the Ontario government at Queen’s Park in Toronto.  Prior to joining the Cities Initiative, Phillipe was with Bimbo Canada, the nation’s leading bakery company, leading provincial and local government relations and overseeing the company’s community programming.  Phillipe studied political science at McGill University and public administration at Ryerson University.  Phillipe is currently based in Montreal, Quebec, and is fluent in both French and English. He looks forward to working with all of the mayors in Quebec and Ontario.

Build Back Better Framework Released; Congressional Action Appears Imminent After months of negotiations between progressives and moderates in Congress, the Biden Administration released the framework for its Build Back Better Act in late October outlining a $1.75 trillion program of investments in child care, climate change, clean energy, health care, housing, and education. Accompanying legislation was also released in the House of Representatives and is currently under consideration (a summary of the bill is online here).  The current price tag is roughly half of the President’s original proposal, reflecting demands from moderates to reduce costs and drop several priorities. As of November 1, negotiations continue on several items and House leaders and the White House are calling for votes on both the Build Back Better program and the bipartisan infrastructure plan, which passed the Senate in August.  The Build Back Better Act includes $555 billion in climate-related spending. Some highlights of specific interest to the Great Lakes include: $6 billion for NOAA to spend on resiliency work for coastal communities, with no matching funding required. $9 billion for lead remediation projects, including lead service line replacement, with no cost-share requirements. $225 million for grants to states and Tribes to provide assistance for low-income water customers to reduce arrearages and water rates. $1.85 billion for sewer overflow and stormwater projects, with greater federal cost share for projects that serve financially distressed communities. $350 million for the acquisition of a new Great Lakes icebreaker. If passed, the lead funding would supplement the $15 billion in the infrastructure bill, but still fall short of the $45 billion needed to remove all lead water lines nationally. The coastal resilience funding (to be distributed nationally) will help meet the $2 billion need in the Great Lakes region. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill passed by the Senate includes $555 billion in new federal funding, including $55 billion for water systems. Highlights include: $23 billion for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs. $15 billion for reducing lead water lines. $10 billion to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants, including $5 billion for small and disadvantaged communities and waiving cost-share requirements. $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. $500 million for the STORM Act, which enables states to set up revolving loan programs for local governments to support projects that reduce risks from natural disasters, including flooding and shoreline erosion. $1 billion for FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program. $2.25 billion for DOT’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Next steps on the Build Back Better and Bipartisan Infrastructure bills are unclear, but there is significant pressure for the House of Representatives to pass both bills soon. Once passed in the House, the infrastructure bill will go to the President for his signature. The Build Back Better Act will need to be taken up by the Senate under the budget reconciliation process that will allow it to be passed with just democratic votes. The Cities Initiative is calling on Congress to pass both bills to strengthen water equity and advance other priorities for Great Lakes cities.

Update on Coastal Resilience Workgroups in Wisconsin and Southeast Michigan In recent months, the Cities Initiative has been busy starting up two grants we received to expand planning around coastal resilience projects in Wisconsin and Michigan.  In Wisconsin, we’re focused on expanding resilience efforts around the Lake Michigan shoreline, including Green Bay, with support from the Fund for Lake Michigan. In September we convened an Advisory Team made up of partners from regional organizations, state and federal agencies, and local universities. In October we convened about 15 coastal municipalities to initiate local partnerships that will lead to the development of implementation frameworks for coastal resilience projects. These frameworks will provide cities with the information needed to carry projects through to implementation, including an outline of project costs, feasibility, partners, and funding sources to make the project a reality. Not far behind, we are advancing similar efforts in Southeast Michigan with support from the Erb Family Foundation. In the coming weeks we’ll be organizing an Advisory Team in Southeast Michigan to introduce the project work and focus on target municipalities that will be invited to develop implementation frameworks for projects that address coastal resilience challenges such as urban flooding. We are partnering closely with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments to ensure our efforts complement existing work to boost resilience planning and projects in the region.  Come winter, our aim is for participating municipalities from both regions to have a full grasp on their coastal needs, along with priority projects to address these needs. Communities will work closely with our technical partner, Stantec, who will begin developing implementation frameworks in close collaboration with each municipality.

Policy Direction of Trudeau’s Government The re-elected Liberal government in Canada committed to establish and fully fund a Canada Water Agency in 2022 in their election platform. In addition, the Liberals committed to updating the Canada Water Act and strengthening the Freshwater Action Plan with a $1-billion investment over ten years.  To set the wheels in motion on his government’s policy agenda, Prime Minister Trudeau announced his new Cabinet on October 26 with a major shakeup. Downtown Montreal MP Steven Guilbeault was named Minister of Environment and Climate Change, replacing Jonathan Wilkinson who was moved to the Natural Resources portfolio. Dominic Leblanc, a New Brunswick MP and a member of Trudeau’s inner circle, had the Infrastructure portfolio added to his Intergovernmental Affairs file. Mandate letters, which outline the Prime Minister’s priorities for each of his Cabinet members, will be released in the next few weeks.   In the meantime, we can look at the Liberal Party’s election platform to get an indication of their plans for freshwater policy.  Building on the commitment made by the federal government in Budget 2021, the Liberals recommitted to the Canada Water Agency, which will coordinate the management of the country’s freshwater resources with the provinces and territories, as well as investing in freshwater research. Re-elected Liberal MP Terry Sheehan has indicated he will lobby his government to have the Agency headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie. As part of their platform, the Liberals also committed to modernize the 50-year-old Canada Water Act to better reflect today’s freshwater realities to include Indigenous water rights and address climate change. The Act is the country’s primary federal freshwater legislation with a framework for collaboration among federal, provincial, and territorial governments in matters relating to water resources.  With a strengthened Freshwater Action Plan and a “historic” ten-year commitment of $1 billion, the federal government will provide essential funding to protect and restore large lakes and river systems, starting with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system, Lake Simcoe, the Lake Winnipeg Basin, the Fraser River Basin, and the Mackenzie River Basin. The plan will also support federal government efforts under the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Upcoming 2021 Webinars - Save the Dates Simultaneous English and French interpretation is available on all webinars below.

November 18 Keeping Our Water Clean for a Stronger Fishing Industry Register December 16 Funding Your Projects in the Post-Covid Economy Registration Opening Soon

Upcoming 2021| 2022 - Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) - Nearshore Webinar Series ECCC will be sharing the findings of the first cumulative assessment of Canadian nearshore waters through a series of theme-based evening webinars.

November 23 5:30 - 7:30 pm EST Out of sight, but not out of mind - Contaminants in Water, Sediment, and Fish Register December 2 5:30 - 7:30 pm EST 8,500 km of Great Lakes shoreline: Coastal Processes Register

December 7 5:30 - 7:30 pm EST With Great Lakes, comes Great Responsibility. Areas of High Ecological Value Register January 13 5:30 - 7:30 pm EST Nutrients, too much of a good thing - Nuisance & Harmful Algae Register