|
|
|
NEMWI to Hold a Primer on Water Policies That Govern its Availability, Quality, and Reliability
The Northeast-Midwest Institute will host a Congressional Briefing on Thursday, April 11th, to discuss primary laws governing water quality (Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act) and appropriation mechanisms like the State Revolving Fund and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) that finance much of the water infrastructure in the country.
Water infrastructure in the United States is in need of significant repair and rehabilitation. Federal funding has largely remained constant (in nominal value), while the demand for additional funding has increased. As much of the region - and vast parts of the country - deal with numerous water quality and access issues - from lead and PFAS contamination to algal blooms and high water bills - this briefing will provide Capitol Hill staff with much-needed background on key laws governing water quality and access in the country, and the tools available to impact policy changes. The panelists include:
- Jason Isakovic, National Association of Clean Water Agencies
- Lynn Thorp, Clean Water Action
- Ted Stiger, Rural Community Assistance Partnership
- A representative from the US Environmental Protection Agency
- Dr. Sri Vedachalam, Northeast-Midwest Institute
What: A Primer on Water Policies: Key Laws and Financing Mechanisms
When: Thursday, April 11, 2019, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: 210 Cannon House Office Building
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program or Dr. Sri Vedachalam, Director of the Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
|
Upcoming Asian Carp Briefing
The Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Asian Carp Regional Coordination Committee are hosting a briefing on
Tuesday, April 30, to discuss Asian Carp mitigation in the Great Lakes region. More details about the briefing are below:
Topics to be Covered (Tentative):
- 2019 Action Plan: Addressing the Threat and Funding Level
- Brandon Road Selected Plan
- Control Technologies and Entrainment
- Grass Carp in Lake Erie
- Illinois and Kentucky Expanded Harvesting Efforts
Participants (Tentative):
- U.S. Enivronmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources
What: Congressional Briefing on Asian Carp and the Great Lakes
Who: Cohosted by the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) and the Northeast-Midwest Institute
(NEMWI)
When:
Tuesday, April 30, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
For more information,
please contact
Matthew McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
|
|
President Trump: U.S.-China Trade Agreement Could Come "within the Next Four Weeks"
As negotiators continue to work towards the possibility of a U.S.-China trade agreement, President Trump elicited an optimistic tone regarding how soon a deal between the two largest economies in the world could be reached. Trump hailed the forthcoming deal as "the granddaddy of them all" that he hopes will get finalized "within the next four weeks," according to the Washington Post. While the President's hopes for reaching an agreement remain high, the deal's core sticking points still need to be settled before the two countries' respective heads of state convene to sign any potential agreement. "We have a ways to go," he conceded, although both sides remain bullish on signing a deal in the near future.
However, the potential for signing a deal within the President's proposed timeline hinges upon whether negotiators can find common ground on provisions that pertain to enforcement mechanisms and the future of each side's import tariffs. Reaching an agreement on these provisions "would end a commercial spat that has unsettled relations between the world's two largest economies, disrupted corporate supply chains and left Americans slightly poorer, according to economists," as reported by David Lynch. Therefore, the prospect of ending a lengthy trade war could propel both sides to resolve their differences sooner than later.
Furthermore, the President has pushed negotiators to hammer out an agreement as soon as possible given that any trade deal would substantially boost U.S. exports to China. A trade deal would provide a boon for American exports such as soybeans, pork, and aircraft among other products. As a consequence, the Trump administration may enhance its sense of urgency to finalize a deal so that the benefits could be seen by the American electorate ahead of the 2020 elections.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
|
Environmental Groups Sue Trump over Keystone XL Pipeline Permit
The Indigenous Environmental Network and North Coast Rivers Alliance
sued President
Trump on March 5 over his Keystone XL Pipeline permit claiming that he did not have the authority to administer it. The plaintiffs argued that the permit disregards powers held by the Bureau of Land Management, Congress, and the State Department. Currently, Congress has the authority to issue permits on portions of the land that are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Additionally, the plaintiffs
argued
that Congress has authority over President Trump in this capacity because Congress regulates interstate commerce, not the President. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Acting Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt, and the Bureau of Land Management were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The Plaintiffs claimed President Trump's efforts to administer the permit were an attempt to circumvent the judicial process. The Keystone XL Pipeline project has already been delayed several times, much to the dismay of Trump. "Rather than comply with applicable federal environmental laws as directed by these courts . . . President Trump attempted to sidestep those rulings by issuing, through his Office of the Press Secretary, a new 'Presidential Permit' purportedly 'grant[ing] permission' for TransCanada 'to construct, connect, operate and maintain' its proposed Project without compliance with the laws of the United States." The case will come before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, who halted work on the pipeline previously after citing the developer's failures to properly assess the effect the pipeline would have on climate change and changing oil prices.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
|
NEMWI Hosts Congressional Great Lakes Orientation Program
The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) hosted a Congressional Great Lakes Orientation Program that included attendees from Congressional offices, administrative agencies, and non-governmental organizations on Friday, March 29th. The purpose of the program was to provide a broad overview of key Great Lakes issues which were presented in five different sessions. Topics covered during the program include governance structures in the Great Lakes, The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), invasive species in the Great Lakes, harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes, and resiliency and water infrastructure in the Great Lakes.
Participants at the briefing included:
Session 1: Governance in the Great Lakes Region:
· Dave Ullrich, Commissioner, Great Lakes Fishery Commission; & Advisor, the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities and Towns Initiative
· Victoria Pebbles, Program Director, Great Lakes Commission
Session 2: The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
· Chris Korleski, Director, Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
· Chad Lord, Policy Director, Healing Our Waters Coalition
· Matt Doss, Policy Director, Great Lakes Commission
Session 3: Invasive Species in the Great Lakes
· Dr. Marc Gaden, Communications Director & Legislative Liaison, Great Lakes Fishery Commission
· Aaron Woldt, Deputy Assistant Regional Director of Fisheries, US Fish and Wildlife Service
· Sheyda Esnaashari, Water Policy Strategist, Alliance for the Great Lakes
Session 4: Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes
· Gail Hesse, Great Lakes Water Program Director, National Wildlife Federation
· Edwin Martinez, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Coordinator, Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture
Session 5: Resiliency and water infrastructure in the Great Lakes
· Victoria Pebbles, Program Director, Great Lakes Commission
The Northeast-Midwest Institute has posted
an audio recording, detailed summary, and the individual presentations of participants of the Congressional Great Lakes Orientation Program. The information can be found here.
For more information,
please contact
Matthew McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
|
116th Congress: Committee Leadership Profiles
As the 116th Congress gets into full swing, the Northeast-Midwest Institute will profile the Chair and Ranking Member of the Congressional committees most relevant to the region. This newsletter will include the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Rep. Kathy Castor, Chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Re
p. Kathy Castor is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 14
th
Congressional District; she has been serving as
a U.S. Representative since 2007. During the 116
th
Congress, she will be serving on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and as the Chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Rep. Castor has an extensive background in environmental work. She began her legal career by working at the Florida Department of Community Affairs enforcing laws that protected the wetlands, Florida's coastline, endangered species, and sensitive lands. She then entered into the private sector where she represented local governments as a land use and environmental attorney. Later, she worked as a Hillsborough County Commissioner and served as chair of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission. According to Castor's
website
,
she "[h]as championed energy efficiency, distributed energy and environmental justice to ensure ALL communities, families and individuals enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards."
Rep. Garret Graves, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Rep. Garret Graves is the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 6
th
Congressional District, and he has been serving in this position since 2015. During the 116th Congress, Garret is serving as Ranking Member for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, Ranking Member for the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and also on the House Committee on Natural Resources. Additionally, Rep. Graves previously served on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructures Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment where he championed policies focused on flood protection. According to Rep. Graves'
website
, "He secured full funding for the Comite River Diversion, West Shore and other major flood protection projects that had been stalled for decades. Now they are fast-tracked for completion - which means better protection and lower flood insurance rates for all of us."
For more information,
please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
|
2020 Candidate Profiles: Pete Buttigieg, Potential Democratic Nominee for President of the United States
Pete Buttigieg currently serves as the second-term Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is a graduate of Harvard University and a Rhodes Scholar. He is also a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, where he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. If Buttigieg were elected, he would be the first Millennial and first openly gay president. Buttigieg's campaign reported a first quarter fundraising total of $7 million.
Buttigieg recently announced his support for the Green New Deal
adding, "I'm thinking about what the world's going to look like in 2054, when I get to the current age of the current president; and if we don't act aggressively and immediately on climate, it's not going to be a pretty picture." Buttigieg is also a member of Climate Mayors, which is a network of 407 Mayors who work together to "strengthen local efforts for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and support efforts for binding federal and global-level policy making." Buttigieg worked with
406 other mayors who all committed to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement goals after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement.
For more information, please contact Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
|
|
This Week in Washington
In the Senate:
In the House:
|
|
NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
|
|
|
|
|
