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In: 2020 Budget, Drinking Water Infrastructure, Fighting Invasive Species, Great Lakes Restoration Initative, Policy, Press Releases, stormwater

Federal Budget Supports Great Lakes, Clean Water Funding

Congress increases funding to Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by $20 million

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 17, 2019) — Great Lakes restoration and clean water programs received support in the final federal budget, released last night by the U.S. House and Senate. The fiscal year 2020 budget increases funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative—the first increase for the program in ten years— as well as provides new investments in clean water and drinking water infrastructure programs.

Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition said:

“This budget is good news for the Great Lakes and the 30 million Americans who depend on them for their drinking water, jobs, and way of life. Federal investments are producing results, but serious threats remain, such as polluted runoff, invasive species, and toxic pollution. This budget acknowledges those threats and the work that we still need to do.

“We thank the Great Lakes congressional delegation – especially members on the House and Senate appropriations committee – for continuing to make the Great Lakes a national priority, and for ensuring that restoration efforts remain on track. We look forward to working with Congress in the new year to ensure that the Great Lakes remains a bi-partisan priority.”

The final fiscal year 2020 budget was passed by the House on Tuesday. The Senate is expected to pick it up later this week. The budget includes:

  •  $320 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to restore habitat, clean up toxic pollution, and fight invasive species—a $20 million increase over fiscal year 2019 and the first increase since the program’s second year in existence in 2010.
  •  $1.64 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to help communities fix and upgrade wastewater infrastructure—a $55 million decrease over fiscal year 2019.
  •  $1.13 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to help communities fix and upgrade drinking water infrastructure—a nearly $38 million decrease over fiscal year 2019.
  • An additional $14 million ($25 million total) to protect and enhance Asian carp activities to prevent them from entering and establishing in the Great Lakes and for Asian carp activities in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, including its sub-basins. Not less than $2,500,000 is to be used for contract fishing.
  • An additional $3 million ($10.6 million total) to fund further research into early detection practices and control technologies critical to slowing and responding to the range expansion of Asian Carp. $3,000,000 is to be used for research on grass carp.

Reductions in traditional infrastructure programs were partially offset by increases to some existing programs as well as a host of newly funded grant programs to help communities deal with water infrastructure, among them:

  •  $25.4 million for grants to small and disadvantaged communities.
  •  $28 million for sewer overflow and stormwater reuse municipal grants.
  •  $3 million for drinking water infrastructure resilience grants.
  • $19.5 million for grants to reduce lead in drinking water.
  • $1 million for water infrastructure workforce development grants.

The post Federal Budget Supports Great Lakes, Clean Water Funding appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/federal-budget-supports-great-lakes-clean-water-funding/

Pavan Vangipuram

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In: GLRI, Great Lakes, Press Releases

Coalition Urges House to Vote on Great Lakes Restoration Re-authorization
Bi-Partisan bill would increase restoration funding from $300 million to $475 million per year.

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 4, 2019) – The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi yesterday, urging the House of Representatives to bring H.R. 4031, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019, to the floor for consideration this year. The act re-authorizes the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and increases the annual authorization over five years from $300 million to $475 million per year.

“Over the past decade the GLRI has improved lives across Great Lakes communities after decades of environmental damage threatened public health, the regional economy, and drinking water,” the letter reads. “The GLRI has allowed the 8-state region to undertake one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem restoration projects. Since its inception, the initiative has resulted in economic returns of more than 3 to 1 across the region and made tremendous progress.”

Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:

“This funding re-authorization is excellent news for the 30 million Americans who rely on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, jobs, recreation, and way of life. Over the past decade, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been producing results for communities across the region, but serious threats remain. This increased annual re-authorization acknowledges the work we have left to do. We thank Reps. David Joyce and Marcy Kaptur for their leadership, and we thank the region’s House delegation, who are working in a spirit of bi-partisan cooperation to make sure Great Lakes restoration and protection remain a national priority. We urge the House of Representatives to bring this bill to the floor without delay.”

The post Coalition Urges House to Vote on Great Lakes Restoration Re-authorization appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/coalition-urges-house-to-vote-on-great-lakes-restoration-re-authorization/

Pavan Vangipuram

On:
In: Action Plan 3, Action Plan III, epa, Great Lakes, Policy

Great Lakes Action Plan Offers Steady Path Forward

Last month, the EPA released its long-awaited Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan III, outlining the strategy guiding federal actions to restore and protect the Lakes being undertaken by federal agencies in partnership with the region.

The plan’s release comes at a time when both the U.S. House and Senate are seeking to increase funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative beyond $300 million per year. Over the last 10 years, Congress has invested over $3.1 billion in Great Lakes Restoration, and securing a strong action plan has long been a priority of the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition.

The recently released plan for the Great Lakes hews closely to previously released action plans. It guides federal restoration efforts around four major priorities: cleaning up toxic hot-spots (so-called Areas of Concern), restoring fish and wildlife habitat, working to stop the spread of invasive species such as Asian Carp, and reducing agricultural runoff to fight toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes.

Here’s our take on the EPA’s action plan:

1. These are the right priorities to focus on – taken together, they point to a solid plan for restoring and preserving the health of the Great Lakes.

2. It’s going to take robust funding and strong policy to make this plan a reality. In addition to robust funding for restoration projects, it will be essential to have strong policies in place that protect the Great Lakes and the waters that feed them. The Trump Administration and the EPA must reverse its decision to gut protections for streams, waterways and wetlands. With many cities and towns still living with unsafe drinking water, now is not the time to cut back on clean water enforcement. We need to strengthen clean water protections, not roll them back.

3. Robust investments in water infrastructure are also needed to ensure that restoration efforts last for the long term. Aging sewer and stormwater infrastructure threaten the health of the Great Lakes and the health of the millions of Americans who rely on the lakes for drinking water. The Great Lakes region faces at least $179 billion of needed improvements to its water infrastructure to provide local communities with drinking water and wastewater services. It’s imperative that Congress boost investments to fix our crumbling infrastructure.

4. The bipartisan support for Great Lakes restoration continues to pay dividends. Over the last decade, Republicans and Democrats have come together to make Great Lakes restoration a national priority and to provide much-needed funding for restoration efforts. That cooperation continues. Recently the U.S. Senate recommended increasing Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding from $300 million to $310 million; and the U.S. House boosted restoration investments from $300 million to $320 million. The final budget is yet to be determined—yet it’s clear that bipartisan cooperation has been essential to success. The Great Lakes congressional delegation has shown great leadership to make that funding a reality.

5. Climate change will only exacerbate threats to the lakes—and needs to be taken into account as restoration efforts move forward. As climate change continues its course, the Great Lakes region is witnessing more intense storms, greater flooding, more shore erosion and more runoff pollution that fuels toxic algal outbreaks. These new challenges will require continued investment in the lakes, as well as solid plans to ensure that their worst effects can be mitigated.

6. Future plans must explicitly address equity and justice issues. Low-income communities and communities of color are bearing the brunt of environmental degradation caused by pollution and climate change. Yet, traditionally, these communities have been the least likely to have a seat at the table when solutions are being devised. Any plan to restore the Great Lakes must take these inequities into account and take the lead from these communities.

Moving forward, the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition looks to work with Congress to finalize the restoration funding allocation and maintain funding for the long term. We also seek to secure funding to upgrade vital water infrastructure and to eliminate the rollbacks of clean water protections that threaten the health and vitality of our lakes.

The post Great Lakes Action Plan Offers Steady Path Forward appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/great-lakes-action-plan-offers-steady-path-forward/

Pavan Vangipuram