Letters - Green Bay Waterfront

Coalition Submits FY25 Appropriations Letters

On: June 27, 2024

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and 48 of our member organizations urged House appropriations subcommittees to support robust funding for Great Lakes restoration and clean water priorities in their Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills. The subcommittees that received letters were: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

Original Article

Latest Updates - Healthy Lakes

https://www.healthylakes.org/latest-updates/coalition-submits-fy25-appropriations-letters

Lindsey Bacigal

Coalition Supports EPA’s Great Lakes Action Plan

On: May 29, 2024

In: Letters, Press Releases, Washington Update

Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition

Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589

Coalition Supports EPA’s Great Lakes Action Plan

Plan prioritizes community health, along with ecosystem health, as well as actions to confront climate crisis, promote economic revitalization.

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 29, 2024)—The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is supporting the EPA’s new draft five-year plan to oversee federal investments to restore and protect the Great Lakes and the interconnected waters that feed it – waters that more than 42 million people depend on for their drinking water, health, and quality of life.

“The EPA’s new plan charts a course for continued success in addressing threats to our Great Lakes, drinking water, and communities,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We are glad to see a strong EPA action plan that prioritizes ecosystem health alongside community health and the need to confront the climate crisis. Federal restoration investments have been producing results for communities across the region, yet serious threats remain. EPA has put forward a plan that can benefit the region’s environment and economy, and, importantly, help communities that have been hardest hit by pollution and environmental harm.”

The EPA’s draft “Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan IV,” once finalized, will prioritize federal actions to clean up toxic pollution, reduce farm and urban runoff, restore fish and wildlife habitat, and manage invasive species, in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, in comments submitted Friday to the agency on the draft plan, applauded the agency for the plan’s focus on community health alongside ecological health; commitment to community engagement; solutions that confront climate impacts; importance of local workforce development and economic revitalization; actions to benefit communities hardest hit by pollution and environmental harm; and equitable access to restoration benefits.

The Coalition also asked EPA to consider updating the plan to better address runoff pollution and help coastal communities adapt to climate impacts.

The action plan, which will run through fiscal years 2025-2029, is expected to be finalized by the start of government’s next fiscal year, which begins October 1. The plan guides the EPA oversight of federal funds allocated by the U.S. Congress through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Currently, the U.S. government invests more than $368 million per year to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and many of its members submitted recommendations for the EPA’s action plan last summer during a serious of public engagement sessions hosted by the agency. Many of those recommendations were accepted and integrated into the current draft plan.

Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 180 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads @HealthyLakes.

Original Article

Latest Updates - Healthy Lakes

https://www.healthylakes.org/latest-updates/coalition-supports-epas-great-lakes-action-plan

Lindsey Bacigal

Great Lakes Bill Advances out of Senate Committee

On: May 1, 2024

In: Letters, Press Releases, Washington Update

Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition

Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589

Great Lakes Bill Advances out of Senate Committee

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 1, 2024)—New bipartisan federal legislation boosting investments in Great Lakes restoration and protection advanced out of a U.S. Senate committee today, paving the way for the full chamber to vote on legislation authorizing $500 million to be spent annually to clean up toxic pollution, curb farm and urban runoff, restore habitat, and confront invasive species.

The bill, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2024, was passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by voice vote. The next step is for the full Senate to vote on the bill, which is sponsored by Great Lakes Taskforce co-chairs, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

Passage of the bill is a top priority for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, which sent letters of support to Senate and House leadership today in anticipation of the committee’s vote.

“We thank U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) for their bipartisan leadership and standing up for the 42 million people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We also thank Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) for making Great Lakes restoration and protection a national issue and for moving this bill out of committee. Federal investments to restore the Great Lakes have been producing results for our drinking water, public health, jobs, and quality of life. But serious threats remain. We look forward to working with the Great Lakes congressional delegation to pass this bipartisan bill to tackle serious threats to our waters, before the problems get worse and more expensive to solve.”

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024 reauthorizes the successful federal program for five more years, from fiscal years 2027 through 2031, to invest up to $500 million annually to restore and protect the Great Lakes and the streams, rivers and wetlands that feed them, by restoring habitat, cleaning up toxic pollution, reducing urban and farm runoff, and managing invasive species, with an increased focus on reaching those most impacted by pollution and addressing the growing threats of climate change.

Senate co-sponsors of the bill, in addition to Sens. Stabenow and Vance, include Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Companion legislation in the U.S. House has been put forward by Great Lakes Taskforce co-chairs, Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio).

Original Article

Latest Updates - Healthy Lakes

https://www.healthylakes.org/latest-updates/great-lakes-bill-advances-out-of-senate-committee

Lindsey Bacigal

FY2023 Appropriations Letters

On: April 27, 2022

In: Letters, Policy, Washington Update

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and a multitude of partners have sent five letters in support of Great Lakes priorities as part of the annual appropriations process. These letters highlight Great Lakes priorities in the annual appropriations process, ensuring our members of Congress understand the wide array of funding priorities essential to clean water and Great Lakes restoration. The letters were sent to five of the twelve Appropriations Committees in Congress, specifically those that fund Coalition priorities.

Read the letters by clicking the links below:

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Committee

This subcommittee has jurisdiction over the EPA and the DOI (including USGS and FWS). This includes funding for the GLRI, the USGS and FWS’s invasive species activities and research, and the array of EPA clean water and water infrastructure grant programs. The letter details the importance of these programs and makes our respective FY2023 funding requests.

Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Committee

This subcommittee has jurisdiction over funding for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. This includes the Corps role in protecting the basin from invasive carp through investments in Brandon Road PED, in addition to enhancing Great Lakes restoration and resiliency through research and coastal infrastructure improvements. The letter details these programs and makes our respective FY2023 funding requests.

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

This subcommittee has jurisdiction over NOAA programs. This includes funding for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, Marine Debris, research into HABs, and several grant programs like Sea Grant and the Coastal Zone Management Grants. The letter details these programs and makes our respective FY2023 funding requests.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

This subcommittee has jurisdiction over the USDA and Farm Bill programs. This includes the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its programs important for providing the technical assistance and investments needed to reduce agricultural runoff and its impact on water quality and the growing threat of HABs. The letter details these programs and makes our respective FY2023 funding requests.

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies

This subcommittee has jurisdiction over the State Department who funds and operates the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. The letter details this program and makes our respective FY2023 funding request.

The post FY2023 Appropriations Letters appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/fy2023-appropriations-letters/

Lindsey Bacigal

Coalition Asks Senators to Support Cost Share Change for Brandon Road Lock and Dam

On: December 15, 2021

In: Letters

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate to support a cost share adjustment in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project to stop invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes.

WRDA22 Brandon Road v.final

The post Coalition Asks Senators to Support Cost Share Change for Brandon Road Lock and Dam appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/coalition-asks-senators-to-support-cost-share-change-for-brandon-road-lock-and-dam/

Lindsey Bacigal

Coalition Urges Administration to Fully Fund GLRI at $400 Million in FY23

On: December 15, 2021

In: Letters

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and 63 of our member organizations sent a letter urging the Administration to fully fund the Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at no less than $400 million in the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget request.

HOW FY2023 GLRI OMB funding letter v.Final

The post Coalition Urges Administration to Fully Fund GLRI at $400 Million in FY23 appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/coalition-urges-administration-to-fully-fund-glri-at-400-million-in-fy23/

Lindsey Bacigal

Letter to Representatives on FY22 Appropriations

On: December 15, 2021

In: Letters

HOW FY2022 Funding Ask v.Final

The post Letter to Representatives on FY22 Appropriations appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/letter-to-representatives-on-fy22-appropriations/

Lindsey Bacigal

On: March 23, 2021

In: Letters

Members of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition write to offer our appreciation and support for the Environment and Public Works Committee’s efforts to address fixing our nation’s water infrastructure.

Read the Coalition’s letter here.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition Members add:

It is critical we begin to address this infrastructure crisis that hamstrings communities and leaves too many low-income and minority households facing unsafe and unaffordable water. Fixing our region’s failing infrastructure can put people to work, set the stage for economic revitalization in our towns and cities, and ensure safe, clean, and affordable water is available to all. Our communities stand ready to get to work, delaying action will only make the problems worse and costlier to solve.

HOW-Haaland-DOI-Nomination-Support-Letter-3.12.21-v.Final-Signed

The post Letter to the Environment and Public Works Committee’s to address fixing our nation’s water infrastructure appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/great-lakes-groups-support-for-water-infrastructure/

Jordan Lubetkin

Great Lakes Groups Support U.S. Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Department of the Interior

On: March 11, 2021

In: Letters

Members of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition are supporting the nomination of U.S. Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI). In a letter to our U.S. Senators, Great Lakes advocates wrote: “As a longtime advocate for clean water with a stellar bipartisan record, Rep. Haaland will listen to science and ensure the Interior Department fulfills its obligation to the public by protecting our region’s lakes, rivers, and streams.”

Read the Coalition’s letter here.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition Members said:

“Rep. Haaland has the experience and shown the leadership needed to guide the Department forward, proving herself ready to address the existential threat of climate change to our region, enhance Great Lakes restoration, and to work in collaboration with our communities and Tribal Nations to ensure DOI creates equitable opportunities for all American to enjoy our public lands and waters. We are pleased to offer our support for this nomination.”

HOW-Haaland-DOI-Nomination-Support-Letter-3.12.21-v.Final-Signed

The post Great Lakes Groups Support U.S. Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Department of the Interior appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/great-lakes-groups-support-deb-halland-as-secretary-of-interior/

Pavan Vangipuram

Great Lakes Groups Support Michael Regan as EPA Administrator

On: February 4, 2021

In: Letters

Members of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition are supporting the nomination of Michael Regan to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In a letter to Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee members, Great Lakes advocates wrote: “Under Mr. Regan’s leadership, we believe the EPA can forcefully and effectively champion clean water priorities that achieve environmental and public health outcomes.”

Read the Coalition’s letter here.

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

“Strong EPA leadership is essential to protect the health of the environment, Great Lakes, and our communities from serious threats such as toxic pollution, lead contamination, sewage, and climate change. We urge the Senate to confirm Michael Regan without delay so that the EPA can start protecting the health of people and communities. We look forward to working with Mr. Regan to ensure that safe and affordable drinking water is available to every person in this country and to stand up for communities which have disproportionately borne the brunt of pollution and environmental harm, including people of color, low-income communities, and indigenous people. We need to address serious threats to our drinking water now, because delay will only make the problems worse and more costly to solve.”

The post Great Lakes Groups Support Michael Regan as EPA Administrator appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/great-lakes-groups-support-michael-regan-as-epa-administrator/

Pavan Vangipuram

Coalition to Congress: Support Great Lakes, Clean Water in Final Bills

On: November 18, 2020

In: Letters

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (November 18, 2020) – In letters sent to the U.S. House and Senate today, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is urging Congress, as it wraps up business for the year, to support Great Lakes and clean water priorities that protect the drinking water of more than 30 million people, safeguard children from toxic lead contamination, prevent the shut-off of water to families, and confront the chronic problem of sewage fouling local waters.

“Congress has the opportunity to protect the drinking water, public health, and jobs of millions of people in the Great Lakes region, and we urge our elected officials to push these critical legislative priorities across the finish line,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “There’s important work left to do, and it’s time to get it done. The water problems will only get worse and more costly to solve.”

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is asking Congress to support five legislative priorities, as elected officials work to complete a federal budget by Dec. 11 and wrap up end-of-year business.

Prioritize COVID-19 relief that includes a moratorium of water shut-offs to vulnerable communities and assistance to people and water utilities.
Support Great Lakes and clean water priorities, including $335 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as well as more than $11 billion in House-backed supplemental funding that will put people to work and create local jobs for drinking water and sewage treatment infrastructure, toxic lead abatement, and assistance for vulnerable and tribal communities.
Reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (as proposed by H.R. 4031 and S. 2295) with annual incremental increases to its original funding level of $475 million per year.
Support Great Lakes priorities in the Water Resources Development Act, including investments in water infrastructure, research, and community assistance.
Invest in drinking water and sewage treatment infrastructure to help get at the more than $188 billion in need for projects in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The Coalition urges Congress to prioritize climate resiliency and supporting communities facing economic hardship by providing additional investments for disadvantaged communities and promoting investment in nature-based infrastructure projects.

The post Coalition to Congress: Support Great Lakes, Clean Water in Final Bills appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/coalition-to-congress-support-great-lakes-clean-water-in-final-bills/

Pavan Vangipuram

Working Towards a More Just and Equitable Society

On: June 10, 2020

In: Letters

Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition Director Laura Rubin recently sent a personal note to members in response to the tragic murder of George Floyd. We wanted to share it with the broader Great Lakes community.

Dear HOW Coalition members and partners,

The murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis was another painful reminder of how entrenched racism is in our society and how much work remains to create a just and equitable society.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition believes that we all have a role to play – as individual citizens and as advocacy organizations – in reforming local, state, and federal institutions to break the cycle of injustice and oppression that people of color – especially Black people – experience on a daily basis.

The Coalition supports efforts to break down systemic racism and racist policies that inflict physical, economic, and environmental harm on people of color. And we support the front-line organizations working in local communities to put an end to the violence, pollution, and economic harm that have been perpetrated on people of color, especially Black and Indigenous Americans, since the founding of our country.

There are several front-line organizations in the 160-member Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition that work every day to advance social justice in all of our communities. We’ve listed several of them below, so that you can learn more about them. I encourage you to get to know the work of these organizations and familiarize and educate yourselves about the programs and history of these groups—because while we all have a role to play in creating this equitable and just society, these groups can show us the way. Please consider providing financial support to them or volunteering with them in addition to learning more.

Flint Development Center: http://www.flintdc.org/ The center in Flint, Mich., provides facilities where the residents of Flint and Genesee County can safely engage in recreational, social, educational, cultural, community service, civic, and governmental activities.

Green Leadership Trust: http://www.greenleadershiptrust.org/ The Trust works to build an environmental and conservation movement that wins, focusing on building power and diversity in any advocacy sector.

Junction Coalition: https://junctionfunction419.wixsite.com/junctioncoalition The Coalition in Toledo, Ohio, provides a viable voice to neighbors to cultivate healthy relationships throughout the community. The Junction Coalition seeks to promote four fundamental pillars of environmental, economic, social justice and peace education with local, state, and federal government to build a better quality of life for community members and for business owners who benefit the Junction community.

Milwaukee Water Commons: https://www.milwaukeewatercommons.org/ Milwaukee Water Commons is a cross-city network that fosters connection, collaboration and broad community leadership on behalf of our common waters. The organization promotes the stewardship of, equitable access to, and shared decision-making for our common waters.

We the People of Detroit: https://www.wethepeopleofdetroit.com/ As a community-based grassroots organization, We the People of Detroit aims to inform, educate, and empower Detroit residents on imperative issues surrounding civil rights, land, water, education, and the democratic process.

Wisconsin Green Muslims: https://wisconsingreenmuslims.org/ The grassroots environmental justice group educates the Muslim community and the general public about the Islamic environmental justice teachings, to apply these teachings in daily life and to form coalitions with others working toward a just, healthy, peaceful and sustainable future.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is committed to supporting and elevating the work of groups on the front lines of environmental injustice, and to work alongside leaders of color. The Coalition also commits to use our collective power to promote just and equitable policies and federal investments that recognize the specific barriers people of color and Black people face in benefiting from clean, safe and affordable water, as well as access to nature.

If there are ways that I or the Coalition can be of help, please reach out to me. If there are groups who are working on the frontlines to overturn environmental and racial injustices, please let me know. I am committed to an inclusive Coalition that prioritizes the health and well-being of people and communities as we work to restore and protect our region’s rivers, streams, wetlands, and Great Lakes. And I am here for you.

Laura

The post Working Towards a More Just and Equitable Society appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/working-towards-a-more-just-and-equitable-society/

Pavan Vangipuram

Coalition Supports Investments in Drinking Water, Great Lakes in Stimulus Bill

On: May 12, 2020

In: Letters

Prioritizing the health and safety of the Great Lakes and the drinking water it provides to over 30 million Americans must be part of federal government investments to recover from the devastating Coronavirus pandemic, wrote nine organizations, representing businesses, tribes, local and state government, and environmental groups, in a letter to ranking members of Congress. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, representing hundreds of Great Lakes environmental groups, was a signatory to the letter.

“These are common-sense priorities for ensuring that everyone who calls the Great Lakes home has access to the basic need of clean drinking water,” said Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition director Laura Rubin. “As Congress considers stimulus measures to help America’s economy recover, it must recognize that investments in the Great Lakes and drinking water infrastructure will yield long-term environmental and public health benefits. We proudly join the groups who are signatories of this letter in urging Congress to support these clean water and Great Lakes priorities without delay.”

In April, the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition sent Congress a letter calling for stimulus funds to be used in repairing aging water infrastructure and Great Lakes restoration activities that protect source water, as well as for the prevention of water shut-offs.

The post Coalition Supports Investments in Drinking Water, Great Lakes in Stimulus Bill appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/coalition-supports-investments-in-drinking-water-great-lakes-in-stimulus-bill/

Pavan Vangipuram

Bills to Inject $4 Billion in New Water Infrastructure Funding, Start Confronting Environmental Injustices

On: May 7, 2020

In: Letters, Press Releases

Two major bills that boost water infrastructure investment were unanimously reported out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee yesterday, a major step forward in ensuring that all communities have access to clean and safe drinking water, as well as healthy ecosystems, the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition said. The bipartisan America’s Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2020 and Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 provide more than $4 billion in new funding for water infrastructure and almost $1 billion targeted at helping low-income, rural and tribal communities.

“This is a great start toward addressing some of the issues that have unfortunately prevented many in the Great Lakes region from accessing the basic need of clean drinking water,” said Laura Rubin, Director of the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition. “The nation is facing a water infrastructure crisis. Communities are facing unsafe water from toxic pollutants like lead and PFAS, while seeing their water rates skyrocket. These federal investments are urgently needed to help provide clean and affordable drinking water to everyone – especially those people in communities which have historically borne the brunt of pollution and injustice. We urge the Senate to pass these bills now, because the longer we wait, the more costly and difficult these projects become.”

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition delivered a letter to Congress, which over 65 organizations signed, supporting key provisions in the bills such as:

Increasing the authorization for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to $2 billion and incrementally up to $3 billion, to help communities fix, repair, and update wastewater systems.
Providing $2.5 billion in additional funding to help communities fix, repair and update drinking water infrastructure.
Ensuring that a minimum of 10 percent of federal funding through the clean water SRF and 14 percent of federal funding through the drinking water SRF are provided as grants or no-interest loans to help resolve water affordability problems in communities across the country.
Tripling of grants, from $100 million to $300 million, to remediate toxic PFAS contamination, tackling a persistent threat to drinking water.
Investing almost $1 billion in new water infrastructure investment in low-income, rural and tribal communities.
Supporting lead-reduction projects in schools and communities.
Increasing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative authorization from $300 million to $375 million.

The bills now head to the full Senate for consideration.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has urged the U.S. Congress to boost water infrastructure for the last several years, as water affordability and poor quality continues to plague communities across the region. Great Lakes cities such as Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit have seen water rates increase dramatically over the last ten years, in large part due to inadequate federal investment.

The U.S. EPA estimates that the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin need more than $179 billion over the next 20 years to fix, update, and maintain their wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.

According to a Michigan State University report, if water rates continue to rise as they have, more than 35 percent of people in the United states will struggle to afford their water bills by 2022.

The post Bills to Inject $4 Billion in New Water Infrastructure Funding, Start Confronting Environmental Injustices appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/bills-to-inject-4-billion-in-new-water-infrastructure-funding-start-confronting-environmental-injustices-2/

Pavan Vangipuram

Bills to Inject $4 Billion in New Water Infrastructure Funding, Start Confronting Environmental Injustices

On: May 7, 2020

In: Letters, Press Releases

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition delivered a letter to Congress, which over 65 organizations signed, supporting key provisions in the bills such as:

Increasing the authorization for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to $2 billion and incrementally up to $3 billion, to help communities fix, repair, and update wastewater systems.
Providing $2.5 billion in additional funding to help communities fix, repair and update drinking water infrastructure.
Ensuring that a minimum of 10 percent of federal funding through the clean water SRF and 14 percent of federal funding through the drinking water SRF are provided as grants or no-interest loans to help resolve water affordability problems in communities across the country.
Tripling of grants, from $100 million to $300 million, to remediate toxic PFAS contamination, tackling a persistent threat to drinking water.
Investing almost $1 billion in new water infrastructure investment in low-income, rural and tribal communities.
Supporting lead-reduction projects in schools and communities.
Increasing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative authorization from $300 million to $375 million.

The bills now head to the full Senate for consideration.

According to a Michigan State University report, if water rates continue to rise as they have, more than 35 percent of people in the United states will struggle to afford their water bills by 2022

The post Bills to Inject $4 Billion in New Water Infrastructure Funding, Start Confronting Environmental Injustices appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/bills-to-inject-4-billion-in-new-water-infrastructure-funding-start-confronting-environmental-injustices/

Pavan Vangipuram

Coalition Calls on Congress to End Water Shutoffs, Boost Funding for Water Infrastructure, Great Lakes

On: April 9, 2020

In: Letters, Press Releases

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (April 9, 2020) – Congress must pursue a strategy that ensures its response to the COVID-19 crisis helps those who need it the most and sets our nation on a path to a strong, robust recovery, wrote 75 members of the Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition, in letters delivered to the US House and Senate today. They called for water service to be restored for those people who have had their service shut off as well as a moratorium of water shutoffs.

The letters call on Congress to institute a moratorium on water shutoffs and restoration of water services to those who have already had it shut off to ensure that no American is without the basic need of clean, safe water during this crisis. The letters also call for a broader strategy of water infrastructure and restoration investments, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, that ensure that the nation comes out of this crisis with a more secure water system, and that the cracks in our water infrastructure and delivery systems are repaired for the long term.

Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition Director Laura Rubin said:

“Clean water is a basic human need, and we must ensure that everyone has access to it. We must address the water insecurity crisis by focusing on inadequate federal investment. At a time when COVID-19 is ravaging communities across America, it is unconscionable that Americans are being cut off from the water they need to live and protect themselves from this terrible disease.

“But our response cannot stop at the immediate problem. Congress must look further and invest in water infrastructure and restoration projects that will help all our communities recover in a way that’s durable and long-lasting.”

The letters from the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition read:

“The federal government, working with state and local agencies, must require utilities to stop water shutoffs and safely restore water service to households that have lost it … Alarmingly, one nationwide assessment revealed that around 15 million Americans experienced a water shutoff – one out of every 20 households across the country. In Detroit, 112,000 people had their water shut off between 2014 and 2018. In 2017 alone, it has been estimated that one in ten Detroiters experienced a shutoff. Water shutoffs disproportionately impact cities with higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and people of color.

In addition, the letters continue, “Fixing our region’s failing infrastructure can put people to work and set the stage for economic revitalization in our towns and cities. Federal investment in our water infrastructure also can ensure safe, clean water is available to everyone in the region.”

The post Coalition Calls on Congress to End Water Shutoffs, Boost Funding for Water Infrastructure, Great Lakes appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/great-lakes-coalition-calls-for-water-infrastructure-investments-moratorium-on-water-shutoffs/

Pavan Vangipuram

Coalition Thanks Bi-Partisan Group of Senators for Making Great Lakes a Priority

On: January 27, 2020

In: Letters, Press Releases

Today the U.S. Senate Great Lakes Task Force sent a letter to the Trump Administration, urging it to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at no less than $320 million. The administration will release its proposed budget on Monday, Feb. 10. Signatories to the letter include Great Lakes Task Force co-chairs U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), as well as Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

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

“We thank the bi-partisan group of senators—especially Task Force co-chairs Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio)—who are working to keep Great Lakes restoration a national priority. Federal investments in the Great Lakes are producing results, but more work remains. President Trump can show his support for the Great Lakes and clean water by robustly funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in his proposed budget. Further, the president can reconsider his recently announced roll-back of clean water protections for millions of people in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota. Strong funding and strong clean water protections are both essential.”

The post Coalition Thanks Bi-Partisan Group of Senators for Making Great Lakes a Priority appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/coalition-thanks-bi-partisan-group-of-senators-for-making-great-lakes-a-priority/

Pavan Vangipuram

Environmental Leaders Urge Army Corps of Engineers to Include Great Lakes Projects in Work Plan

On: January 7, 2020

In: epa, Letters, Press Releases

Environmental Leaders Urge Army Corps of Engineers to Include Great Lakes Projects in Work Plans

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (Jan 7, 2019) — Last month, a coalition of environmental organizations came together to urge Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) R.D. James and Office of Management Budget Acting Director Russell Vought to include critical Great Lakes Restoration Projects in the FY2020 work plan for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As threats to the health of the Great Lakes continue to intensify, the coalition urged the Office of Management Budget and the Secretary of the Army to ensure that vital funding for Great Lakes restoration projects remain a priority.

“We are grateful for the much-needed support the region has received with investments leading to on-the-ground results across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,” the coalition wrote, “However, the Great Lakes still face many urgent problems and we urge the Corps include projects of critical importance to the Great Lakes in the FY2020 Work Plan. The problems we face will only get worse and the price we pay will be much higher if the federal partnership with the region is delayed or scaled back.”

Read the full letter here.

The post Environmental Leaders Urge Army Corps of Engineers to Include Great Lakes Projects in Work Plan appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.

Original Article

Healing Our Waters Coalition

https://healthylakes.org/environmental-leaders-urge-army-corps-of-engineers-to-include-great-lakes-projects-in-work-plan/

Pavan Vangipuram