Healing Our Waters Coalition » Great Lakes Congressional Watch

Sens. Levin, Kirk Lead Action on Great Lakes, Asian carp, Sea Lamprey

Jordan Lubetkin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:17:40 +0000

U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Mark Kirk are urging their colleagues in the U.S. Congress to continue supporting efforts to restore the Great Lakes.

The co-leaders of the Great Lakes Task Force sent letters today urging continued support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to restore the Lakes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to beat back the Asian carp and the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission to control the invasive sea lamprey.

U.S. senators lending their support for one or more of the letters include: Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

The support comes as the U.S. House of Representative and Senate discuss the fiscal year 2013 budget. Support from the Great Lakes congressional delegation will be crucial to beat back cuts to successful programs that are producing results in communities across eight-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Read the letters on:
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Great Lakes Fishery Commission and sea lamprey control
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Asian carp
National Coastal Zone Management Program

Reps. Schakowsky, Davis Add Names to GLRI Letter

Jordan Lubetkin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:04:12 +0000

U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Danny Davis, D-Ill., have signed on to a Congressional letter that urges House appropriators to provide $300 million in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget.

There are now 25 House members who have signed on to the letter to Reps. Michael Simpson, R-Idaho, and James Moran, D-Va., chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.

Reps. Dingell, Slaughter, Levin and LaTourette urge $300 million for GLRI in 2013

Jeff Alexander — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:12:22 +0000

A bipartisan group of Great Lakes advocates in Congress is taking steps to maintain funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in fiscal 2013.

Four members of Congress who serve on the Great Lakes Task Force — Rep. John Dingell, D-MI; Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY; Rep. Sander Levin, D-MI; and Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio — sent a letter urging appropriators in the House of Representatives to maintain $300 million in funding for the GLRI in fiscal 2013.

“The GLRI is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades and works to protect, restore, and maintain the Great Lakes ecosystem,” the members of Congress said in their letter to colleagues. “We urge you to support this sensible and productive investment in the economic and environmental health of the eight-state Great Lakes region.”

The letter has attracted 12 addidition House members, including Rep. Gwen Moore, D-WI, Rep. Robert Dold, R-IL, Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, Dale Kildee, D-MI, Steve Israel, D-NY, Reid Ribble, R-WI, Brian Higgins, D-NY, Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Hansen Clarke, D-MI, John Conyers, D-MI, Gary Peters, D-MI, and Charles Rangel, D-NY.

The deadline for members to sign on to the letter—addressed to the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies—is March 14.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is one of the few federal programs that enjoy bipartisan support. It is an unprecedented effort to clean up toxic hot spots, reduce polluted runoff, restore fish and wildlife habitat and prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from invading the lakes.

Congress and President Obama provided $1 billion for the GLRI during the first three years of the program. Funding for the GLRI was reduced from $475 million in its first year to $300 million in each of the past two years.

In their letter to House appropriators, representatives LaTourette, Levin, Slaughter and Dingell said the Great Lakes are “a unique and invaluable national treasure that produce immeasurable benefits for the region and nation overall.”

The lakes provide drinking water for 30 million Americans, support 1.5 million jobs and are the backbone of one of the world’s largest regional economies. Studies have shown that every $1 investment in Great Lakes restoration produces $2 of economic activity.

“Restoring the Great Lakes is a critical component of our nation’s strategy to grow our economy while promoting environmental responsibility,” the representatives said in the letter.

New Study: We Can Stop Asian Carp, Protect Great Lakes—and not Break the Bank

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:06:23 +0000

Doable, affordable: Conceptual rendering of Asian carp barrier on the Calumet River. Photo/ Great Lakes Commission

This just in: We have a solution to stop Asian carp for a price that will not break the bank.

A new study, released today by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, lays out solutions to stop invasive species like the Asian carp from using man-made canals connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River from spreading throughout U.S. waters, where they inflict damage on the environment and economy.

The report offers three different scenarios to sever the man-made connection between the two iconic waters by building a barrier (or barriers). The cost: between $3 billion and $9.5 billion.

Commenting on the report, here’s what the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s Jeff Skelding had to say:

“The study has the potential to be a game-changer in the effort to restore and protect the Great Lakes. It proves that we have affordable solutions to the Asian carp crisis that benefit both our environment and economy. This report should put an end to excuse-making and food-dragging and light a fire under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do its job so that the nation can move forward on a solution to protect the Great Lakes and the jobs which depend on them.”

The study underscores three things:

1. We can do this. The study lays out in black and white that we have the technology to block the spread of harmful aquatic invasive species. As Tim Eder of the Great Lakes Commission, explained on a Michigan Public Radio report, it’s like building an earthen dam to sever the artificial connection. The solutions outlined in the report are more than feasible, they are eminently doable. Look at the above artist rendering from the summary report issued today. Anyone familiar with modern ports will see that we can do this. Today.

2. We can afford this. The price tag will attract attention, and it should. Costs ranging from $3 billion to $9.5 billion are not cheap—but they’re not exorbitant either. In fact, I see it as a bargain for several reasons.

First, the Great Lakes are worth that—and so much more. The investment will go to protect a global resource that supplies drinking water to more than 30 million people. More than 1.5 million people depend on it for their jobs—worth more than $60 billion in wages annually. The sport fishing industry alone is valued at $7 billion per year. Recreational boating is valued at $16 billion. To be sure the Asian carp and other species don’t threaten all of that—but no one can argue that the non-native fish don’t present a clear a present danger to both the environment and economy.

Second, those costs are in-line with what cities need to do to maintain infrastructure and keep their cities functioning. Maintaining roads, bridges and sewers costs money. Midwestern cities such as Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee have multi-year, multi-billion plans to upgrade their sewers. The carp barrier can be viewed as a regional infrastructure investment that will benefit citizens in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. In fact:

Third, the whole region benefits from stopping the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species. The region’s citizens, cities and businesses have paid a steep price for invasive species (see below). Similarly, the entire region will benefit from preventing further invasions. The study estimates that the region will save between $1.4 billion and $9 billion by erecting the barriers.

Fourth, if we don’t pay now, we’re going to pay a lot more later. Invasive species are living, breathing biological pollution. Once they take hold, they’re impossible to eradicate—as are their damages. Invasive species introduced via ballast water cost Great Lakes citizens, utilities and cities at least $200 million per year. What’s more, it costs roughly $20 million to manage the invasive sea lamprey. (If you want to see an ecosystem turned on its head by invasive species, see reports by Washington Post and BBC on impacts from the Burmese pythons in Florida’s Everglades National Park.)

It’s clear that if we don’t take action now, the problem will only get worse and more costly. Or, as Dave Ullrich of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative told the Associated Press: “Yes, it’s expensive. But the cost of doing nothing is greater.”

3. We need to move faster towards a solution. The Asian carp crisis has been brewing for years, yet federal action to solve the problem has moved at a snail’s pace. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with offering its own study of options to separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. It has dragged its feet since 2007—and claims, incredibly—that it won’t complete its own study until 2015 at the earliest.

That’s not acceptable. The U.S. Army Corps needs to expedite its study—and incorporate the findings of the new study.

Congress can help advance solutions to this problem in two ways:

1. Maintain strong support for interim measures. The Great Lakes congressional delegation needs to support policy action and necessary funding to support an aggressive, strategic short-term plan to beat back the Asian carp until a long-term solution can be implemented. It’s going to take years to solve this problem. The Great Lakes congressional delegation needs to remain united and vigilant so that we can buy time for a permanent solution.

2. Pass the Stop Asian Carp Act. The act mandates the U.S. Army Corps to complete its study by 2013 so that the nation can move forward on a solution that protect the Great Lakes and the millions of people which rely on them for their drinking water, jobs and way of life.

President Obama to Release Budget February 13

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:34:18 +0000

The Obama Administration will release its fiscal year 2013 budget Monday, February 13, according to reports in media including the Washington Post, National Journal, USA Today, Politico, Bloomberg News and Reuters. By law, the president is to release its budget the first Monday in February.

The president’s budget serves as a framework for congressional budget process and helps set national priorities. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition will analyze the budget to determine the support of Great Lakes programs such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The coalition will host a briefing for reporters on the budget Wednesday, February 15. (Time to be determined.)

The coalition has worked to maintain funding for essential clean water programs. Congress approved $300 million for the fiscal year 2012 budget. President Obama’s previous three budgets have contained substantial funding for Great Lakes programs.

Commenting on the upcoming release of the President Obama’s budget, Jeff Skelding, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:

“The nation cannot afford not to protect the Great Lakes—they supply drinking water to more than 30 million people. Great Lakes restoration programs are already producing results, but there is more to do. If we cut funding now, it will only cost more later because projects will become more difficult and expensive the longer we wait.”

Advocates to U.S. Sens. Brown, Portman: ‘Beat Back Attacks on Clean Water Act’

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:58:22 +0000

An opinion piece in the Toledo Blade underscores the importance of clean water programs in the effort to restore the Great Lakes—and the need for public officials like U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman to show their support for Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes by beating back any attempts to weaken the Clean Water Act.

In the article, Kristy Meyer of the Ohio Environmental Council recounts how, in the wake of the Cuyahoga River catching fire, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act. The landmark legislation—and a federal infusion of billions of dollars to modernize sewage plants across the nation—helped clean up the Great Lakes and waters across the country.

Meyer writes that, despite the overwhelming success of clean water programs, there are those in the U.S. Congress who want to roll back Clean Water Act protections and jeopardize our public health, jobs and way of life. She states:

“Clean water yields good jobs and recreation. Yet many lawmakers now want to gut the Clean Water Act.”

Clean water programs need to be upheld. Millions of people in communities across the country benefit from the Clean Water Act, as well as the nation’s recent commitment to restore the Great Lakes. We’re already seeing results in communities in Ohio–from a creek cleanup in Cleveland to the removal of toxic sediments in Toledo. But more needs to be done.

That’s why it’s imperative that federal public officials continue to support a strong Clean Water Act and programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Ohio’s two U.S. Senators, Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, can play a big role in upholding Clean Water Act protections for Ohio’s 11 million citizens.

Coalition: 2012 Budget ‘Significant Victory for Millions Who Depend on Great Lakes’

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:30:12 +0000

$300 Million for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

$533 million for region to address sewage overflows

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 20, 2011) – The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition is praising the 2012 federal budget bill, which has passed both chambers of Congress and is waiting to be signed into law by President Obama. The budget provides $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to clean up toxic pollution, restore wildlife habitat, stop invasive species and reduce polluted run-off from farms and cities.

The budget also includes $1.468 billion to help communities across the nation address the chronic problem of sewage overflows. Based on a fixed formula, the eight Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will receive about $533 million through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides low- and no-interest loans to communities to fix old sewers.

Funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative remains relatively unchanged, receiving $300 million in fiscal year 2012 compared with $299 million in fiscal year 2011. Funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund decreased by 3.5 percent. Congress approved $1.53 billion in fiscal year 2011 and $1.46 billion in fiscal year 2012. Great Lakes states will receive an estimated $533 million in fiscal year 2012, compared with $552 in fiscal year 2011.

“The 2012 budget represents a significant victory for the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, jobs and way of life,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “This investment will help support programs that are delivering results in communities across the region.”

The House of Representatives passed the bill 296-121 on Friday. The Senate passed the bill 67-32 on Saturday. President Obama is expected to sign the budget into law this week.

Members of Congress from the Great Lakes states were instrumental in holding the line against cuts to Great Lakes programs, including appropriations committee members Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), and Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), and Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.).

“We thank the region’s congressional delegation for stepping up to the plate to make Great Lakes restoration a priority in the federal budget,” said Skelding. “Great Lakes programs are producing results—but there’s more work to do. We look forward to working with the U.S. Congress and President Obama to continue supporting Great Lakes programs that offer some of the best returns on the dollar in the federal budget.”

The Brookings Institution found that restoration activities generate at least $2 for every $1 investment. Economists at Grand Valley State University in Michigan concluded that a $10 million investment to restore Muskegon Lake in Michigan is generating more than $66 million return on investment through higher property values, increased tourism and an expanded tax base.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is supporting more than 900 local projects in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin aimed at restoring the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water for 30 million people and support one of the world’s largest regional economies. More than 1.5 million U.S. jobs are directly connected to the Great Lakes, generating $62 billion in wages annually, according to an analysis by Michigan Sea Grant at the University of Michigan.

The budget bill did not include an amendment offered by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) that would have forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete in 18 months its study that examines options to separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. Completion of the study is essential in the effort to keep the non-native Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

States will receive the following estimated funds through the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund based on a set national formula.

State	Fiscal year 2011 funding	Fiscal Year 2012 funding (estimate)
Illinois	$68,777,500.00	$66,243,150.00
Indiana	$36,600,000.00	$35,251,300.00
Michigan	$65,422,500.00	$63,011,800.00
Minnesota	$27,907,500.00	$26,879,100.00
New York	$167,902,500.00	$161,715,500.00
Ohio	$85,705,000.00	$82,546,900.00
Pennsylvania	$60,237,500.00	$58,017,800.00
Wisconsin	$41,175,000.00	$39,657,800.00
Total	$553,727,500.00	$533,323,450.00

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 120 environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos, aquariums and museums representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

For more information visit: http://www.healthylakes.org

For Immediate Release:
Dec. 20, 2011

Contact:
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition, 734-887-7109

Great Lakes Senators Rallying Around Asian Carp Amendment

Jordan Lubetkin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:18:09 +0000

Great Lakes senators are rallying around the Asian carp amendment being offered by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. The following U.S. senators are supporting the amendment—and deserve thanks for doing so. They are the senators who supported the Stop Asian Carp Act of 2011 (S. 471), the bill upon which the amendment is based. They are:

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown
Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin
Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken
New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl

For those Great Lakes senators not on the list—it’s important that they support the amendment. It will take the cooperative effort of the entire Great Lakes senate delegation to help pass this important amendment in the battle against the Asian carp and other invasive species.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Support Asian Carp Amendment

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:00:10 +0000

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s editorial board is urging Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators—Herb Kohl and Ron Johnson—to support an amendment to the federal budget bill that would light a fire under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a study on the feasibility of building a physical barrier to separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species like the Asian carp to U.S. waters.

The amendment, being offered by Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, is essential in the effort to beat back the non-native Asian carp and other invasive species.

Ernst-Ulrich Franzen, writing for the paper’s editorial board, notes:

“So you don’t have to be blue or red or for that matter purple to believe that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Illinois need to do more to stop this invasive species from wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes basin, and that the Corps needs to move faster on a study. You just have to believe that the fish poses a real threat to the waterways around Lake Michigan.”

The paper continues:

“Completion of the study is essential to building a permanent barrier, so the study needs to be done as quickly as possible.”

It’s imperative that the entire federal senate delegation from the Great Lakes region get behind this amendment. The clock is ticking. Public officials have set a December 16 deadline to complete federal budget negotiations.

Sen. Durbin stands up for Lake Michigan

Jeff Alexander — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:52:46 +0000

The S.S. Badger (Photo courtesy of boatnerd.com)

Congress may not be popular with the electorate these days, but it’s important to note that some lawmakers are doing their jobs well.

Today we recognize and applaud U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who is trying to end a coal-fired steamship’s longstanding practice of using Lake Michigan as a landfill for toxic coal ash.

For decades, the S.S. Badger has dumped its toxic coal ash into the lake every time it makes a crossing. The ferry, which sails between Ludington, Mi., and Manitowoc, Wis., dumps about 500 tons of coal ash laced with mercury and other toxic metals into Lake Michigan every year.

Four years ago, the company that owns the Badger agreed to end the ship’s polluting ways in 2012. But the firm reneged on that agreement when it didn’t receive a $14 million federal grant to convert to diesel power.

Now the Badgers’ owners are engaged in a high-stakes bid to keep federal regulators at bay so the ferry can use the lake as a landfill indefinitely. Go here to read more about this cynical effort to avoid federal regulations.

Republican lawmakers from Michigan and Wisconsin snuck a provision into a Coast Guard reauthorization bill that would prevent the EPA from halting the ferry’s loathsome coal ash dumping.

The ferry’s owners also asked the National Park Service to designate the 410-foot ship a National Historic Landmark. Such a move would prevent the federal government from forcing the ferry to convert to diesel power and — presto — allow the ship to continue dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan.

Sen. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, is fighting that designation.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Sen. Durbin sent strongly worded letters to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the committee that oversees the Coast Guard. Durbin opposed special exemptions that would allow the S.S. Badger car ferry to keep dumping at least 509 tons of toxic coal ash into the lake every year.

“We cannot let Historic Landmark status be used to evade the federal regulations we rely on to protect public health and the environment,” Durbin wrote to Salazar, who has the final say on the Badger’s application. “This Great Lake cannot take any more toxic dumping, no matter how historic or quaint the source may be.”

Amen, senator. It’s high time the Badger stop using the lake as a dump site.