Great Lakes Commission Recommends GLRI Improvements

May 3: In a letter to Congress, Great Lakes Commission Chairman Jim Tierney has provided a series of recommendations for improving implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and asked that it be incorporated as guidance in the Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations bills. In correspondence to the House and Senate appropriations committees, the Commission called for Congressional direction to U.S. EPA to strengthen coordination with the states and give them greater authority over how the GLRI is implemented. The Commission noted that the Great Lakes states know what the most important restoration priorities are and can direct resources to them efficiently.

 

    The Commission is urging Congress to direct U.S. EPA to: Strengthen coordination with the states and provide greater authority in implementing the GLRI; Administer GLRI funding in a way that minimizes transaction costs and maximizes efficiency and on-the ground results; Maintain the GLRI's focus on existing priorities and on-the-ground actions; Minimize non-Federal match requirements; and Maintain base funding for existing programs. The Commission also reiterated its FY 2012 funding priorities for advancing Great Lakes restoration and economic revitalization, urging Federal appropriators to maintain funding for the GLRI and provide funding for the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs.

 

    Access an announcement from the Commission (click here). Access the Commission recommendations (click here). Access more information on the Commission's regional advocacy program for the Great Lakes (click here).

 

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266 Applications Totaling $124 Million For GLRI

May 3: The U.S. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) announced that its 2011 Request for Applications (Number: EPA-R5-GL2011-1) issued on February 25, 2011, received 266 applications totaling $124 million -- more than three times the $40 million offered. GLRI advises that all applicants should check the link below to verify that their submissions have been included in EPA's database. If an application does not appear to have been received, contact EPA immediately using the online form.

 

    Access the brief announcement from GLRI (click here). Access the website of applications received (click here).

HOW Coalition Praises Administration Water Framework

Apr 27: The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition (HOW) issued a release commenting on the Obama Administration release of its National Clean Water Framework which included what the Administration called "unprecedented attention to restoring iconic places like the Chesapeake Bay, California Bay-Delta, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and Everglades, investing in action and helping states, local governments and stakeholders find pollution control solutions that are tailored to their specific needs." [See WIMS 4/27/11].

 

    In their release, HOW indicated that the Framework was ". . .a strong affirmation of the Clean Water Act [that] proposed new instructions to federal agencies on how to interpret parts of the law in light of two Supreme Court decisions that essentially had stripped away protections from many U.S. water bodies, including those that play an integral role in the health of the Great Lakes. The actions by the Obama Administration represent a big step forward in the effort to restore the Great Lakes and protect water quality, public health, and recreational opportunities for millions of people in the region and across the country.

    Jeff Skelding, campaign manager for HOW said, "President Obama's investment to restore the Great Lakes is already producing results, and we expect that today's action will only bolster efforts to protect one of this country's most iconic waters—one that supplies drinking water to more than 30 million people. We encourage the Obama Administration to urgently move to implement a final rule that restores Clean Water Act protections to waters that millions of people in the Great Lakes region and across the country depend on for their drinking water, public health and recreational opportunities."

    Access the release from HOW (click here). Access a release from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (click here). Access the Obama Administration's Clean Water Framework (click here). Access the draft Clean Water Act guidance from U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with supporting documents and commenting instructions (click here).

Great Lakes Interbasin Study Newsletter & Updates

Apr 27: The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) issued its first newsletter on the GLMRIS activities. Among other items, the newsletter reports on the recently completed Study National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) public scoping period ran from November 16, 2010 through March 31, 2011. The newsletter also reports on Interim Products and Other Recent Milestones. GLMRIS also announced recently that additional transcripts from scoping meetings are available for Cleveland (Jan. 13, 2011), Minneapolis (Jan. 20, 2011) and Green Bay (Jan. 25, 2011).

 

    The GLMRIS is being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in consultation with other federal agencies, Native American tribes, state agencies, local governments and other to explore options and technologies, collectively known as aquatic nuisance species (ANS), including Asian Carp, controls that could be applied to prevent ANS transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic pathways.

 

    Access the GLMRIS newsletter (click here). Access the available transcript (click here). Access the GLMRIS website for complete background and the latest information (click here).

Cities Initiative Gets Responses To Great Lakes Questionnaire

Apr 27: The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLC) released the results of a questionnaire on the Future of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence which it sent to Canadian political parties before the May 2nd elections. According to a release, four of five of Canada's political leaders pledged to take concrete action to protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, the largest source of fresh water in the world. Denis Lapointe, GLSLC chairman and mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec said, "We are very pleased with the results of our Election 2011 questionnaire. The political commitments made towards the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence show true leadership in protecting this priceless environmental and economic resource".

 

    The Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party of Canada, the Green Party of Canada and the Bloc Quebecois responded to a questionnaire prepared by GLSLC, a bi-national coalition of mayors representing over thirteen million people, concerned with the protection, restoration and promotion of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin. No response was received from the Conservative Party of Canada.

 

    Access links to the release, the questionnaire, the responses and a summary of responses (click here).

Army Corps Activates New Electric Fish Barrier

Apr 7: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activated electric fish Barrier IIB on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Romeoville, Ill. Barrier IIA has been placed in warm stand-by mode and will undergo scheduled maintenance within the next two months. The new barrier is set at parameters previously applied at Barrier IIA (a maximum field strength at the water surface of 2 Volts/inch, with 15 pulses per second and each pulse 6.5 milliseconds in duration). The demonstration barrier (Barrier I) remains in operation.

   Construction of Barrier IIB was largely funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, Stimulus Funding), enabling the Corps to complete it a year ahead of schedule. Col. Vincent Quarles, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District said, "Successfully completing a complex construction project like this electric barrier takes teamwork. Certainly, the cooperative efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and our other partners in the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) have been a great help in getting Barrier IIB constructed and operational." 

   The CSSC electric barriers project was designed to reduce the risk of inter-basin transfer of fish from the Mississippi River and Great Lakes drainage basins via the CSSC. The area surrounding the electric barriers remains a regulated navigation area as established by the U.S. Coast Guard. Boaters are reminded to use extreme caution while traveling in the CSSC between River Miles 296.1 to 296.7. This area is bounded approximately by the power plant near the Romeo Road Bridge and an aerial pipeline arch. While traveling through the area, boaters are advised to take the following precautions: Do not enter the water or place hands or feet in the water for any reason; Be sure to closely supervise children and pets or send them below deck if possible; and
Do not linger or attempt to moor in the area.

 

    Access a release from the Corps (click here). Access the Corps Chicago District Aquatic Nuisance Species Portal for more information (click here). Access the ACRCC website for more information (click here).

Chicago & Buffalo GLMRIS Scoping Meeting Transcripts Available

Apr 6: The Army Corps of Engineers (COE) announced that the transcripts for the public scoping meetings for the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) for Chicago (December 15, 2010) and Buffalo (January 11, 2011) are now available on the GLMRIS website on the Completed NEPA Public Scoping Meetings and Transcripts page. Scoping transcripts from the other 10 public meeting sites will be posted as they become available [See WIMS 3/1/11]. The public scoping period is now closed. Public scoping comments were accepted from November 16, 2010 through March 31, 2011. 

    The purpose of GLMRIS is to evaluate a range of options and technologies to prevent the transfer of aquatic nuisance species, such as Asian carp, between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic pathways. Opportunities for public involvement, new documents and other important news and events are posted on the GLMRIS website on the new Stay Involved page and are also sent to the GLMRIS e-mail subscription list. GLMRIS also maintains a Facebook page and Twitter account.

 

    Access a COE posted announcement (click here). Access the Meetings and Transcripts page (click here). Access the Stay Involved page (click here). Access complete information regarding GLMRIS, the meeting agenda and scoping requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (click here).