New Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Website

Feb 26: The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLCI), a coalition of U.S. and Canadian mayors and other local officials, has announced its new website which it says is more user friendly and informative with the most current news on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. David Ullrich, Executive Director of the Chicago based organization said, "In less than seven years, the Cities Initiative has established itself as a major, positive presence on the Lakes and Rivers with strong leadership in actions and results to protect, preserve, and restore the resource. . . we look forward to working with all our partners and stakeholders to create a more sustainable future with economic, social, and environmental balance.  With the largest freshwater resource in the world as our 'front yard,' we want to help provide economic well being and a quality of life that is unmatched anywhere.   

    Access a brief announcement GLCI (click here). Access the website at the same web address (click here).

Cities Initiative Applauds Obama Great Lakes Funding

Mar 4: The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLCI) applauded the recent steps by President Obama and Congress to invest in the Great Lakes, the economic and natural resource foundation for a large part of the United States and Canada. They said these include the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) [See WIMS 2/17/09] passed by Congress and the President’s 2010 budget provisions, which include $475 million for the Great Lakes and large increases for water infrastructure [See WIMS 2/26/09].

Mayor Richard Daley, Mayor of Chicago and Founding U.S. Chair of the Cities Initiative, "We have been working hard to get Washington to understand how vital the Great Lakes are to the quality of life and economic well being of tens of millions of people. These investments will not only go a long way towards protecting and restoring this important natural resource, but will also put people back to work and spur economic development." GLCI said that the ARRA would provide $6 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure money, over 30% of which is likely to come to the Great Lakes region. This funding begins the process of reducing the $70 billion plus wastewater infrastructure deficit estimated by U.S. EPA.

The President’s Budget for FY 2010 includes $475 million for the Great Lakes specifically, and increases the funding for water infrastructure nationally to $3.9 billion. The funding for the Great Lakes would be by far the largest amount ever dedicated to the global freshwater resource. The Great Lakes funding is designed to help implement the 2005 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. Included would be work on invasive species, non-point source pollution, and contaminated sediments. The Cities Initiative plans to work with federal, state, and tribal representatives to steer the funding to those areas most needing attention and where it can do the most good for the resource.

In a related matter, GLCI has announce that registration is now open for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, 2009 Annual Member Meeting & Conference to be held at Trois Rivières, Québec, June 17-19, 2009.

Access a release from GLCI (click here). Access complete program and registration information for the GLCI conference (click here). Access the GLCI website for more information (click here).

Great Lakes Canadian & U.S. Mayors Outline Infrastructure Needs

Dec 12: Canadian and U.S. mayors passed a resolution that calls on the Canadian and U.S. national governments to prepare an urgent economic recovery package that accelerates public infrastructure investments, creates jobs and promotes a healthy and sustainable environment and economy in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region. Toronto Mayor David Miller, Founding Canadian Chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (the Cities Initiative) said, "Canadian and U.S. Mayors agree that we need massive investments in public infrastructure that will both create jobs in the short term, and build essential infrastructure for a greener, cleaner economy into the future. The need is urgent and time is of the essence.”

The mayors of the Cities Initiative Board of Directors, gathering for their mid year meeting in Toronto, shared information on proposed economic recovery packages in Canada and the U.S. There was particular interest in President‐elect Barack Obama’s repeated commitment to invest in green infrastructure and innovation. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Founding U.S. Chair of the Cities Initiative said, “We need to lead by example by calling on our national governments to partner with cities to invest in infrastructure projects like sewer, water and transportation systems. These investments will not only benefit our region, but the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence economy, one of the most important regional economies in the world.”

At their meeting, the mayors examined ways to expedite the funding cities need to start construction on infrastructure projects, thus creating new jobs, in early 2009. Mayors agreed that a key to moving quickly was getting funding directly to cities, where projects are ready to be delivered without bureaucratic delays.

Access a release from the Mayors (click here). Access a media backgrounder (click here). Access the December 12 resolution (click here). Access more information from the Mayors website (click here).

Canadian Mayors Call For Great Lakes Commitments

Sep 22: According to a release from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, mayors representing over 7 million Canadians in Ontario and Quebec issued a letter calling on the five Federal political leaders in the Canadian election to publicly declare their proposals for protecting the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson, chair of Cities Initiative said, "Canadian municipalities are spending over $4 billion a year on Great Lakes and St. Lawrence protection. Given the national and international importance of this massive fresh water resource, it is time we have a substantial commitment from our federal government."

Canadian members of the Cities Initiative issued the letter a day after presidential candidates in the United States raised the importance of Great Lakes protection in their federal election campaign. Toronto Mayor David Miller said, "We are encouraged that, through the activities of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and other organizations, both U.S. presidential candidates are acknowledging the critical importance of protecting this vital resource. Senator Barack Obama has come forward with his proposal and Senator John McCain has made known his concern for the future of the Great Lakes. It is time our federal party leaders stepped up and made their voices heard."

Access a release from the Cities Initiative (click here). Access the Cities Initiative website (click here).

Report Shows $15 Billion In Great Lakes Local Government Investment

Feb 27: A report released by the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (Cities Initiative) and funded by the Joyce Foundation, concludes that local governments in the U.S. and Canada invest an estimated $15 billion annually to protect and restore the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, but cannot keep pace with the one-two punch of escalating threats to the resource and ongoing cuts in Federal restoration programs. Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, chair of the Great Lakes Commission said, “This report clearly demonstrates that our cities and other communities are ready and willing partners in the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence ecosystem. Their contributions at the local level play a key role in the environmental health and well-being of the entire system, and they need and deserve federal support in those efforts.”

Results from the 143 U.S. and Canadian local governments that responded to the survey document 2006 local investment at $2.5 billion on water quality management activities, including wastewater systems operation, maintenance and infrastructure, and $784 million on ecosystem protection activities such as greenspace protection and recycling/reuse programs. By extrapolating to incorporate the entire survey population of 688 local governments, which included cities, towns, villages, counties, regional municipalities and conservation authorities, the estimated local government investment is $15 billion annually, with $12 billion for water quality management and $3 billion for ecosystem protection.

Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, founding U.S. chair of the Cities Initiative said, “This study makes it clear that there is a growing movement that recognizes the need for long-term funding for Great Lakes protection and restoration, but it also suggests that we need to do more. All our cities desperately need significant funding for water and wastewater infrastructure, but it’s still not on the radar of the national government and it’s time for them to step up and help protect this precious natural resource.” The survey found that in both the United States and Canada, local investment was highest in the area of wastewater systems operation, maintenance and infrastructure. U.S. survey results alone indicate that local government makes capital investments in wastewater infrastructure in the Great Lakes Basin at well over 10 times the U.S. Federal government. Federal funding through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) has been cut by 49 percent since 2004 and more cuts are proposed for 2009. When viewed in light of the survey results, these cuts only amplify the need for Congress to restore funding of the CWSRF to $1.35 billion.

The report -- Local Investment In The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence -- is expected to build support in the United States for Federal legislation to implement recommendations of the 2005 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes -- the product of a year-long initiative among Federal, state and local governments, tribes and other stakeholders that was established by a presidential executive order. Among the Strategy’s foremost recommendations to protect and restore the Great Lakes is increased federal investment in storm-and wastewater treatment, to supplement the substantial local investment documented in the report.

Access a release from the GLC and Cities Initiative (click here). Access the complete 89-page report (click here). Access further information from the Cities Initiative including an Introduction, Synopsis, Survey Fact Sheets (respondents, results) Press event speakers, and Clean Water State Revolving Fund facts (click here).