Significant progress has been made in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes. But much more needs to be done. Too many Great Lakers experience polluted water, whether it is lead-tainted water coming from taps in homes or algal blooms fouling beaches. Invasive species threaten the lakes, and plastic pollutes our beaches and drinking water.  

In our 2023 federal policy priorities, we’ve identified the top five opportunities for Congress and federal agencies to address these challenges. Many of these priorities are familiar. Congress and the administration must keep up the momentum generated over the past few years to fix our water infrastructure, stop invasive species, and support on-the-ground restoration projects.  

Equity and justice are embedded throughout these policy priorities. Equity and justice must be considered at every step of the federal decision-making process to ensure that all Great Lakers have access to safe, clean, affordable water. Federal water programs must prioritize low-income communities and communities of color, where the burden of pollution often hits hardest. Repairing the long-term harm from environmental injustices isn’t a one-off action. Instead, Congress and the administration must ensure that community voices are at the table, and listened to, from the beginning of all decision-making.  

This year, we have two new priority areas focused on opportunities we’ve identified for the federal government to push forward new approaches to long-standing problems. First is the Farm Bill, which only happens every five years and sets national agriculture and food policy. We see an opportunity to improve federal agriculture subsidy programs to make sure farmers produce clean water, not pollution, along with their crops. Second, concern about plastic pollution continues to grow, and Congress can act to limit plastic pollution by reducing it at the source and not once it is a problem on our beaches and in our communities.  

Read on for full details of our 2023 Great Lakes federal policy priorities, or download the fact sheet to learn more.

Increase water infrastructure funding, prioritize funding for communities most in need 

The infrastructure bill passed by Congress late in 2021 was an important down payment to fix the nation’s failing and outdated water infrastructure. The funding will jump-start efforts to replace dangerous lead pipes, fix leaky pipes, and stop sewage overflows.  

However, the funding is only a start. It’s estimated that the Great Lakes region will need at least $188 billion over the next twenty years to fix our water infrastructure problems. Currently, the infrastructure bill will provide Great Lakes states with an additional $1.8 billion per year for the next five years. It is clearly not enough. We need to keep the pressure on Congress to provide additional funds for water infrastructure programs. Additionally, funding programs must be structured to ensure that money reaches communities with the highest need, such as those with many lead pipes. 

In 2023, we urge Congress to: 

• Increase annual funding to at least $8 billion for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds  
• Increase by $1 billion annual funding levels for lead service line replacement and emerging contaminants  
• Pass a federal ban on water shutoffs 
• Establish a federal program to provide financial assistance for water and sewer bills 

In 2023 we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to: 

• Work with states to ensure equitable distribution of infrastructure funding and provide technical assistance to disadvantaged and underserved communities  
• Complete the Drinking Water Needs Assessment in early 2023 to increase the amount of lead service line funding to Great Lakes states which have the highest number of lead pipes in the country

Download the water infrastructure fact sheet.

Pass a Farm Bill that prioritizes clean water 

Agriculture is the largest unaddressed source of nonpoint pollution in the Great Lakes region. Runoff from agricultural lands puts the Great Lakes at risk. It pollutes drinking water, threatens wildlife, harms the regional economy, and prevents people from enjoying recreation on the Great Lakes. 

Every five years, Congress develops a “farm bill,” a major package of legislation that sets the agenda and funding for national farm and food policy. In 2023, Congress can pass a Farm Bill that ensures farms produce clean water, not pollution, along with their crops.  

In 2023, we urge Congress to pass a Farm Bill that: 

• Increases funding for US Department of Agriculture conservation programs  
• Includes provisions to ensure accountability for farm conservation programs aimed at stopping runoff pollution from agricultural lands
• Reduces funding for concentrated animal feeding operations 

Pass legislation to stop plastic pollution  

Researchers estimate that 22 million pounds of plastic pollution enter the Great Lakes each year. Plastic pollution isn’t just an unsightly problem in our waterways. It’s estimated that humans ingest a credit card-sized amount of plastic each week, with unknown long-term consequences for our health. 

For many years, efforts to stop plastic pollution put the responsibility on the end-user, such as recycling. But only a fraction of plastic produced each year is recycled, leaving the remainder to end up in landfills or as litter that lands in our waterways. The alternative is to require plastic producers to be responsible for their products through their lifecycle, which is called extended producer responsibility. Congress has an opportunity to be a leader on this issue.  

In 2023, we urge Congress to pass legislation that: 

• Makes plastic waste producers responsible for its reduction 
• Reduces the federal government’s use of single-use plastics 
• Funds additional research on the public health impact of plastics

Download the plastic pollution fact sheet.

Protect the Great Lakes from aquatic invasive species  

Invasive species have caused irreparable harm to the Great Lakes ecosystem and cost the region billions of dollars since the late 1980s. Preventing them from ever entering is the best way to protect the Great Lakes. The battle against invasive species is focused on two fronts – stopping invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes and cleaning up ship ballast tanks.  

Established populations of invasive carp are only 50 miles from Chicago and Lake Michigan. But it’s not too late to prevent them from reaching the lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed constructing additional carp prevention measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. The facility is a critical choke point in the waterways leading to Lake Michigan. Congress and federal agencies must continue to support this project.  

The St. Lawrence Seaway opened the Great Lakes to direct ocean-going shipping. Unfortunately, ships brought invasive species along for the ride in their ballast tanks. Although regulations to clean up ship ballast tanks have reduced introductions, loopholes remain for “lakers,” ships operating solely in the Great Lakes. The US EPA can close that loophole. 

In 2023, we urge Congress to: 

• Fund the next phases of construction of the Brandon Road project to stop invasive carp 

In 2023, we urge federal agencies to take the following actions: 

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should continue implementing the Brandon Road project with public participation and work with the state of Illinois to finalize the project partnership agreement. 
• The U.S. EPA should issue rules requiring all vessels operating on the Great Lakes, including lakers, to clean up their ballast tanks.

Download the invasive species fact sheet.

Update and fund Great Lakes restoration programs 

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is one of the most important tools in the region’s toolbox to protect and restore the lakes. The program provides funding for on-the-ground restoration projects, from wetland restoration to cleaning up toxic hotspots. In addition to environmental benefits, GLRI funding garners an additional 3-to-1 return in economic benefits.  

While we need continued investment in Great Lakes restoration, the strategy guiding the GLRI was developed almost 20 years ago and needs an update. Federal agencies should revise the Great Lakes restoration strategy to address the next generation of threats to the lakes, including climate change and long-standing environmental injustices.  

In 2023, we urge Congress to: 

• Fund the GLRI with at least $425 million in FY24 

In 2023, we urge federal agencies to take the following actions: 

• The White House and U.S. EPA should update the Great Lakes action plan to address environmental injustice, climate resilience, and the next generation of risks to the Great Lakes.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should include large-scale natural infrastructure in the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study to address extreme water level changes caused by climate change. 

Download the Great Lakes restoration fact sheet.

The post Top 5 Great Lakes Federal Policy Priorities for 2023 appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Note: This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.

Over the past two years of the 117th Congress, advocates around the Great Lakes region spoke out about the critical importance of the lakes and the need for Congress to take action to protect them. The last Congress heard you and acted on bipartisan legislation, allocating a historic $1 billion investment in Great Lakes restoration, funding efforts to stop invasive carp from reaching the lakes, providing critical new funding to fix our failing water infrastructure to protect our health and environment, and more.

Now that the new 118th Congress is convened, we will start the advocacy cycle again, educating new and returning members of Congress about the critical importance of the Great Lakes. The landscape in Washington, DC changed with the 2022 midterm election, as Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives, and a period of divided government will be the norm for at least the next two years. However, we know that support for water issues, particularly fixing our failing water infrastructure, spans both political parties. We’ll be encouraging members of Congress and the administration to reach across the aisle to protect the Great Lakes.

Key champions of the Great Lakes retired from Congress at the end of last term, including former Ohio Senator Bob Portman, but other new members were elected, and they will have their opportunity to legislate. Overall, there are 25 new Members of Congress from Great Lakes states, including two new United States Senators, and 9 of these members have districts located directly in the Great Lakes basin.

After just two weeks, early signals from the House of Representatives indicate there are likely to be major policy disagreements between the House and Senate over the debit ceiling, government funding, and a host of other issues. These disagreements may consume significant amounts of time and energy or possibly even lead to undesirable outcomes such as a government shutdown.

Notwithstanding this dynamic, the Alliance for the Great Lakes remains nonpartisan and will urge Congress to maintain its focus on its primary responsibilities. For us that means passing laws and providing funding for programs that benefit the Great Lakes and its people, such as funding to repair and maintain water infrastructure, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and numerous other programs that benefit the health of our citizens and our natural resources.

Next week, we’ll be unveiling our 2023 Federal Policy Priorities. We’ll detail the specific next steps this new Congress must take to protect the Great Lakes and ensure everyone around the region has access to safe, affordable water. And, once again, we’ll be looking to you to help make sure Congress hears from voters around the Great Lakes. Your voice matters.

We were proud to work on all of these programs during this past year and thank all of our supporters for lending your strong voices to this effort.

The post The New Congress and the Great Lakes appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Election day – Tuesday, November 8 – is just around the corner. Many federal, state, and local offices are on the ballot around the Great Lakes region.

Seven Great Lakes states have gubernatorial elections this year. (The exception is Indiana.) Six states have U.S. Senate races on the ballot – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election. And numerous state and local offices are on ballots

Voters like you can make sure that the Great Lakes and clean water are part of the election-year conversation. Every office on the ballot will have the opportunity to influence Great Lakes and water issues once elected.

The Great Lakes have long enjoyed strong bipartisan support because people of all backgrounds can see the value of clean water. To protect the lakes, we need to defend existing clean water laws while pushing for stronger, better protections for the world’s largest source of surface freshwater. And we must ensure that everyone in the Great Lakes region has access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water.

Right now, we have an opportunity to encourage candidates to stand up for the Great Lakes and hold them accountable once elected. You can have an impact by using the tools below to join the conversation today.

Your voice and your vote matter. Civic engagement is a critical part of protecting the Great Lakes. Whether it’s asking questions at a candidate forum, chiming in on social media, or highlighting water issues in a letter to the editor, your voice makes a difference. People running for elected office pay attention to issues that bubble to the top in all of these venues.

Tips to Get Involved this Election Season

Raise Awareness about Great Lakes Issues

Asking candidates for any office where they stand on Great Lakes issues raises awareness, highlights the issues, and allows us as constituents to hold elected officials accountable once they take office. To get you started, here are five questions to ask candidates for elected office.

• What is your number one Great Lakes policy priority?
• What policies will you put in place to ensure Great Lakes communities have safe, clean, and affordable drinking water?
• If elected, what would you do in your first 100 days in office to protect the Great Lakes for people who live, work and play in the region and depend on them for drinking water?
• What will you do to increase much-needed funding for the Great Lakes region’s failing drinking and wastewater infrastructure and ensure that no one loses access to water and sewer services because of an inability to pay?
• How will you ensure that businesses, from industrial facilities to industrial agriculture, are held accountable for pollution flowing into our waterways?

Telling your story can be powerful and can help to get attention for issues you care about. You can make the questions above your own by sharing personal experiences and by replacing “Great Lakes” with your home lake.

Candidate forums provide an opportunity to engage with individuals running for office and ask important questions about their platforms and positions. Asking questions about how the candidate plans to take action if elected at these events is one way to get water issues into the election-year conversation. Read our fact sheet for more tips on how to find and get involved with candidate forums in your community.

Another important step is to learn about the elected offices on your ballot. Elected officials set program and funding priorities that can lead to better protections for the lakes or leave them more vulnerable to pollution. They oversee agencies that implement clean water laws and regulations. And they make budget decisions that impact Great Lakes programs. Read our fact sheet with helpful tips on how to find out more about the elected offices on your ballot.

Social media can help spread the word about Great Lakes issues and provides an opportunity to connect with candidates for office. By speaking out on social media and sharing information with your network, voters like you can make sure that the Great Lakes and clean water are part of the election-year conversation. Read our fact sheet with tips on how to effectively use social media.

Create Your Plan to Vote and Encourage Others to Vote

Voting is the most important way for you to have a voice in how our elected officials protect our water. It’s important to make a voting plan to be sure your voice is heard on Election Day. Visit our Great Lakes Voter Information Center and enter your address to check the status of your registration. Read our fact sheet with tips on how to make your plan to vote.

Encourage others to vote by sharing the Great Lakes Voter Information Center and help them make a plan to vote.

Note: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Alliance for the Great Lakes cannot support or oppose candidates or political parties. However, we can and do, educate candidates and voters on Great Lakes issues.

The post 2022 Midterm Elections: How to Get Involved appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Mapping out where lead service lines exist so they can eventually be replaced is an important step in creating a water infrastructure system that equitably delivers safe, clean water to all Ohioans. 

Ohio has the second-most lead service lines of any state in the country and, as the governor has said, there’s simply no safe level of lead exposure — especially for children, the elderly and other vulnerable communities. The Alliance looks forward to continued collaboration with the governor’s office on this important issue.

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Media contact: Please connect with our media team at TeamGreatLakes@mrss.com.

The post Alliance Commends H2Ohio Investment in Lead Service Line Mapping appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Note: This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.

At the beginning of the year we announced an ambitious federal policy agenda. We’re now just past the halfway mark of the year. So we’re asking: are we making progress, or is there more we can do to advocate for the Great Lakes?

As a quick refresher, our policy agenda for 2022 included:

• Increasing funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative;
• Increasing funding for water infrastructure; and
• Securing a cost share change for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam Project so that the project would be fully funded by the federal government.

House Makes Progress on Funding Great Lakes Priorities

On the funding side, the U.S. House of Representatives responded to our priorities and just voted on an appropriations bill that includes increased funds for the Great Lakes. Included in the “minibus” legislation (approximately six appropriations bills all bundled together) are:

• $2.9 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which is approximately level with last year and will provide funding to states to address water infrastructure needs like replacing lead pipes;

• $368 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which is an increase of $20 million over last year’s funding and represents critical funding to address regional priorities such as cleaning up toxic hot spots, habitat restoration, water quality improvements, and managing invasive species;

• $47.8 million for the first phase of construction of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois, to keep invasive carp out of the lakes; and

• $3 million for the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study, an increase of $2.5 million over the President’s Budget, that will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to start this important effort to address climate change and the needs of coastal communities in the face of fluctuating lake levels.

While the Senate has yet to move any funding bills for a vote, the House actions are encouraging. They demonstrate that Congress recognizes the importance of these programs to a healthy Great Lakes.

Bipartisan Action to Stop Invasive Carp

In addition to funding, the House and Senate – on a bipartisan vote – are moving legislation that continues strong momentum to stop invasive carp from reaching Lake Michigan. 

Invasive carp pose a serious threat to the Great Lakes. Silver and bighead carp have already wreaked havoc on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, out-competing native fish for food and injuring people who recreate on the rivers. The invasive fish are steadily spreading upstream toward Lake Michigan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun designing a critical project to stop invasive carp from reaching Lake Michigan by installing prevention measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Illinois, a chokepoint in waterways leading to Lake Michigan.

The House passed its version of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 that will increase the federal cost-share – which is how much the federal government will chip in for this critical project – to 90%. The Senate has moved its version of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 out of committee and is expected to pass the bill later this summer. The Senate committee bill also includes the same cost-share provision as the House bill. This is good news and shows that Congress and the Administration recognize that the invasive carp moving toward Lake Michigan threaten the entire Great Lakes region.

Looking Ahead, Your Voice Makes a Difference

The legislative process will continue for the next several months and hopefully conclude before the start of the new federal fiscal year in October. We are encouraged by the progress thus far and will continue to press for increased funding and authority for programs that support and maintain the Great Lakes.

But it’s not too late for you to weigh in and encourage your members of congress to support clean water and a healthy Great Lakes.

The post Mid-Year Update: Alliance’s 2022 Federal Priorities appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Anna-Lisa Castle serves as Policy Director, Clean Water & Equity at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, in which she leads campaigns supporting clean water access, equitable investment in water infrastructure, and climate resiliency water policy across the Great Lakes region. Anna-Lisa connects water policy priorities across the local, state, and federal levels by amplifying the work of strategic local drinking water, graywater, and stormwater initiatives, developing policy analysis and advocacy priorities with a focus on state-level policy, and convening stakeholders across the region in a collective impact approach.

Resources

Federal money to replace lead pipes is just a first step to cleaner drinking

water in Chicago (Op-Ed)

The post Anna-Lisa Castle – Toxic Lead Pipes in the Great Lakes appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Resources

…And Water For All ( Full Movie_

Learn more about the director http://www.ramiroberardo.net/

The post Water Affordability Documentary appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Note: This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.

Last year Congress and the Biden Administration delivered on historic investments in water programs which brought significant funding to the Great Lakes region. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) included nearly $50 billion in water infrastructure funding, $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and $226 million for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project to halt the spread of invasive carp.

Last year’s achievements are a tough act to follow. The FY 2023 President’s Budget, the first step in the federal government budget process, was released earlier this week by the White House. While it supports increased funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overall and specifically increases funding for the agency’s environmental justice efforts, the budget falls short in some respects.

Although the FY 2023 President’s Budget proposes some modest additional investments in water infrastructure, it fails to take up the invitation extended by the IIJA which provided for significantly increased authorization levels for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). The higher authorization – which is a top threshold for program funding – was necessary to address the significant backlog of water infrastructure needs nationwide. Instead, the budget proposes maintaining the SRFs at $3.7 billion, which is the same level that Congress appropriated last year. It proposes modest increases of $22 million for the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Program ($182 million total) and $46 million for community grants for environmental injustice ($140 million total). Both are important programs but we know that much more is needed to fix failing and outdated sewer and water infrastructure.

For the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the budget proposes $340 million, which is an $8 million decrease from the FY 2022 enacted level and well short of the program’s authorized level of $400 million.

The FY 2023 President’s Budget is a starting point as we turn our attention to working with Congress to secure funds that will protect the Great Lakes.

The post DC Update: Biden’s FY23 Budget Proposal & the Great Lakes appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Anna-Lisa Castle serves as Policy Director, Clean Water & Equity at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, in which she leads campaigns supporting clean water access, equitable investment in water infrastructure, and climate resiliency water policy across the Great Lakes region. Anna-Lisa connects water policy priorities across the local, state, and federal levels by amplifying the work of strategic local drinking water, graywater, and stormwater initiatives, developing policy analysis and advocacy priorities with a focus on state-level policy, and convening stakeholders across the region in a collective impact approach.

Resources

BLOG- Illinois shows leadership for lead-free drinking water; further action is needed across the Great Lakes region

BLOG- Water Infrastructure Front and Center in Washington, DC (This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.)

Report: Water Affordability in Ohio

The post Anna-Lisa Castle Water Infrastructure appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

“We applaud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for directing states to invest nearly half of new water infrastructure funding in historically disadvantaged communities with their new memo on how money from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is to be used via the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs).

“The Great Lakes region is home to seven of the ten states with the greatest number of toxic lead pipes still in use, with Illinois, Ohio and Michigan at the top of the list. Historically, SRF money has not always reached communities with the most need. We hope that EPA’s new implementation memo will ensure that funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, particularly the $15 billion in dedicated funding for lead pipe removal, will be equitably deployed. 

“Today’s memo — with its focus on ensuring increased investment in disadvantaged communities, the need for rapid progress on full lead service line replacement, and flexibility to address local water needs  — is an important step in beginning to counteract historic environmental injustices. We look forward to continuing our work with the U.S. EPA and the states, which will implement these infrastructure investment programs to ensure all communities have equal access to clean, affordable drinking water.”

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Media Contact: Jennifer Caddick, jcaddick@acastlegreatlakes-org

The post Statement: Alliance Applauds US EPA Efforts to Ensure Water Infrastructure Funding Reaches Communities Most in Need appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.