On April 20^th from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in 1310 Longworth House Office Building, the Congressional Urban Caucus and the Northeast Midwest Congressional Coalition will hold a joint briefing that will focus on the ways federal programs can be used to help finance green business opportunities in dense urban areas.   With the help of New Market Tax Credits and CFDI loans, innovative, green investments create jobs and revitalize distressed communities.   Panelist invited to participate include:

 

 

For more information contact Greg Lewis at the Northeast-Midwest Institute or Brenden Chainey in the office Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA).

The Northeast-Midwest Institute, in coordination with the Upper Mississippi River Basin Congressional Task Force and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, is sponsoring a Washington, DC briefing on existing and proposed Federal programs designed to conserve and restore water and natural resources in the Mississippi River Basin.  Presenters from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island, District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and US EPA Office of Water will discuss such issues as the Environmental Management Program, Mississippi River Healthy Watersheds Initiative, and EPA's proposed new $17 million funding targeted at Mississippi River Basin nonpoint source mitigation, with time set aside for questions and discussion.

The briefing will take place on April 15 from noon to 1:00 PM.  The location will be in Room 1105; Longworth House Office Building; Independence Avenue at South Capitol Street.  A light lunch will be provided.
 
If you plan to attend or have any questions please RSVP/contact Mark Gorman (202-464-4015).

The Senate Great Lakes Task Force is circulating a letter to the Budget Committee to urge the inclusion of $475 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) for Fiscal Year 2011.  The Budget Resolution, while not binding on appropriators, is a first step to increasing the funding for the GLRI. The deadline for Senators to sign onto this letter is April 8th.

For more information contact Joy Mulinex, Director, Great Lakes Task Force

The March edition of the NEMW Brownfields and Policy Research Newsletter highlights three smart growth-related studies.  First, EPA has issued a new study that indicates continuing trends toward center cities capturing greater shares of residential growth.  Second, a new demographic analysis suggests that "Generation Y" has strong preferences toward urban locations.  And third, EPA has issued a new summary of the economic and environmental impacts of brownfields redevelopment - the summary cites new findings that link brownfields to higher-than-expected reductions in vehicle miles traveled relative to suburban alternatives.

For more information contact Evans Paull at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a symposium at the NSF facilities in Arlington, VA on the afternoon of Thursday, April 15, 2010 to discuss, among other recent research, the impacts of human activity on the Mississippi River and hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Full details of the symposium can be found here.

For more information contact Mark Gorman at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

On March 29, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, and the Mississippi River Collaborative released a new report, "Cultivating Clean Water," that examines the effectiveness of state-based regulatory programs to control agricultural-associated water pollution, and that recommends related policy changes. The report authors conclude that a number of states have adopted regulations to control agricultural pollution; however, they note that all states studied fall short on enforcement and monitoring, often the result of limited funding and staff. The Environmental Law and Policy Center media release, along with a link to the full report can be found here.

For more information contact Mark Gorman at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.