| Northeast-Midwest Institute Weekly Update |
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October Update on Mississippi River Basin Issues Released
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The Northeast-Midwest Institute's October Update on Mississippi River Basin issues is now available on line (PDF file). If that link doesn't work, you can cut and paste the following into your Internet browser's address field: http://www.nemw.org/images/2010-10%20Upper%20Mississippi%20River%20Basin%20Newsletter.pdf.
This month's Update contains these items:
- LEGISLATION
- Congressional Recess
- 2012 Farm Bill
- Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act
- BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS
- Omnibus appropriations bill faces uncertain path
- RIVER BASIN NEWS AND NOTES
- Delta Dispatches
- America's Waterway "River Currents"
- National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Confluence Field Station Dedication Planned
- Upcoming Conferences, Events and Workshops
Fore more information contact Mark Gorman at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, 202-464-4015.
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TIGER II Grants Announced
| The Department of Transportation released the recipients of $600 million in funding under the TIGER II program. The TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant Program was created in ARRA to fund 'innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that promise significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, a region or the nation'.
A full list of the construction grants and the planning grants is available on the DOT website.
Fore more information contact Fritz Ohrenschall at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, 202-464-4020.
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Great Ships Initiative Conducts Ballast Water Study for Canada
Canadian Fisheries and Oceans has just contracted with the NEMWI's Great Ships Initiative to carry out critical ballast water management studies aimed at improving protection of the Great Lakes from unwanted invasive species. The Great Lakes water resource and the maritime transportation it supports are regional assets shared by the United States and Canada. The Great Ships Initiative, a collaborative regional effort to resolve the problem of ship mediated invasive species in the Great Lakes, was launched in 2007, thanks to efforts by Congressman Dave Obey to find federally appropriated dollars to support the undertaking. The GSI now operates a world-class ballast treatment testing facility located in Superior, WI, which efficiently generates credible third-party information on ballast treatment performance in fresh water ecosystems. Canada's contract with NEMWI's GSI signals the bi-national breadth of GSI's value and utility to the region. Continued, timely support from Congress and US and Canadian federal agencies is critical to maintaining the independence and high quality of GSI research activities for the region.
Fore more information contact Allegra Cangelosi Principal Investigator at the Great Ships Initiative, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, 202-464-4007.
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| EPA Announces $4 million in Brownfields Grants | |
On Friday October 15th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it is awarding $4 million in assistance to 23 communities, many in under-served and economically disadvantaged areas, to develop area-wide plans for the reuse of brownfields properties. The plans will integrate site cleanup and reuse into coordinated strategies to lay the foundation for addressing community needs such as economic development, job creation, housing, recreation, and education and health facilities. The 23 communities are disbursed throughout 18 states and one territory and EPA will award up to $175,000 to each recipient to help facilitate community involvement in developing an area-wide brownfields plan.
Click here for the complete press release. For more information contact Greg Lewis at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. |
| National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Confluence Field Station Dedication on Tuesday | The dedication of the new National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) Confluence Field Station in Alton, Illinois will be celebrated at the facility on Tuesday, October 26 at 1 PM (followed by hosted tours of the facility beginning at 2 PM). NGRREC was formed in 2002 to explore important questions about river systems, the environment and their impact on the communities, and to keep the public informed. The new Confluence Field Station will serve to enhance NGRREC'S reputation as a premier river research institution, and will be the first institution of its kind to offer a comprehensive river system research and education program. Many local, regional and national dignitaries have been invited and are expected to attend the ceremony. For more information about the new, LEED-certified facility and the dedication ceremony, see this web site. More information about NGRREC can be found at www.ngrrec.org (Mark Gorman, Northeast-Midwest Institute Policy Analyst for Mississippi River watershed issues, will be presenting brief remarks during the dedication ceremony, and will post updates on the event and the new facility later in the week in Northeast-Midwest Institute's Mississippi River Basin Blog).
Fore more information contact Mark Gorman at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, 202-464-4015.
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