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NEMWI Convenes High Level Panel on Regional Water Monitoring Needs
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NEMWI is convening members of the Blue Ribbon Project Steering Committee for its project "Toward Sustainable Water Information" this week in Washington, DC. The project is examining whether existing water monitoring and analysis programs at the federal, state, and local levels have the capacity to support decision-making in critical policy areas. The committee includes members representing USGS, EPA, NOAA, USDA, The Nature Conservancy, river basin commissions, Pennsylvania, New York, the shale gas industry, and others. This project will ultimately identify data gaps and provide recommendations on how to improve the use of our region's water monitoring infrastructure to inform policy decision-making that affects our water resources. The project is supported by a cooperative agreement with USGS.
For more information, contact Elin Betanzo, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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White House Hosts Call for NEMWI Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative on Drought Relief
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The NEMWI Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRCTI) arranged a conference call with the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) to inform Mississippi River mayors of how to tap into federal resources available for drought ravaged areas. The White House IGA Office hosted the call for MRCTI mayors on August 20. More than 20 cities took part and over 15 mayors participated directly. In response to the worst drought in 70 years, the Administration recently released an aid package worth about $65 million to help the most impacted localities. Mayors want to connect local landowners with the help that is available. The White House brought in speakers from USDA, the Economic Development Administration, the Delta Regional Authority, and the Small Business Administration to give overviews of what each agency could provide in drought response.
For information on what is available as well as contacts within each agency that can connect eligible recipients with aid, please contact Colin Wellenkamp, Director of the MS River Cities & Towns Initiative at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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FEMA to Assess Proposed Changes to National Flood Insurance Program
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced its intention to prepare a "Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement" (PEIS) on its proposed National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) modifications. Here is the Federal Register notice on the PEIS, including an opportunity for public comment (through October 9). In 1968, the U.S. Congress created the NFIP to help provide a means for property owners to financially protect themselves from flood-related damages. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP. Participating communities agree to adopt and enforce ordinances that meet or exceed FEMA requirements to reduce the risk of flooding. The changes being considered by FEMA would result in modification of the NFIP in the following specific areas:
1. Elevation standards for new construction would be increased
2. Floodplain management standards for critical facilities would be changed
3. Restrictions on floodway development would be strengthened
4. Future conditions and residual risk in floodplain management would be integrated
5. Fill in floodplains would be discouraged, and
6. The impacts of floodplain development on the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains to include endangered and threatened species would be taken into account.
For more information, follow this link or contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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New Wastewater Sustainability Guide from EPA
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released Sustainability and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund: A Best Practices Guide. The guide provides an overview of state policies and practices that promote community and water infrastructure sustainability. The guide also presents a number of resources, such as a matrix of project priority system criteria used by states to select State Revolving Loan Fund projects. Click here for a copy of the guide.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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