Hurricane Sandy's massive flooding has strained and overwhelmed wastewater treatment plants throughout the Northeast, with impacts extending into the Great Lakes. The Huffington Post, as well as Greenwire, reported that Hurricane Sandy's flooding caused raw sewage and waste to flow into flooded waterways around New York City. With these same waterways flooding the streets and homes of New York City's boroughs, this waste can pose a threat to public health. Overflows are now impacting the fishing industry as well, as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection advised the public to avoid fishing or eating fish from areas surrounding the wastewater treatment plants in northern New Jersey.  The impacts of flooding on wastewater treatment extended to northern Ohio, where WKYC 3, the NBC affiliate based out of Cleveland, reported that Northeast Ohio treatment plants were handling three times the normal flow of water and sewage, putting processing and storing facilities at or near their capacity.  

For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

A week after Hurricane Sandy struck the Mid-Atlantic coast, affecting residents throughout the entire Northeast-Midwest region, The New York Times reports that "millions have regained electricity, mass transit is on the mend, and volunteers have rushed in to help those who are desperate."  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, nearly 1.4 million customers in states affected by the storm are still without power, down from a peak of 8.5 million. Despite major damage to transportation infrastructure, New York's subway system, New Jersey Transit, and other public transit systems have been at least partially restored; additionally, some bridges and tunnels have been reopened in and around New York City. 

The federal government is coordinating relief through a variety of agencies. On Friday, the first installment of federal funding was distributed, toward rebuilding highways ($29 million) and hiring temporary workers to help with cleanup ($30 million).  FEMA is working to increase the fuel supply so that resources are available to impacted areas; the agency is coordinating with states and the private sector to accelerate the distribution of fuel to retail locations.  Also, FEMA will begin providing transitional housing to those who could not return to their homes as a result of the storm, especially critical due to cold weather in the Northeast. 

Further, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has cleared downed trees to open roads and trails at national wildlife refuges along the coast and the Service's pilots are conducting aerial surveys over Long Island and the southern New England coast. Also in response to the disaster, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced the extension of filing and regulatory deadlines for wireless licenses in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. 

For more information, contact Northeast-Midwest Institute staff Danielle Chesky, Meghana Desai, or Colleen Cain.

Mississippi River mayors face many of the same challenges and vulnerabilities as mayors of coastal towns affected by Hurricane Sandy. Development in flood-prone areas is a question mayors along the Mississippi have begun to examine together since the formation of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) in February. Specifically, Mississippi River corridor mayors are amplifying their call for reinstatement of defunded disaster mitigation grants. The Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program (PDM), and the Public Works & Development Facilities Program are all essential planning grants that allow localities to implement projects designed to lessen the impact of extreme natural events like the drought this summer and Hurricane Isaac. The PDM was zeroed-out for FY2013. The Targeted Watershed Grants Program, which includes funding to rehabilitate natural flood barriers and buffers, has not been funded since FY2006. Mayors seek better planning and smarter flood plain development strategies as well as reestablished federal grants.

For more information, contact Colin Wellenkamp, Director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

On October 24, Mayor Slay of St. Louis, Mayor Thompson of Grafton, IL, and Mayor Hoechst of Alton, IL engaged with program directors of over 25 environmental and conservation organizations from nine of the Mississippi River States at the Mississippi River Network's annual meeting in St. Louis. Mayor Slay gave remarks outlining MRCTI's forming agenda for the River and urged organizations to include mayors in their efforts and events to highlight the waterway. Mayors Thompson and Hoechst spoke to the gathering about making the Mississippi the center of their economic development strategies through zoning, green space requirements, and riverfront showcasing.