Author: Jess Lienhardt

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Coastal Communities S/P Legislation Web Meeting

ICYMI: Climate Impacts in the Great Lakes Region Presentation

On March 31, the GLLC hosted climatologist Omar Gates from Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA) for a presentation on the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region.

Gates explained that GLISA uses a predictive model for climate impact based on an advanced simulation of natural processes and available data. The model is then continuously tested and evaluated for accuracy.

Based on that model, GLISA expects that the Great Lakes will experience higher temperatures, more precipitation, and more extreme weather events in the coming years. Those impacts are expected to lead to the hazards outlined in the image above, as well as stormwater damage, ecosystem stress, lower agricultural yields, and fluctuating lake levels.

The GLLC Task Force on Climate Resiliency is examining adaptation and resilience polices to guide the region through these changes and challenges.

The recording of the presentation can be found here.

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Coastal Communities Events Information Members Policy Uncategorized

Great Lakes Legislators Study Climate Resiliency at April Meeting in Detroit

In April, the binational, bipartisan 2023 Birkholz Fellows met in Detroit to set the GLLC policy priorities for Climate Resiliency in Great Lakes Communities. Over the two-day workshop, the Fellows learned about Great Lakes shorelines and nature-based restoration, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, flooding impacts, and climate resiliency and adaptation policies, including the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu. The Fellows also participated in exercises and discussion sessions to begin to form the GLLC objectives for climate resiliency.

At the end of the workshop, the Birkholz Fellows became the Task Force on Climate Resiliency, which will continue to meet, study, and recommend priorities for the duration of the biennium. Illinois Senator Laura Ellman was elected chair of the Task Force, and Ontario MPP Jennifer French was elected as the vice chair. The first priority of the Task Force on Climate Resiliency will be to finalize policy recommendations to be presented to the GLLC membership at the GLLC Annual Meeting on September 8-9 in Québec City. 

If you would like to join the Task Force on Climate Resiliency and help shape regional priorities, contact Director Jess Lienhardt.

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Information Members

Executive Committee Welcomes New Representation from Minnesota, Ohio, Québec, and Wisconsin

Earlier this year, the GLLC welcomed four new Executive Committee members: Senator Mary Kunesh from Minnesota, Senator Theresa Gavarone from Ohio, MNA Joëlle Boutin from Québec, and Representative Lisa Subeck from Wisconsin. Senator Kunesh serves on the Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee and is a founding member of the Native American and People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) caucuses in the Minnesota Senate. Senator Gavarone was a 2019 Birkholz Fellow and also represents Ohio on the Great Lakes Commission. MNA Boutin previously held a partial term on the GLLC Executive Committee and is the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economy, Innovation, and Energy. Representative Subeck was a 2019 Birkholz Fellow and is the Ranking Member on the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities.

The four new members join representatives from the other six states and provinces, the GLLC officers, and ex officio members on the Executive Committee. In addition, the Executive Committee also includes Olmsted County Commissioner David Senjem from Minnesota and Senator Laura Ellman from Illinois, both of whom are chairs of GLLC committees and task forces.

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AIS Coastal Communities Federal Legislation Information Issues News Release Nutrient Pollution Toxic Substances Water Consumption

GLLC Joins Statement on U.S. Federal Great Lakes Priorities

On March 9, Great Lakes organizations across the region gathered in Washington D.C. to highlight U.S. federal priorities for the basin on Great Lakes Day. The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus (GLLC) signed onto the joint statement addressing Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding, water infrastructure investment, climate resiliency, harmful algal blooms, emerging contaminants, and aquatic invasive species.

“The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus is glad to once again stand beside the Great Lakes Commission and coalition of esteemed Great Lakes organizations in communicating a shared vision for Great Lakes U.S. federal policy, ” said Wisconsin Senator André Jacque, GLLC Chair. The GLLC is committed to working with partners at all levels of government and across non-profit and academic sectors to make progress on safe water consumption, nutrient management, cleaning up toxic substances, preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species, and protecting coastal communities.

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AIS Events Issues Lead Nutrient Pollution Toxic Substances Water Consumption Web Meeting

ICYMI: Tracking the Great Lakes Region’s Progress Through Blue Accounting

On February 10, the GLLC hosted speakers from the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) to talk about their Blue Accounting program. Program manager Nicole Zacharda and project manager Ceci Weibert presented on Blue Accounting’s drinking water, aquatic invasive species, and nutrient management data sets and visualizations.

Zacharda outlined the areas of focus for the newly launched drinking water portal, including drinking water protection, treatment requirements, and safe water distribution. Using safe water distribution as an example, Zacharda modeled how Blue Accounting tracks lead service line replacement in each state/province. The portal also contains a policy comparison table between states/provinces using the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus model policy on drinking water.

Weibert discussed the aquatic invasive species (AIS) section of Blue Accounting. She showed the group the metrics on recreational boating prevention programs by state/province, including a comparison of enacted regulations and programs. She shared that the province of Ontario used these tools to outline its recreational boating regulations in 2022 to align with regional partners. Weibert also presented data on harmonization of AIS prevention programs by species.

To close, Zacharda gave an update on the Blue Accounting ErieStat. ErieStat contains data on harmful algal blooms (HABs), phosphorus levels, and strategies to reduce phosphorus across the Lake Erie basin. Despite efforts to reduce phosphorus, the region has not yet achieved a decrease in HABs. ErieStat allows policymakers to review phosphorus levels by watershed across the region to track and assess which areas require the most attention.

The Great Lakes Commission is seeking feedback from and collaboration with Great Lakes legislators on how to update, expand, and improve Blue Accounting. If you have any thoughts to share, please contact Nicole Zacharda.

The recording of the webinar can be seen here.

The GLLC will be holding a webinar on “Climate Trends and Impacts in the Great Lakes Region” on Friday, March 31, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. CT/11:00 a.m. ET in partnership with Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA). Register today!

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AIS Coastal Communities Information Issues News Release Nutrient Pollution Policy S/P Legislation Toxic Substances Water Consumption

A Look Back at Great Lakes Legislation: The 2021-2022 Session

During the 2021-2022 legislative session, the GLLC tracked more than three hundred pieces of legislation in the Great Lakes states and provinces related to our five issues areas: aquatic invasive species, coastal communities, nutrient management, toxic substances, and water consumption. one-third of the 2021-2022 bills and resolutions were introduced or co-sponsored by GLLC members.

Of the introduced bills, 61 were signed into law. Water consumption was the most active issue area. Legislators required water utilities to replace lead service lines (Illinois); allocated additional funds to water infrastructure (Michigan); banned new water-use permits for bulk transport sale of water (Minnesota); and bolstered lead testing programs for vulnerable populations (New York and Pennsylvania).

The second most active area for successful legislation was nutrient pollution. Legislators increased regulations on pesticides (Illinois); created and/or reauthorized programs to help landowners employ best practices on farmland (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota); and increased funding for water quality and nutrient runoff work (Michigan, Ohio).

When it comes to toxic substances, GLLC jurisdictions banned incineration of PFAS (Illinois); banned use of PFAS compounds in dry cleaning and food packaging (Minnesota); listed emerging contaminants as hazardous (Minnesota, New York); and expanded funding for disposal and clean-up of PFAS (Wisconsin).

For coastal communities, legislation strengthened rescue equipment on the lakes (Michigan); removed requirements for municipal lakefront developments to include an oil refinery (Indiana); established funds for climate resiliency (New York); changed development regimes for floodzones (Québec); required permits for wetland, stream, or floodplain restoration (Wisconsin; and allowed removed sediment to be reused as beach nourishment (Wisconsin).

In the area of aquatic invasive species, Minnesota’s environmental and natural resources bill included funding for the University of Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center.

All of the tracked legislation can be reviewed in the archived 2021-2022 tracker.

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Information Members News Release Uncategorized

Executive Committee Welcomes New Representation from Michigan and Pennsylvania

At the January Executive Committee meeting of the 2023-2024 biennium, Representative Rachel Hood from Michigan and Senator Daniel Laughlin from Pennsylvania were confirmed as the new Executive Committee members for their respective states. Grand Rapids-based Representative Hood was a 2019 Birkholz Institute Fellow, served on the GLLC Task Force on Nutrient Management, and is the chair of the Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee for Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Senator Laughlin is a lifelong champion for Erie County, Penn. and is the vice chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Game & Fisheries Committee.

In addition, the following Executive Committee members have been selected to serve their second term: Illinois Representative Sonya Harper, Indiana Representative David Abbott, New York Senator Mark Walczyk, and Ontario MPP Jennifer French. In addition to our officers and state/provincial members, the Executive Committee also includes ex officio members, Illinois Representative Robyn Gabel, Indiana Senator Ed Charbonneau, and Minnesota Senator Ann Rest.

In February, the Executive Committee approved the nominations of Minnesota Senator Mary Kunesh, Ohio Senator Theresa Gavarone, Québec MNA Joëlle Boutin, and Wisconsin Representative Lisa Subeck.

The Executive Committee listing can be found here.

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Uncategorized

Now Accepting Applications for the Birkholz Institute Fellowship

2023 Birkholz Institute: Climate Resiliency in Great Lakes Communities

APPLY HERE

The GLLC is now accepting applications for the 2023 Birkholz Institute Fellowship, with a deadline of February 24, 2023.

The Institute will be held in Detroit on April 21-22, 2023 and will be an in-depth workshop on Climate Resiliency in Great Lakes Communities. After attending the two-day workshop, Fellows will form a task force to refine their policy recommendations over the next two years.

The Birkholz Institute Fellowship is open to all GLLC members and travel scholarships are available for the selected Fellows. If you have any questions, contact Jess Lienhardt at jlienhardt@csg.org.

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Information News Release

New Great Lakes Program Director

CSG Midwest is pleased to welcome Jessica Lienhardt as the new director of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus. In this role, Jessica will guide the many activities and services provided to state and provincial legislators through the nonpartisan, binational GLLC.

A native and resident of Michigan, Jessica most recently worked for five years as public affairs officer for the Consulate General of Canada in Detroit. Jessica will lead CSG Midwest’s support of the GLLC and its work: in-person and virtual events, advocacy on federal policy, a legislative tracker, in-depth training for legislators on select Great Lakes issues, and more.

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Information Toxic Substances Water Consumption

For states, the work on ‘forever chemicals’ has just begun, and potential economic effects on agriculture loom large

Over the past two years, policy “firsts” have cropped up in state legislatures across the country to deal with the problem of PFAS, a class of widely used chemicals linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. In the Midwest, Illinois became the first U.S. state to ban the incineration of PFAS (HB 4818), and Minnesota is the first in the region to outlaw these chemicals in food packaging (SF 20).

Wisconsin, for the first time, now has enforceable limits on levels of certain PFAS chemicals in community drinking water systems, joining Michigan in the Midwest.

Outside the region, some of the recent actions have been even further-reaching. Maine, for instance, is prohibiting all non-essential uses of PFAS in products, and after sewage sludge was discovered to be a source of widespread PFAS contamination on farmland, the state banned the use of sludge as fertilizer. Also this year, Maine legislators established a $60 million trust fund for farmers whose land and products have been contaminated by PFAS. Through the fund, the state will purchase contaminated property, replace the lost income of farmers and monitor the health of affected families. In Vermont, residents exposed to PFAS contamination now have a right to medical monitoring (paid for by PFAS polluters).

“It’s everywhere, and the cleanup is very difficult to do and very expensive,” Minnesota Rep. Ami Wazlawik says about the challenges posed by PFAS contamination. “So you have the prevalence of the chemicals in the environment, the fact that they are ‘forever chemicals’ that stick around, and then the negative health impacts.”

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