GLIN==> Northeast-Midwest Weekly Update -- 3 August 2009

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Weekly Update

3 August 2009

 

*	Brownfields Tax Expensing Bill Introduced
*	Congressman Obey to Visit Great Ships Initiative Facility
*	August Upper Mississippi River Basin Update Released
*	August Mid-Atlantic Watersheds Update Released
*	Institute Releases Federal Spending Tables for Fiscal 2008
*	Upper Mississippi River Basin Association Meeting
*	Visions of a Sustainable Mississippi River Conference

 

 

Brownfields Tax Expensing Bill Introduced

 

A bill to make the Section 198 Brownfields Tax Expensing Program
permanent (H.R.
<http://www.nemw.org/images/tax%20expensing%20HR3260.pdf>  3260) has
been introduced by Representatives Xavier Becerra (D-CA-31) and Paul
Ryan (R-WI-1).

 

A 2007 Congressional
<http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/abstract.cfm?NLEid=1915>  Research
Service Report on the tax incentive found that the program was not
fully utilized because Congress had let the program lapse multiple
times in the past:  "This on-again, off-again history creates
uncertainty regarding its future availability, and makes it difficult
for developers to plan, particularly for large-scale, multi-year
projects. Even smaller projects can encounter unforeseen delays,
pushing them past the provision's end date, and causing forfeiture of
anticipated benefits."  For more info on the tax incentive, go to the
EPA website <http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/bftaxinc.htm> .

 

Contact Evans Paull
<mailto:epaull at nemw.org?subject=Tax%20Expensing%20Bill>
(202/329-4282) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

Congressman Obey to Visit Great Ships Initiative Facility 

 

On Monday, August 3, Representative David Obey (D-WI-7) plans to visit
the Great Ships Initiative land-based testing facility for validating
potential ballast treatment systems.

 

The Northeast-Midwest Institute's Great Ships Initiative houses one of
the first purpose-built land-based testing facilities for emerging
ballast treatment technology globally, and the only such facility
capable of evaluating ballast treatment performance in the fresh water
context.  The facility is located at the Duluth-Superior harbor of
Lake Superior.  Representative Obey has been a strong supporter of the
Great Ships Initiative, and other ballast testing facilities
nationally, in order to prepare the nation for a swift and efficient
transition to routine and effective ballast treatment.

 

Contact Allegra
<mailto:acangelo at nemw.org?subject=Obey%20to%20Visit%20GSI%20Facility>
Cangelosi  (202/464-4007) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

August Upper Mississippi River Basin Update Released

 

The Northeast-Midwest Institute has released the August edition of its
Upper
<http://www.nemw.org/images/2009-08%20upper%20mississippi%20river%20ba
sin%20newsletter.pdf>  Mississippi River Basin Update.  The August
edition includes legislative updates on the Water Protection and
Reinvestment Act, the Clean Water Restoration Act, and the Joint
Ventures for Bird Habitat Conservation Act.  Also inside the August
edition are key provisions of appropriations bills particularly
relevant to the Upper Mississippi River Basin, with tables comparing
House and Senate versions of committee bills on the floor.

 

In addition, news articles cover the Natural Resources Conservation
Service's Amendment to the Interim Final Rule of the Wildlife Habitat
Quality Incentives Program, the U.S. Geological Survey National
Water-Quality Assessment program's national- and regional-scale trend
assessments of nutrient concentrations and loads in streams, and the
White House Council on Environmental Quality's review and revision of
Project Guidelines for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

 

Contact Mark Gorman
<mailto:mgordon at nemw.org?subject=August%20UMRB%20Update>
(202/464-4015) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

August Mid-Atlantic Watersheds Update Released

 

The August edition of the
<http://www.nemw.org/images/2009-08%20midatlantic%20watersheds%20updat
e.pdf> Mid-Atlantic Watersheds Update is now available on the
Northeast-Midwest Institute website.  Legislative updates include
details on recently introduced legislation proposing a Clean Water
Trust Fund, unanimously approved Joint Ventures legislation,
Chesapeake Bay-related bills, and recent action on the Federal Surface
Transportation Act.  The update also features appropriations updates
for Interior, EPA, USDA, NOAA, and Army Corps of Engineers, as well as
news clippings relevant to the region.

 

Contact
<mailto:rdawson at nemw.org?subject=August%20Mid-Atlantic%20Watersheds%20
Update> Rachel Dawson (202/464-4016) at the Northeast-Midwest
Institute.

 

 

Federal Spending Tables for Fiscal 2008 Released

 

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its Consolidated
<http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/cffr-08.pdf>  Federal Funds
Report for Fiscal Year 2008 (CFFR).  Accordingly, the
Northeast-Midwest Institute updated the five
<http://www.nemw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42&I
temid=191#federal-spending-tables>  federal spending tables residing
on its website.

 

The tables include total and per-capita federal spending by state and
region for six major categories, including percent of U.S. total
per-capita spending, and ranking of per-capita spending.  A table of
total and per-capita federal spending levels by state and region,
broken down by defense and non-defense spending with percents of U.S.
total is also included.

 

Contact Glenn
<mailto:glennstarnes at nemw.org?subject=2008%20Federal%20Spending%20Tabl
es>  Starnes (202/997-9327) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

Upper Mississippi River Basin Association Meeting

 

The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) has announced
the agenda for its August 4-6 meetings
<http://www.umrba.org/meetings.htm>  in Peoria, Illinois.

 

The UMRBA's goal is to facilitate dialogue and cooperative action
regarding water and related land resource issues in the Upper
Mississippi River Basin region.  Issues addressed by the UMRBA include
nonpoint pollution, water quality planning and management, inter-basin
diversions, cost-sharing strategies, water project financing, sediment
and erosion, hazardous spills, toxic pollution, habitat restoration,
navigation capacity, channel maintenance, flood response and recovery,
floodplain management, wetland protection, hydropower development and
licensing, and drought planning.

 

For more information about the meetings contact Margie Daniels
<mailto:mdaniels at umrba.org?subject=August%20Meeting>  (651/224-2880)
at the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association.

 

 

Visions of a Sustainable Mississippi River Conference

 

The Visions of a
<http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/mississippiriver/index.html>
Sustainable Mississippi River Conference will be held in Collinsville,
Illinois, from August 10-13.  According to the hosts (The National
Great Rivers Research and Education Center, and The Nature
Conservancy), the conference "will attract diverse participants with
interest in our nation's largest river, including stakeholders in the
recreational, navigation, and agricultural sectors, researchers, and
natural resource professionals."  The conference will have four focus
areas:

 

*	ecosystem services and economic value;
*	flood plain connectivity, flood control and hydrologic regime;
*	ethanol production, and
*	clean water uses and threats.

 

The conference will include a session, "Policy Forum:  Presentations
to Elected Officials and Other Decision Makers," on the last morning
of the conference.  The goal of that session is to summarize the
proceedings of the conference, and present key policy issues to an
audience of elected officials and other decision makers governing the
Mississippi River basin.

 

Contact Mark
<mailto:mgordon at nemw.org?subject=Mississippi%20River%20Conference>
Gorman (202/464-4015) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

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Email  <mailto:glennstarnes at nemw.org?subject=Unsubscribe> Glenn
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