GLIN==> Northeast-Midwest Weekly Update -- 8 September 2009

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Weekly Update

8 September 2009

 

*	Brownfields and Auto Plant Reuse
*	Farm Service Agency to Conduct Nine Public Meetings on the
Conservation Reserve Program
*	Senators Reed and Snowe Circulate Weatherization Letter

.         State of Lake Michigan and Great Lakes Beach Association
Joint Conference

.         llinois River System Management Conference

.         Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

 

 

Brownfields and Auto Plant Reuse

 

The latest August edition of the Brownfields Policy and
<http://www.nemw.org/images/bfnews0908.pdf>  Research newsletter
includes coverage of brownfields and auto plants.  The approved
bankruptcy plan allows General Motors (GM) to escape from extensive
environmental liabilities by leaving many contaminated assets in the
hands of the old GM, the bankrupt entity, while the new GM will only
retain certain attractive sites.

 

An extensive article in the Detroit Free
<http://www.freep.com/article/20090807/BUSINESS01/908070382>  Press
outlines the scope of the $530 million cleanup problem.  Flint,
Michigan - afflicted with 1,500 acres of brownfields sites - is
reported in an article
<http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/07/buick_city_other_br
ownfield_re.html>  in MLive to be considering a proposed intermodal
transportation center to reuse 223 acres and create 600 jobs.
However, environmental liability, now complicated by the bankruptcy
proceedings, could derail the project.

 

In Massena, NY <http://www.startribune.com/business/49772062.html> ,
the bankruptcy plan has been reported as allowing GM to potentially
shed its environmental liabilities, estimated at $225 million for the
New York site.  Cleanup issues have also been reported as potential
impediments to auto plant reuse at the Twinsburg,
<http://blog.cleveland.com/twinsburgsun/2009/07/chrysler_advisers_sche
duled_to.html>  Ohio Chrysler Plant.  The State of Ohio is assisting
in carrying out phase I and II assessments of the site.

 

Contact Evans
<mailto:epaull at nemw.org?subject=Brownfields%20and%20Auto%20Plant%20Reu
se>  Paull (202/329-4282) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

Farm Service Agency to Conduct Nine Public
Meetings on the Conservation Reserve Program

 

The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency has
scheduled nine public meetings from September 15 through October 8 to
solicit comments on how the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) can be
more effective in increasing its environmental benefits.  Topics to be
discussed at the meetings include provisions dealing with cropping
history requirements, crop rotation practices, contract incentives,
program enrollment terms, and the CRP enrollment authority of 32
million acres established for the remainder of the 2008 Farm Bill.

 

Written comments are due by October 19, 3009.  Click
<http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/newsReleases?area=newsroom&subject=landin
g&topic=ner&newstype=newsrel&type=detail&item=nr_20090820_rel_0393.htm
l>  here for more details on this and the nine public CRP meetings.

 

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

 

 

Senators Reed and Snowe Circulate Weatherization Letter

 

Northeast Midwest Senate Coalition co-chairs Jack Reed (D-RI) and
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are circulating a letter to the Conference
Committee for the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill in
support of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).

 

The letter specifically urges that the final version of the bill
include no less than $220 million for WAP - the amount included in the
President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget - and that any
weatherization-related pilot projects be funded above that level, and
not carved out of the base funding.  The deadline for senators to sign
the letter is close of business on Tuesday, September 8.

 

Contact Chris
<mailto:chris_hickling at reed.senate.gov?subject=Weatherization%20Letter
>  Hickling (202/224-0606) Legislative Director, Northeast Midwest
Senate Coalition.

 

 

State of Lake Michigan and Great Lakes Beach Association Joint
Conference

 

On September 29-October 1, the Sixth Biennial State of Lake Michigan
and the Ninth Annual Great Lakes Beach Association 2009 Annual Joint
Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency, 333 West Kilbourn
Avenue, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

The conference convenes scientists, resource managers, local
officials, and interest groups, to assess current conditions and
progress toward improving Great Lakes beaches and Lake Michigan.  The
information presented is used to revise the Lake Michigan
<http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/michigan.html>  Lakewide Management Plan
(LaMP), improve lake and beach management, and protect public health.
The conference is also an excellent opportunity to improve regional
coordination and share successes, challenges and new ideas.

 

For more information, or to register for the conference, visit the
conference web site <http://www.aqua.wisc.edu/solm> .

 

Contact Victoria Harris
<mailto:harrisv at uwgb.edu?subject=Joint%20Conference>  (920/465-2795)
at the University of Wisconsin's Sea Grant Institute.

 

 

Illinois River System Management Conference

 

The 12th Biennial Governor's Conference on the Management of the
Illinois River System will be held at the Hotel Pere Marquette, 501
Main Street, Peoria, Illinois, from October 20-22.

 

Over the past 24 years, the Governor's Conferences on the Management
of the Illinois River System have served as an important forum to
bring together local, state, and federal leaders to create awareness
of the issues of soil erosion and sedimentation, identify important
river research initiatives, develop working coalitions, apply
conservation practices to the watershed, prepare new river and
watershed legislation, and provide for state and federal funding to
address the issues of the Illinois River System.

 

The deadline for early registration discount is September 30.  For
more conference information, or to register, click
<http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/conferences/conference.asp?ID=413>
here.

 

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

 

 

Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

 

The 2009 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference will be held at the
Hilton Hotel, 700 East Adams Street, Springfield, Illinois, on
December 6-9.  

 

The purpose of the conference is to share new research, management
experiences, and valuable insight on fish and wildlife issues.
Conference organizers say that it is the "premier fish and wildlife
conference in the central U.S., with more than 1,000 attendees at past
conferences."  For additional conference information, or to register,
click here <http://www.dnr.state.il.us/Midwest/index.htm> .

 

Contact Mark
<mailto:mgordon at nemw.org?subject=Midwest%20Fish%20and%20Wildlife%20Con
ference>  Gorman (202/464-4015) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

 
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