John Tuma’s Capitol Update – March 12, 2010

“Charge those lines!”
- General Winfield Scott Hancock, Gettysburg, July 2, 1863

That was the command given to Colonel Colvill of the Minnesota 1st in the midst of the second day of fighting outside of the previously unknown and sleepy hamlet of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Colvill, along with only a portion of the famed Minnesota 1st Regiment of 262 men, had just arrived on the battlefield after an arduous 20-mile march toward the sound of the developing battle.  Upon their arrival on the scene, Union forces were in chaos along the soon to become hallowed grounds known as Cemetery Ridge south of Gettysburg.  Sixteen hundred Confederates from Alabama, under the command of Gen. Cadmus Wilcox, moving quickly to take the high ground along this important place on the battlefield. (more…)

The time to sweep our beaches is upon us once again. Join in the 13th Annual Minnesota Beach Sweep 2009, a community event that runs from September 1 through October 31.

Minnesota Beach Sweep started 13 years ago when Great Lakes Aquarium partnered with Ocean Conservancy for the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC). The ICC is the oldest running cleanup efforts of its kind and involves 123 countries around the globe. Focused on removing man-made debris from coastline of all kinds, ICC volunteers also collect data about the debris they gather. This data becomes part of the global database and is used to enhance efforts to protect and restore global waterways. This year, Great Lakes Aquarium has also partnered with Conservation Minnesota for the 13th Annual Minnesota Beach Sweep 2009. (more…)

If you cannot attend the August 4 meeting in Duluth to make your views known, there’s an easy way to comment: through this EPA on-line form.

Details on the Duluth meeting:

August 4, 2009, 4-6pm CDT
EPA Mid-Continent Ecology Laboratory
Gitchee Gumee Conference Center
6201 Congdon Boulevard
Duluth, MN 55804

Directions:
Website.

The proposed $475 million in President Obama’s 2010 budget would be the biggest federal commitment to the Great Lakes in decades.

U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak has introduced a resolution to clarify the Congressional view of the Great Lakes Compact which the eight states including Minnesota passed, and Congress approved last fall. H. Res. 551, he says, is designed to quell concerns that two provisions in the Compact could be exploited by private interests to sell off large amounts of Great Lakes water without oversight by the states.

From Stupak’s release: “I continue to have concerns that the Great Lakes Compact is not strong enough to protect the Great Lakes against diversions through privatization, commercialization and exportation,” Stupak said. “There is no question that Congress intended for the compact to protect Great Lakes water but the wording of the compact leaves some question. That is why I have introduced this resolution to put Congress on record in opposition to the exploitation of Great Lakes waters.”

As anyone who’s visited it knows, Minnesota’s North Shore harbors singular beauty. And visitors and artists from all across America take note of it. Here is a poetic example in a recent issue of the Christian Science Monitor. As Congressional debate heats up on a proposed $475 million federal investment in the Great Lakes this summer, the North Shore can be cited as one of the national icons worth celebrating and conserving. So far, no one has put a number on how much of the $475 million will be put to work in Minnesota’s Lake Superior watershed, but it’s likely to be substantial. Minnesota’s Congressional delegation will benefit by hearing from those who cherish the North Shore.

This week’s update from lobbyist John Tuma:

“Twins 4, Cardinals 2. The Twins’ Magic carpet took Minnesota to the moon Sunday night. It was born by the sound of 55,000 exploding voices in the Metrodome and hundreds of thousands more from border to border in one floor-stomping, chest pounding declaration: We’re No.1.”

- Jim Klobuchar, Star Tribune, 10/26/87
(more…)

Kudos to President Obama and his administration for taking an important step toward fulfilling his campaign pledge to fund Great Lakes Restoration by including a $475 million down payment in his fiscal year 2010 budget. (more…)

The budget proposal released by President Obama last week is a long and complicated document (140 pages, PDF).  It departs significantly from how things have been done in the past in many regards, so it will take a while for conservation and environmental groups to fully assess its implications on environmental policies.

(more…)

President Obama recently announced an unprecedented investment of $475 Million in his Fiscal Year 2010 Budget to restore the Great Lakes – an effort that is key to creating jobs and growing our economy. (more…)

John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune is to be commended for an article this week on a scientific study finding fault with U.S. EPA’s stormwater pollution control program. Why? Because this kind of pollution dramatically influences the quality of our waters, including the Great Lakes.

As the article notes, “In the Twin Ports, that polluted runoff flows through ditches, culverts, creeks, storm sewers and streams eventually into Lake Superior. On the way they help damage streams like Miller Creek and the St. Louis River.”

Now, no elected official or candidate will sway many votes by calling for ‘reform of the EPA stormwater pollution program.’ But it’s this kind of unglamorous work that will move us toward meeting the goals of the Clean Water Act. Let’s hope the report provides an impetus for that work.