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A summary of issues, activities and events at the Great Lakes Commission |
September 10, 2010 |
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$4.3 million awarded in sediment reduction grants supported by GLRI
Nine Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) watershed grants totaling more than $4.3 million to reduce sediment pollution in priority watersheds in the Great Lakes basin were announced Sept. 7 by the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-hosted event in Toledo, Ohio. Funding for these grants – awarded under the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control – is provided by the GLRI under a cooperative agreement between the Great Lakes Commission and NRCS.
The projects selected for funding are:
In total, more than $20 million was requested through this large-scale competitive grants program. The nine funded projects, selected by a regional Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Task Force made up of representatives of the eight Great Lakes states, are expected to save upwards of 24,000 tons of erosion on an annual basis. The projects are being coordinated by the GLC’s Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control which has funded 439 local small-scale projects since 1991, allocating over $15 million to control erosion and sediment. These projects have reduced soil erosion in the Great Lakes basin by more than 1.6 million tons and phosphorus loadings by over 1.6 million pounds. Contact: Gary Overmier, garyo@glc.org.
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Great Lakes Wind Collaborative annual meeting to be held Sept. 19-21
The Great Lakes Wind Collaborative's 3rd Annual Meeting will be held in Cleveland, Sept. 19-21, hosted by the Case Western Reserve University Great Lakes Energy Institute and facilitated by the Great Lakes Commission. The event will bring together representatives of U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, state/provincial and local governments, the wind industry, electric utilities, nonprofit organizations, academia and other interested stakeholders to discuss and address issues regarding the sustainable development of wind energy in the binational Great Lakes region. The event starts the evening of Sept.19 with a pre-meeting reception at the Great Lakes Science Center followed by a day-and-a-half of panel presentations, breakout sessions and discussion at Case Western's Thwing Center. Participants will have a choice of field trips between a tour of the manufacturing facility of Swiger Coil that fabricates wind turbine components or a tour of the wind research lab at NASA Glenn Research Center. Topics covered at the meeting will include offshore wind, state and provincial policy updates; economic impacts of wind; sound, visual and wildlife impacts; and infrastructure for wind integration. More information is available at the GLWC 3rd Annual Meeting website at: www.glc.org/energy/wind/conf2010.html. Contact: Becky Pearson, bpearson@glc.org. |
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2010 Areas of Concern meeting to convene in Buffalo Sept. 22-23
The 2010 Annual Meeting for the U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) Program, Advancing Restoration Actions under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, will be held Sept. 22-23 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Buffalo. The meeting is being held in conjunction with the 6th Annual Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Restoration Conference being held September 22-24 at the same location. The AOC meeting is facilitated by the Great Lakes Commission each year, drawing participants from the 30 U.S. AOCs to review recent developments affecting the AOC program; discuss approaches for implementing delisting targets; build capacity to implement on-the-ground restoration actions; identify opportunities to address AOC restoration priorities under President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; improve linkages between the AOCs, LaMPs and other programs; and consider actions that will strengthen the regional U.S. AOC program. A $65 registration fee includes lunch on Wednesday, breakfast on Thursday, breaks, and all conference materials and may be paid in advance or onsite at the meeting. The registration deadline is Friday, September 17. More information and registration details are available at www.glc.org/rap/aocconference10.html. Contact: Matt Doss, mdoss@glc.org. |
Upcoming Events
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Great Lakes Commission |