Great Lakes Commission recommends more state authority in GLRI implementation
The Great Lakes Commission has issued a series of recommendations for improving implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), including a request to expand the involvement of the states. In letters to the House and Senate appropriations committees, Commission Chairman Jim Tierney called for congressional direction to U.S. EPA to strengthen coordination with the states and give them greater authority over how the GLRI is implemented. The Commission noted that the Great Lakes states know what the most important restoration priorities are and can direct resources to them efficiently. The Commission also urged Congress to direct U.S. EPA to
- administer GLRI funding in a way that minimizes transaction costs and maximizes efficiency and on-the ground results;
- maintain the GLRI’s focus on existing priorities and on-the-ground actions;
- minimize nonfederal match requirements; and
- maintain base funding for existing programs.
The Commission also reiterated its FY2012 funding priorities for advancing Great Lakes restoration and economic revitalization, urging federal appropriators to maintain funding for the GLRI and provide funding for the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs. More information on the Commission’s regional advocacy program for the Great Lakes is available at www.glc.org/restore.
Contact: Matt Doss, mdoss@glc.org.
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20th anniversary meeting of the Great Lakes Panel on ANS to be held in Milwaukee
The spring meeting of the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species will be held May 17-18, 2011, at the Astor Hotel in Milwaukee. The meeting will mark the 20th anniversary of the Panel which was first convened in late 1991 as directed by Congress in the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990. Highlights of the Milwaukee meeting will include updates on efforts to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes, discussions on monitoring and reporting initiatives throughout the region such as the Great Lakes Aquatic Nuisance Species Information System (GLANSIS), and current initiatives to prevent invasions from trade in live aquatic organisms. The meeting agenda and registration details are accessible at www.glc.org/panel.html#glpmeet.
Contact: Kathe Glassner-Shwayder, shwayder@glc.org.
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Roger Gauthier retires as GLC director for information integration and reporting
Roger Gauthier recently retired from the Great Lakes Commission following nearly a decade of service. After joining the Commission in 2002, initially in a partnership agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gauthier provided management support for the Data and Information Management Program, including development of regional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) initiatives. Project areas he oversaw for the GLC included the regional air toxics emission inventory funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; integration of several hundred sets of environmental, hydrological and cultural data for the Great Lakes region, funded by NOAA; and creation of the Great Lakes Observing System. He also served as the U.S. lead for the Information Management Technical Working Group for the International Joint Commission Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Study. Prior to joining the Commission, Gauthier was a staff hydrologist with the Corps of Engineers for over 27 years. He now lives near his home town of Cheboygan, Mich.
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Roger Gauthier, left, with Executive Director Tim Eder.
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Upcoming Events
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Great Lakes Commission
2805 S. Industrial Hwy, Suite 100 Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6791 734-971-9135 www.glc.org
A News Briefs archive can be found at www.glc.org/email/archive
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