Update
March 19, 2025
Recap: Great Lakes Days at the Capitol
ELPC and partners met with lawmakers to discuss Great Lakes issues & protections
Great Lakes Advocates speak
Last week I had the chance to participate in Great Lakes Days! This is an annual week in early March when Great Lakes stakeholders from across the region and Canada come to DC to engage in all things Great Lakes. Great Lakes Days include a Congressional breakfast, a chance to hear from many members of Congress about their Great Lakes priorities. The highlight and main event is the convening of the Healing Our Waters Coalition for the opportunity to learn about Great Lakes issues and shared priorities and then head up the Capitol Hill for meetings with members of Congress or their staffs.
I joined Team Illinois led by the Alliance for the Great Lakes for meetings with staff for Senators Durbin and Duckworth and 11 House offices. Our team included representatives from the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, the Metropolitan Planning Council, Patagonia, Illinois Environmental Council and a fabulous volunteer on numerous Chicago area wetlands restoration projects funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
Great Lakes Priorities
Our group brought several key priorities to our meetings. Our top priority is to ensure Congress passes a bill to reauthorize the GLRI. Bipartisan bills have been in introduced in the House and Senate – H.R. 284 which has 32 cosponsors and S. 528 with 12 cosponsors. In addition to reauthorizing the GLRI we had a clear message the Congress must also appropriate funds for the program and ensure the US EPA, the Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA and more have the staffing and capacity to implement the program.
Our group also spoke about the importance of funding two key water infrastructure programs or State Revolving Funds that enable communities across IL invest in both clean drinking water projects and upgrade and improve wastewater systems. We discussed the importance of getting PFAs out of outdoor gear and protecting our waters and lands from ongoing contamination, the need for a new Farm Bill that has a strong investment in Conservation programs that help protect clean water and the value of community engagement and the success of wetlands restoration across the Chicago region. Check out some examples of IL GLRI projects here.
The Healing Our Waters priorities for 2025 are detailed here.
Ann Mesnikoff,
Federal Legislative Director
Ann Mesnikoff is the federal legislative director at ELPC, working in Washington, D.C., with the Midwest Congressional Delegation and national coalitions to advance supportive clean energy, clean water and clean air, and transportation reform policies.
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