Senator Carl Levin Floor Statement on H.R. 3183

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

October 15, 2009 -- "Mr. President, I will vote to approve this conference agreement to provide over $33 billion for a variety of energy and water infrastructure projects and programs. Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes, and the funding provided in this conference report to the Army Corps to maintain the navigational infrastructure and to cleanup and protect the Great Lakes is especially important.

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Michigan also will benefit from the investments in clean energy technologies and energy efficiency programs provided in this bill that will help create a more sustainable economy while producing quality jobs.

The conference report includes important funding for a wide range of energy research and technology development at the Department of Energy, including advanced vehicle technologies, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, wind and solar energy technologies, and biomass and biorefinery systems. This conference report also includes funding for critical areas of science including high energy and nuclear physics, biological and environmental research, and advanced scientific computing research. Research and technology development in these groundbreaking areas of energy and science will continue our nation’s advancement toward greater use of technologies that will reduce our dependence on oil, reduce our carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions, and increase our reliance on our home-grown renewable resources. Federal government support of research and development in these technology areas will also help ensure that our companies remain competitive in the global marketplace and ensure that the U.S. remains on the competitive edge of technology development and scientific discovery.

I am particularly pleased that the conference report includes $12 million in funding for research and development, conceptual design and engineering for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) to be built at Michigan State University. Inclusion of this funding in the conference report is critical to moving forward with this facility. Under the Department’s current plans, engineering work would continue in FY-11, with initial design work beginning in FY-11 and continuing into FY-12. Construction of the facility would begin in FY-13. MSU has solid and well-known expertise in the field of rare isotopes and nuclear physics, with the largest nuclear physics faculty in the nation and a nuclear physics graduate program ranked number two in the U.S., second only to MIT. MSU is currently the home of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), which is the most advanced rare isotope accelerator in the U.S. and is the largest nuclear science facility on a university campus. FRIB is the next generation rare isotope facility and the Department of Energy’s decision in December 2008 to select MSU for FRIB is an indication of the university’s preeminence in this field.

I am also pleased that the conference report includes funding for several important energy projects in Michigan that will advance the development of technologies including advanced batteries and energy storage systems, plug-in hybrid vehicles, solar and photovoltaic systems, wind energy, biomass, and energy efficiency. Michigan companies and universities are well-positioned to contribute to the development of these advanced technologies, offering both significant expertise in these technology areas and a highly-trained workforce to carry out the manufacture and production of these technologies. About 180 million tons of goods are transported to and from Great Lakes harbors and ports each year, providing fuel to heat and cool homes and businesses, limestone and cement to build roads and buildings, iron ore to produce steel, and grain to feed our nation and for export overseas. Throughout the Great Lakes, there are significant dredging and other operation and maintenance needs so that freighters can safely deliver these vital commodities. There is a significant backlog in the work required to maintain the Great Lakes navigational system. The Army Corps estimates there is a backlog of 17 million cubic yards of material that needs to be dredged in the Great Lakes, which is estimated to cost to about $200 million, to restore the full functionality of the navigational system. The conference report includes an additional $6 million above the Administration’s budget to address this dredging backlog at Michigan harbors and waterways, and attend to other operations and maintenance needs, including repair and renovation of breakwaters, improvements to locks, and disposal of dredged materials.

An important element of the Great Lakes navigational system is the Soo Locks, which connects Lake Superior with Lakes Huron and Michigan. Every year, over 80 million tons of commodities pass through the Soo Locks, the bulk of which move through the Poe Lock, the larger of the two operational Soo locks. To ensure shipping is not impeded at the Soo Locks, it is important that another Poe-sized lock be built. Construction on the new lock began this past July, and it is important that this project be completed so that vital industrial and agricultural shipments are not impeded. The conference report includes about $1 million for this project, which is barely a dent in what is needed for this project; the Army Corps estimated that it could use about $100 million in fiscal year 2010 for this $500 million project. I will continue to urge the Administration to include funding for this important project in their budget, and I am glad the conference report also makes this strong recommendation. The conference report states that “the conferees are deeply concerned that despite congressional support for the project, the support of the states in the region, and the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers recognizes the Soo Locks as the 'single point of failure' that can cripple Great Lakes shipping, the Administration has failed to include funding for a second large lock, either under the authority provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA ) or in its budget request for fiscal year 2010.” I hope this lack of funding will be rectified in next year’s budget.

This bill includes important funding for several Great Lakes programs including the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration Program, Remedial Action Planning Technical Assistance, and the Sediment Transport Models and Sediment Management Planning program. These programs will help restore and protect the Great Lakes.

I am also pleased that the bill includes over $6 million for the Corps’ work to prevent the introduction of Asian carp and other invasive species into the Great Lakes. Invasive species can dramatically change the fishery and ecosystem by outcompeting native species for food and habitat. Asian carp are particularly devastating because they consume so much food and reproduce quickly. This funding will allow the Corps to operate the barrier project and begin work on a study to consider options to improve the barrier projects’ efficacy. The conference report also provides authority for the Corps to take measures to prevent Asian carp from bypassing the electric dispersal barrier. This authority is needed because just recently, the Corps discovered that the Asian carp had moved upstream in the Des Plaines River, and if the Des Plaines River floods, which it does regularly, the floodwaters could carry Asian carp into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal above the dispersal barrier. It is critical that the Corps do what it can to prevent the introduction of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.

The bill also provides funding for a variety of other water infrastructure and environmental restoration projects in Michigan. Funding is provided for two wastewater projects in Michigan – one in Genesee County and the other in the City of Negunee in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Improving sewer systems is important not only for public health, but also to eliminate untreated discharge into surface waters. Two Michigan flood control projects will also benefit from passage of this bill. The aging Hamilton Dam in the City of Flint will benefit from $240,000 that will enable the Army Corps to plan how to improve this dam that is in danger of failing. Flood control improvements at the Cass River in Spaulding Township are identified to receive priority funding from the Army Corps. Funding is also provided for three environmental restoration projects in Michigan. Funding of $90,000 will be used by the Army Corps to continue its partnership with the City of Lansing in the Grand River waterfront restoration project, which includes a range of projects, such as shoreline and ecosystem restoration, as well as recreational elements. I am pleased that $100,000 is included to implement the Lake St. Clair Management Plan. Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River that are part of the connecting channel in the Great Lakes and have been plagued by invasive species, pollution, urban sprawl, and sewer overflows. The funding in the bill will allow the Corps to move forward to finally implement on-the-ground restoration projects which are very much needed.

Mr. President, this appropriations bill will help move our country towards greater energy security, advance technology to strengthen our manufacturing and international competitiveness, improve our shipping and boating infrastructure, and improve the environment, and I support its passage."

Source: Senator Carl Levin