Gary Wilson
Commentary
The Great Lakes money wars are in a timeout now.
Much like when naughty kids have to take a timeout.
The money wars are the tiny niche of the D.C. budget and deficit process that determine how many federal dollars the lakes will receive for restoration, protection and to promote clean water in general.
Legislators are back in their states in what the Senate calls a “state work period.” Most of us would call it a vacation but I’m ok with their description. Legislators work hard, if not always productively and with the right priorities.
Until now legislation for Great Lakes funding has fluctuated like a volatile tech stock.
It went from zero to $475 million in 2009 but quickly dropped to $300 million in 2010. It was stable for a few years then dipped to $285 million due to the budget sequestration. It suddenly plummeted to $60 million for a few days in early August then quickly rebounded and appears set at $260 million to $285 million for 2014. But given the budget volatility, don’t count the money until it’s in the account.
It’s as if the Great Lakes were one more commodity to be traded on a big exchange with success measured based on profit and loss.
But for now there’s a lull, a quiet space. There are no press conferences to organize, colleagues to cajole or Op/Ed commentaries to write.
For the next few weeks the Great Lakes community has that rare opportunity to reflect on what the lakes mean and why they are important — hopefully looking beyond the money.
Perhaps that’s what Kevin Shafer was doing when he told Detroit Public TV viewers that much of Milwaukee’s work on green infrastructure is just “common sense.” Shafer is executive director of Milwaukee’s regional sewerage district.
He doesn’t eschew science and research but said, “if I can put a rain barrel on a downspout that’s 55 gallons of water that’s not going somewhere else.” Somewhere else is an already overcapacity sewer line.
In another reflective moment, this week Cameron Davis explained to me that Great Lakes activities are about more than the budget battles and action plans that seem to consume us.
He said they provide a focus and rallying point for the region that endures and adds value well beyond the day-to-day skirmishes, failures and successes. Davis is the USEPA’s point-person for Great Lakes restoration.
Perhaps the ultimate Great Lakes reflection is done by those who walk or paddle around a lake to call attention to its problems.
I’ve never been a big fan of those ventures. If one is doing it for personal satisfaction or development, fine. But I doubt that budget-cutting legislators or polluters pay much attention.
Maybe I’ve been wrong. I should read one of those walk around the lake books to see what I’ve been missing.
I’d like to think there’s a lot of reflection taking place in these last weeks of August, but I wonder. Halloween promotions have been in stores for a week and I even saw a retail space dedicated to Christmas decorations. There’s not much reflection happening there.
After Labor Day Congress will return from its “state work period” and budget skirmishes will resume with the Great Lakes in the thick of it. Talking points and press releases will be dusted off and recycled by those who do that work for those who want to consume that information yet again.
The Great Lakes community will gather in Milwaukee for the annual Great Lakes Week event.
It’s four information-packed days complete with Power Points, problems to ponder, success to be celebrated and receptions to attend. Good stuff, but not a place for reflection.
But those events are a few weeks away.
There’s still time to purchase that rain barrel because unlike our hyper-focus on federal money, it’s just “common sense.”
Common sense is easier to find if we step back and reflect.