[Green] Fwd: Fw: [EXTERNAL] DUE JULY 30: Sign Infrastructure Support Letter to Legislators

Thu Jul 29 11:57:56 CDT 2021

Vic,
You have my support  to sign for Green Sanctuary....thank you!

On Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 4:01 PM Vic Elam via Green <green at fuusm.org> wrote:

> I would appreciate approval from Green Sanctuary for me to sign on behalf
> in support of this effort, or for someone else to sign doesn't matter to me.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Vic
>
> When the Earth, its products, its creatures become his concern, man is
> caught up in a cause greater than his own life and more meaningful. Only
> when man loses himself in an endeavor of that magnitude does he walk and
> live with humility and reverence.   - William O. Douglas
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Elam, Victor <victor_elam at fws.gov>
> Date: Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 3:57 PM
> Subject: Fw: [EXTERNAL] DUE JULY 30: Sign Infrastructure Support Letter to
> Legislators
> To: Vic Elam <elamva4 at gmail.com>
>
>
>
>
> Victor Elam (he, him)
> Refuge Manager
> Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge
> 3982 Waverly Road
> Williamstown, WV 26187
> victor_elam at fws.gov
> 304-375-2923 X125
> Cell: (620) 203-8514
>
> I work and live in the traditional homelands of the Shawnee, Potawatomi,
> Delaware, Peoria, Seneca, Wyandotte, Ojibwe, Cherokee, and Miami peoples.
>
> "When the Earth, its products, its creatures become his concern, man is
> caught up in a cause greater than his own life and more meaningful.  Only
> when man loses himself in an endeavor of that magnitude does he walk and
> live with humility and reverence."    -William O. Douglas-
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Harry <hstone at orsanco.org>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 27, 2021 2:15 PM
> *To:* Elam, Victor <victor_elam at fws.gov>
> *Subject:* [EXTERNAL] DUE JULY 30: Sign Infrastructure Support Letter to
> Legislators
>
>
>
>
> * This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before
> clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.  *
>
>
>
> The Infrastructure Bill is coming together, but we must tell legislators
> to ensure the Ohio River Basin is included in ecological restoration FUNDING
> Organizational Support for Ecological Restoration for the Ohio River Basin
>
> As the infrastructure bill is coming together, there is much being
> included that is supportive of the *Plan of the Ohio River Basin*.
> Environmental remediation and resilience references the Great Lakes and
> Everglades - but we need to let our legislators know that the Ohio River
> Basin also has significant challenges. We are asking our legislators to
> ensure that funding for remediation and resilience includes robust funding
> for the Ohio River Basin.
>
> Your organization is invited to sign on to a letter of support for such
> funding (see letter below). If you have authority to give approval for such
> endorsement, please click *HERE
> <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fohioriverbasinalliance.us18.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Def05f9dcf42394c9fba087edf%26id%3Dbb37c31f72%26e%3D464ec2f091&data=04%7C01%7Cvictor_elam%40fws.gov%7C01c84c9714b64d8b12fd08d9512aabe7%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637630065976587074%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=0AeV4iCW%2BwxiEO%2B%2B%2BvHsGP1pZXePT8jMpWUH6lLDYPg%3D&reserved=0>*
> to be a signatory. Because this appears to be coming together quickly in
> Congress - please act immediately!
>
> *RESPONSES ARE DUE FRIDAY, JULY 30!*
> (By the end of the business day)
>
> *The Letter to Congress:*
>
> Dear [House and Senate Congressional Leadership]
>
> We, the undersigned organizations, urge Congress to include investments in
> Ohio River restoration in an infrastructure package. Investments in the
> Ohio River ecosystem will help protect the drinking water for millions of
> people, reduce flooding to vulnerable communities, improve public health,
> and put local people to work now while setting the stage for long-term
> economic prosperity in local towns and cities.
>
> The Ohio River Basin holds great cultural, environmental, and economic
> importance to the nation and the 14-state region that includes Alabama,
> Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York,
> North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
>
> The Ohio River and its Cumberland River and Tennessee River tributaries
> provide drinking water to more than 12 million people, and over 25 million
> people in the region depend on the area’s water resources for their health,
> jobs, recreation, and quality of life. In addition, the Ohio River Basin
> drives 35 percent of the nation’s waterborne commerce and supports an
> estimated $43 billion in commodities transport. The region’s
> extraordinarily biodiversity serves as the foundation for a vibrant outdoor
> recreation economy that includes fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing,
> hiking, camping, paddling, swimming, and other activities.
>
> Since 1948, ORSANCO and its member states have cooperated to improve water
> quality in the Ohio River Basin. Other Basin states independently joined
> the effort to protect major tributaries like the Cumberland and Tennessee
> Rivers. Unfortunately, the Ohio River, and many of its tributaries and
> surrounding waters still face serious environmental threats that require
> increased funding to continue progress. Pollution and environmental harm
> from legacy mining waste, cancer-causing emerging contaminants, habitat
> destruction, sewage contamination, nutrient pollution feeding harmful algal
> blooms, and invasive species have led to source water threats, fish
> consumption advisories, and restrictions on recreation. Many of the most
> vulnerable people – low-income people, people of color, and Indigenous
> people – face disproportionate impacts.
>
> The good news is that people in the region are coming together to address
> these serious threats. In the fall of 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of
> Engineers released a collaborative regional plan to address economic
> challenges and environmental threats to the region. The “Plan of the Ohio
> River Basin 2020-2025” provides a roadmap towards ecosystem restoration,
> economic recovery, and community revitalization. Among its recommendations
> are investments to upgrade traditional infrastructure, including locks and
> dams and drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater facilities, as well as
> funding to restore and protect the natural landscape so that it can help
> provide clean drinking water, reduce flooding, and support a strong outdoor
> recreational economy. The strategy calls for the crafting of a restoration
> and protection plan for the Ohio River Basin, which is currently being
> undertaken by the Ohio River Basin Alliance, a multi-stakeholder group of
> state and federal agencies, colleges and universities, non-governmental
> organizations, businesses, and industry. A final Ohio River Basin
> restoration plan is set to be released in the summer of 2022.
>
> The restoration plan will provide a comprehensive assessment of work
> needed to restore and protect the Ohio River Basin and will lay the
> foundation for strategic federal investments to address the serious
> environmental threats to the Ohio River, similar to those provided to other
> iconic U.S. aquatic habitats like the Chesapeake Bay, Florida Everglades,
> Great Lakes, and Gulf of Mexico. These federal investments put local people
> to work, make drinking water safer, increase community resilience, improve
> public health, make fish and wildlife more abundant, and make recreational
> opportunities more accessible. These targeted investments also create new
> jobs and business opportunities, expand waterfront development, increase
> home values, and grow hometown pride. We believe that a similar state and
> federal partnership in the Ohio River Basin will lead to similar positive
> outcomes for the environment and economy.
>
> Congress should jumpstart this effort by providing support for restoration
> and protection of the Ohio River in any forthcoming infrastructure or
> economic recovery bill. Investments to restore and protect the Ohio River
> Basin ecosystem go hand-in-hand with investments to restore traditional
> drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Restoring wetlands, forests,
> and habitat allows the natural landscape to absorb, filter, and reduce
> storm water and flooding. These actions lessen the burden on traditional
> water infrastructure, improve water quality, and reduce the risk of
> property damage and impacts to community health. Indeed, many water
> utilities are already investing in so-called nature-based infrastructure to
> help meet clean water goals. These investments in ecosystem resiliency also
> save money by reducing water treatment costs, regulating the timing of
> water flows, and reducing wear and tear on existing infrastructure.
> Investments to restore the Ohio River Basin ecosystem will complement
> efforts to tackle the $269 billion need over 20 years to repair and upgrade
> traditional drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in the 14-state
> region.
>
> Local, state and federal partners have been collaborating on successful
> restoration projects in the Ohio River Basin for years through programs
> like the Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership Program to remove old
> unsafe dams, restore shoreline habitat, reduce farm runoff, and confront
> other threats like acid mine drainage. Federal investments from this
> program and others are producing results in local communities, but serious
> threats remain. Unfortunately, current funding levels are not sufficient to
> confront the enormity of the threats at hand. Increasing federal
> investments now to bolster Ohio River restoration efforts will help the
> region address long-standing environmental challenges, as well as emerging
> threats such as toxic PFAS chemicals, new forms of plastic pollution, and
> emerging contaminants. Federal investments will also help communities
> become more resilient to a warming climate that is exacerbating runoff
> pollution, sewage contamination, and flooding. It is paramount that these
> issues be tackled with urgency. Delay in addressing these serious threats
> will only make the problems worse and more expensive to solve.
>
> To that end, we stand ready and willing to work with Congress to restore
> and protect this iconic resource and to make Ohio River Basin restoration
> and protection a national priority. We have common-sense solutions to
> protect the drinking water, public health, jobs, and quality of life for
> the more than 25 million people in the Ohio River region. We encourage you
> to include robust funding for Ohio River Basin restoration and protection
> in any federal infrastructure package.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> SIGNATORIES
> If your organization would like to be a signatory on this letter to
> Congress, *please complete this Google Form*
> <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fohioriverbasinalliance.us18.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Def05f9dcf42394c9fba087edf%26id%3D11a2b3b9cb%26e%3D464ec2f091&data=04%7C01%7Cvictor_elam%40fws.gov%7C01c84c9714b64d8b12fd08d9512aabe7%7C0693b5ba4b184d7b9341f32f400a5494%7C0%7C0%7C637630065976587074%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=WZN0ta8hDSUz0QVJXNC%2FACZr%2Fe2PVMm%2FBzcvhktrPvM%3D&reserved=0> by
> COB Friday, July 30 and ORBA will add you to the list of signatories.
>
> Your organization can help make a tremendous difference in our ecosystem
> and economy. Thank you.
> *Copyright © 2021 Ohio River Basin Alliance, All rights reserved.*
> You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.
>
> *Our mailing address is:*
> Ohio River Basin Alliance
> 5735 Kellogg Ave
> Cincinnati, OH 45230-7112
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