WaterWired

My Webinar: 'In the Front Door and Out the Back: Getting to Know the North American Great Lakes'

In the Front Door and Out the Back:

Getting to Know the North American Great Lakes

Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the video. 

Description

The North American Great Lakes (NAGL) can be envisioned as a large, slow-moving river flowing from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence River and thence to the Atlantic Ocean (note that Duluth, MN, is the farthest west Atlantic port). But there is far more to them than that. They provide drinking water, recreation, transportation, and more. But because of our hydrologic tinkering the lakes now provide us with such invaders as lampreys, quagga and zebra mussels. Dredging woes are present. The effects of climate change are worrisome. The lakes, mainly Lake Erie, are subject to toxic algal blooms.

Learning Objectives

• The role of the Compact covering the 'Club of Eight' - the eight states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio) who are part of the NAGL watershed.
• How does the Compact affect the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, who also share the NAGL watershed.
• How does the International Joint Commission (IJC), a bi-national agency, affect the NAGL.

The PPT:

Download WEBINAR_INTRO_JULY_2024

Lake Characteristics Area (sq. miles);
Depth (feet): maximum; average
Superior: 31,700; 1,332; 483
Huron: 23,000; 750; 195 
Michigan: 22,300; 925; 279
Erie: 9,910; 210; 62    Ontario: 7,340; 802; 283
Note: Superior is the largest (area) freshwater lake on Earth. Only the Caspian Sea (salty) is larger. Deepest is Lake Baikal in Siberia: 5,315 feet deep

Words of Wisdom
"The Great Lakes don't belong to just the people who live on their shores. They belong to everyone, just like the federal forests out West. So in that sense everyone has a stake in how the lakes are managed."- Dan Egan, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. (2017) See: https://tinyurl.com/76trcc7t for my review of his book.

You can find a more detailed article on the Great Lakes in the May-June 2024 issue of Water Resources IMPACT  - go to

https://tinyurl.com/37547rnb

Mary Frances and I will be cruising Lake Superior in
September. Last year we cruised the other 4.

Listen to ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ by Gordon Lightfoot.

https://youtu.be/9vST6hVRj2A?si=Ag1XYllgXOsw0K-J

Enjoy!

"You ain’t from here, but our donors are and they don’t like you." - @ass_deans

May-June 2024 Water Resources IMPACT: 'A Potpourri, A Patchwork, An Outpouring of Water'

I have finally posted the May-June 2024 issue of AWRA's Water Resources IMPACT. 

It features nine brief articles, entitled A Potpourri, A Patchwork, An Outpouring of Water. Keep in mind that IMPACT is not a refereed journal but a magazine. I have listed the Table of Contents and brief descriptions of the articles. The PDF contains the complete issue. AWRA members can get issue for free - go here: https://tinyurl.com/msdy9w6p. FYI: I am the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. Lisa Beutler also helps out with with editing issues.  

Download MayJune24 IMPACT_Final

You will have to read the articles by downloading the PDF.  

Enjoy!

"We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one." - Jacques Yves Cousteau  

TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary 7 - 20 October 2023

This post is a week late and contains about half the material my Friday posts normally have. Why? Mary Frances and I just finished our @ponant_cruises - @smithsonian Great Lakes cruise. We were out of touch with the Internet for much of the time. Little phone service as well. . 

Outstanding! Anxious for another one! Great presentations, too. The story of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Fred Stonehouse was extraordinary. Stay tuned!

Enjoy! We hope to cruise Lake Superior in 2024.

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Links will not appear in more than two categories (excluding the very first category). I have also added two more 'Daily Water Newsletters' to increase coverage. These are the Midcontinent US Water News Daily (#MCUSwater) and the Southeast US Water News Daily (#SEUSwater). The former samples news media within 500 miles of Kansas City, KS and the latter within Knoxville, TN).  With the other seven dailies this affords pretty good daily coverage for the USA.

Scroll down to 'Positions Open' and 'Previous Weeks' Positions Open' to see the jobs. All my individual job Tweets are archived at #JobWaWi. Previous weekly summaries are archived at:  #WaWiNews or click here. If a link does not work, paste the URL into your browser.
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Top Fifteen (More or Less)
The @WaterNetwork Newsletter - 20 October 2023. Trending Technology~Editors Choice~Knowledge Exchange~Featured Jobs~Featured Events~Questions~More! https://tinyurl.com/yck36z7e #globalwater

In @sanmarcosrecord: Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance Fosters Unique Plan For Areawide Water Use Goals https://tinyurl.com/22pyy476 #txwater

Via @USATODAY & @DinahVP: 'Climate Point' - 19 Oct 2023. H-hubbub:AZ hydrogen project on track w/o fed $$; Rhode Island regulators green light offshore wind project; Known pollutants found everywhere WSU researchers looked along Detroit roads;More https://tinyurl.com/48prrjfa #scicomm

It's @Water_MDPI, Volume 15, Issue 19 (October-1 2023) 201 Articles https://bit.ly/3rYCWZv

From @thewaterloop: Episode #198: 'Funding To Fight Lead: Technical Assistance' (Part of a Series) https://youtu.be/OQLIAfUynWg?si=ZxMMoxxXXUsIOK4M… #Lead

From @thewaterloop: Episode #197: 'Building Up Rural Resilience' with Olga Morales-Pate. https://youtu.be/TW5DHioTO1M?si=dl8DogkmBS4os3ro… #resilience

Workshop & Speakers: 'What is the Public Interest in Middle Rio Grande Water Management? 19 Oct 2023; 5:30 - 7 PM PT. Register: https://tinyurl.com/4t3pzbvd #MRGN

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 16 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3Q45wAC

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 9 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3tuEdaZ #globalwate

Want to give a hearty shout-out to four EXCELLENT  @united employees at  @MitchellAirport (Milwaukee) - Joshua Jackson, Lashawna Tolliver, Brook L. and Reggie (via phone) who who rebooked our flights to @DENAirport & @flyEUG so we'd get home a day earlier! Keepers all! TNX!

TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary 30 September - 6 October 2023 https://bit.ly/46jyuDF #globalwater

Books, Reviews and Related
From @Nature Futures: Out, out, brief planet. https://tinyurl.com/bdcn2cpt

California
The @CA_DWR Water News-->20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2vbx3abu #cawater

The @CA_DWR Water News-->19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/467pfavv #cawater

California Water Plan eNews Update --> 18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2tvbx277 #cawater

The @CA_DWR Water News --> 18 Oct 2023 https://tinyurl.com/3sr8jj8a #cawater

The @CA_DWR Water News-->16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2vv5mjmv #cawter

Canada
It's @CanadianWater: Waterborne Asbestos: Time for a Second Look? https://tinyurl.com/48jmpajf #cdnwater

Conference: 'Building Momentum Toward Net Zero' - 9 November 2023. https://tinyurl.com/bdf4hrdv #cdnclimate

Climate, Climate Change, and Meteorology
Via @USATODAY & @DinahVP: 'Climate Point' - 19 Oct 2023. H-hubbub:AZ hydrogen project on track w/o fed $$; Rhode Island regulators green light offshore wind project; Known pollutants found everywhere WSU researchers looked along Detroit roads;More https://tinyurl.com/48prrjfa #scicomm

Conferences
Conference: 'Building Momentum Toward Net Zero' - 9 November 2023. https://tinyurl.com/bdf4hrdv #cdnclimate

Daily Water Newsletters Each entry provides links to articles, videos, etc. on various aspects of water in the state/region indicated. Job openings are often found at the very bottom of each entry.

Hawaii Water News Weekly 
Hawaii Water News Weekly - 16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/fzb7wfbc #HAwaii

Oregon Water News Weekly 
Oregon Water News Weekly - 16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/mr9756mm #ORwater

Eugene Water News Weekly
Eugene Water Weekly - 16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/582j3rfm #EUGwater

California Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/vx2727ta #cawater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/ye288cau#cawater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/24b9uwbc #cawater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/bdzk8mv2 #cawater

Colorado Water New Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/3whzmj8c #cowater

19 October 2023. https://tinyurl.com/jdyxjdc6 #cowater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/37t6uukw #cowater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/xevpdjje #cowater

Florida Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/283pw6f3 #FLwater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/mrt8hd89 #FLwater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/y4tcsrdu #FLwater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2jp5synj #FLwater

Midcontinent US Water News Daily 
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2uc75ret #MCUSwater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2dsxuj57 #MCUSwater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/ywjz78rh #MCUSwater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/crz5fe7t #MCUSwater

Northeast US Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/s8ekdtwp #NEWater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/bdfdfyx5 #NEWater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/5bh5uk97 #NEWater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/y9mdencb #NEWater

Pacific Northwest Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023 https://tinyurl.com/6pa3hw4u #PNWater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/ydejbh7d #PNWater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/ypszk9dw #PNWater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/ktd9v59c #PNWater

Southeast US Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/44jeb2ff #SEUSwater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/yf7emf2d #SEUSwater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2h76xdfr #SEUSwater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/3cn2cxb3 #SEUSwater

Southwest US Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2rsefruk #SWUSwater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/hnyce5px #SWUSwater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/66efc56h #SWUSwater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/7nxahjan #SWUSwater

Texas Water News Daily
20 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2anz5pwr #txwater

19 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/crscmkzp #txwater

18 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/y3n3m73p #txwater

16 Oct 2023. https://tinyurl.com/2ybxe9ky #txwater

E-Newsletters and E-Newspapers
The @WaterNetwork Newsletter - 20 October 2023. Trending Technology~Editors Choice~Knowledge Exchange~Featured Jobs~Featured Events~Questions~More! https://tinyurl.com/yck36z7e #globalwater

Via @USATODAY & @DinahVP: 'Climate Point' - 19 Oct 2023. H-hubbub:AZ hydrogen project on track w/o fed $$; Rhode Island regulators green light offshore wind project; Known pollutants found everywhere WSU researchers looked along Detroit roads;More https://tinyurl.com/48prrjfa #scicomm

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 16 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3Q45wAC

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 9 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3tuEdaZ #globalwate

Ethics, Gender, Indigenous People, Rights
Workshop & Speakers: 'What is the Public Interest in Middle Rio Grande Water Management? 19 Oct 2023; 5:30 - 7 PM PT. Register: https://tinyurl.com/4t3pzbvd #MRGN

Want to give a hearty shout-out to four EXCELLENT  @united employees at  @MitchellAirport (Milwaukee) - Joshua Jackson, Lashawna Tolliver, Brook L. and Reggie (via phone) who who rebooked our flights to @DENAirport & @flyEUG so we'd get home a day earlier! Keepers all! TNX!

Global Water
The @WaterNetwork Newsletter - 20 October 2023. Trending Technology~Editors Choice~Knowledge Exchange~Featured Jobs~Featured Events~Questions~More! https://tinyurl.com/yck36z7e #globalwater

It's @Water_MDPI, Volume 15, Issue 19 (October-1 2023) 201 Articles https://bit.ly/3rYCWZv

Groundwater and Hydrogeology
In @sanmarcosrecord: Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance Fosters Unique Plan For Areawide Water Use Goals https://tinyurl.com/22pyy476 #txwater

NE Water 
Mary Frances and I just finished our @ponant_cruises - @smithsonian Great Lakes cruise. Outstanding! Anxious for another one! Great presentations, too. The story of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (shown here) by Fred Stonehouse was extraordinary. Stay tuned!

Personal, People, Interviews, and Quote
Today's Quote (@Nature10/20/2023) “A big concern for the journal’s editors was that the paper did not report a new finding.” Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced @NASA to search for life on the only planet where we’re certain it’s there - Earth! (1/2)

The exercise shows the value of looking with unbiased eyes at what we think we already know, argues a @Nature editorial (2/2).

Today's Quote (@Nature10/16/23) “It was very hard to explain to my parents what I was doing in my office on most days, which was to just sit and think and throw a lot of scratch paper into the waste basket.” (1/2)

Today's Quote: Mathematician Jang-Mei Wu is one of the ‘miracle group’ of six eminent female mathematicians, all born around 1950, who grew up during a tumultuous period in Taiwan. (2/2)

Today's Quote (@Nature10/19/2023): “By challenging the long-held assumption that treating infectious disease is all about tackling acute infection,a moonshot initiative for long COVID could ultimately change the way we think about the effects of pathogens on our health.” (1/2

Infectious-disease physician Michael Peluso and patient-researcher Lisa McCorkell call for the US government to fund a ‘long COVID moonshot’ to help millions of people who are experiencing lasting symptoms following infection with SARS-CoV-2. (2/2)

"If you have to tell people you are powerful, it means you aren't." - Margaret Thatcher

"We are canceling the Faculty Yoga Mixer as cultural appropriation." - @ass_deans

"My job is to get you to do your job the way I want your job done." - @ass_deans

"I hereby accept your social media resignation. There was no date, so I'm making it effective immediately. Turn in your keys. Your email and ID card have been deactivated. " - @ass_deans

Yes, we know, there are many ways of thinking about diversity! But there is a meta-definition — diversity of people who look different, but all think alike." - @ass_dean

Today's Quote (@Nature 10/18/23) “There is a reason every day to celebrate that we’re alive, that we have another day to explore whatever this gift is of being conscious, of being aware, of being aware that we are aware. That’s the deep mystery that I keep talking about.” 1/2

In April, leading psychedelics researcher Roland Griffiths said his terminal cancer diagnosis gave him the opportunity to wake up to life’s real meaning. He has died, aged 77. Read more in his obituary in @nytimes (2/2)

"Yes, the college does expect you to give individual lectures to every student who misses class." - @ass_deans

Positions Open    #JobWaWi
From @IISD_news: Climate Change Job Vacancies - 11 October 2023 10 Jobs https://bit.ly/46UdC5R #water4climate

From @IISD: Climate Change Job Vacancies - 19 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3QpIRA4 #water4climate

Josh's Water Jobs and More! 17 October 2023 ~ 314 Jobs! https://bit.ly/45AlvMA #JobWaWi

Previous Weekly Water Summaries - Go To #WaWiNews
TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary 7 - 20 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3tIWuBG

TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary 30 September - 6 October 2023 https://bit.ly/46jyuDF #globalwater

Reports, Publications, and Journals
It's @Water_MDPI, Volume 15, Issue 19 (October-1 2023) 201 Articles https://bit.ly/3rYCWZv

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 16 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3Q45wAC

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 9 October 2023 https://bit.ly/3tuEdaZ #globalwate

Science, Medicine, Health, and Technology
The @Nature Briefing - 20 Oct 2023. Brain-inspired chip supercharges AI; Eight-billion-year journey for energy blast; AI tidies up Wikipedia; Campus surveillance faces backlash; How grammar influences perception; Futures: Out, out, brief planet. https://tinyurl.com/bdcn2cpt #scicomm

It's @nature Briefing - 19 Oct 2023. Greenland’s ice sheet can be saved; How bird flu evolved to be so deadly; Sleeping people can still follow commands; NIH hearing highlights politicization; When your hands forget how to play; More! https://tinyurl.com/23mrhmhj #scicomm

It's @Nature Briefing - 18 Oct 2023. COVID drug helps bring back sense of smell; Element-discovering supergroup disbands; ‘Dark photons’ hint at nature of dark matter; Lost varieties could unlock better apples; How to share data — equitably; https://tinyurl.com/uwrns8ky #scicomm

The @Nature Briefing 16 Oct 2023. Psyche mission will visit huge metal asteroid; Hundreds of analysts get different results; Feral horses need ‘urgent’ control; Major US museum pledges: no more bones; Side effects of new weight-loss drugs; More https://tinyurl.com/2p9bstzb #scicomm

Today's Tunes
Today's Tune - 20 Oct 2023. Maxine Nightingale 'Right Back Where We Started From' https://youtu.be/jCtk7WiZ_Ys?si=Qs6xkmvgfVEK8Ml2… #aquadocaudio

Today's Tune - 19 Oct 2023. How about The Spinners and their great 1976 hit 'Rubberband Man' https://youtu.be/Jte7Jhii4e0?si=IB3ii_cMIdmMftfd… #aquadocaudio

Today's Tune - 17 Oct 2023. This is Sweet with 'Love Is Like Oxygen'. Live it up! https://youtu.be/zRgWvvkSvfk?si=mTdw1OuvTUxYVN19… #aquadocaudio

Today's Tune - 16 Oct 2023. 'Smooth Operator' was a tune popularized in 1984 by Sade, a Nigerian-British vocalist. The singer on our cruise had a great rendition. Here is a 2012 version by Sade. https://youtu.be/ZAt-mGg5W8U?si=j0jf3gaFIdeBcBJf… #aquadocaudio

Visuals, Audios, Podcasts and Infographics
From @thewaterloop: Episode #198: 'Funding To Fight Lead: Technical Assistance' (Part of a Series) https://youtu.be/OQLIAfUynWg?si=ZxMMoxxXXUsIOK4M… #Lead

From @thewaterloop: Episode #197: 'Building Up Rural Resilience' with Olga Morales-Pate. https://youtu.be/TW5DHioTO1M?si=dl8DogkmBS4os3ro… #resilience

WTF?
"We’d have football go back to using leather helmets, but the vegans on the faculty would protest the decision." - @ass_deans

CRS InFocus Report: 'Federal Management of Sea Lampreys in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain'

What else on this first day of Water Year 2024? Sea lampreys! Yes, those primitive parasitic fish with a ferocious round mouth lined with a circular array of teeth. Why am I publishing this report? Mary Frances and I are about to depart on a cruise of the Great Lakes (Toronto to Milwaukee). I am also quote familiar with Lake Champlain but did not know lampreys were there as well.

So here goes!       

Pervaze A. Sheikh, one of my favorite CRS researchers has authored (along with former CRS colleague) Christopher Field) this fascinating  report (25 September 2023): 'Federal Management of Sea Lampreys in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain'. 

Download CRS_InFocus_Rpt_Fed_Mgmt_Sea_Lampreys_Gt_Lakes_Lake_Champlain_25Sept2023

Click on the graphics to enlarge them.

Introduction
The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), sometimes known as the vampire fish (Figure 1), is a parasitic fish species native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and the waters of eastern United States and western Europe. By the early 1900s, sea lampreys had spread throughout the Great Lakes, where they harm economically important fish species such as Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). According to some estimates, fish wounded by sea lampreys have a mortality rate of 40%-60% and a single lamprey can kill approximately 40 pounds of fish per year. Congress is interested in efforts to control sea lamprey populations and the impacts of these efforts on the health of fisheries, recreation industries, and ecosystems of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. This product provides an overview of the biology and spread of sea lamprey, federal sea lamprey control programs, and selected considerations for Congress.

Geographic Range of the Sea Lamprey
In the United States, sea lampreys occupy offshore, coastal, and inland waters from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to northern Florida and the Great Lakes region (Figure 2). Sea lampreys were first observed in the Great Lakes in the 1830s. According to scientists, sea lampreys entered Lake Ontario from the Atlantic Ocean through human-made shipping channels and were found in all of the Great Lakes by 1938. Genetic evidence suggests sea lampreys may be native to Lakes Ontario and Champlain, both of which are accessible from the Atlantic Ocean by water. Some scientists challenge this view, however, stating that there are few records of sea lampreys or fish with lamprey wounds in these lakes prior to the mid-1800s. Regardless of origin, many stakeholders consider sea lampreys to be a nuisance species that threatens native fish populations in the Great Lakes.

Sea Lamprey Biology
The biology of sea lampreys is relevant to control efforts, many of which are designed to target specific stages of the species’ complex life history. Sea lamprey populations from the northern Atlantic are anadromous, meaning individuals are born in freshwater, spend a part of their lives in saltwater, and then return to freshwater streams to spawn (Figure 3).

Sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, however, complete their life cycle within freshwater lakes and streams. After spawning, larval sea lampreys typically remain in the streams where they hatched, referred to as nursery streams, for three to seven years. Afterward, larvae metamorphose into juveniles and enter the parasitic life stage, when they start feeding on other fish. Juveniles from the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain populations migrate from their nursery streams to the deeper water of these lakes to feed on host fish. After 12-18 months of feeding, sea lampreys return to streams to develop into adults and spawn. Females can produce up to 100,000 eggs when spawning and both sexes die shortly after the spawning season.

Population Trends
Scientists use indirect methods to estimate sea lamprey populations because of the difficulty of monitoring in deep water. Two commonly used measures are (1) wounding rates on species such as lake trout and Atlantic salmon and (2) the number of individuals trapped in monitored “index”streams. Sea lamprey populations have declined in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain since the start of control programs in the late 1950s and 1990, respectively. In the Great Lakes, populations have decreased by over 90% since the 1960s. In Lake Champlain, populations have decreased by approximately 50% since the 2000s.

Federal Control Programs
Sea lamprey control and research are implemented by several federal agencies, nonfederal agencies, and other partners. Control and research efforts in the Great Lakes are coordinated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC). The GLFC is a binational entity with Canada established by the United States and Canadian Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries in 1954 and codified by the Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. §§931-939). In the United States, the GLFC’s control efforts are largely implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and state fish and wildlife agencies. The GLFC’s research activities are conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey; universities; and state, provincial, and tribal entities. Legislation that addresses aquatic invasive species has typically established that the GLFC retains authority and responsibility to implement a comprehensive sea lamprey control program (e.g., the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act; 16 U.S.C. §§941-941h).

Sea lamprey control in Lake Champlain is coordinated by the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative (LCFWMC), which was formed in 1973 to coordinate efforts to mitigate the impacts of sea lampreys on Lake Champlain’s fisheries. The LCFWMC is a partnership of FWS, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Control Methods
Managers use physical, chemical, and biological control methods to reduce sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Physical control targets adult sea lampreys before they spawn in the early spring. These methods include barriers to prevent sea lampreys from reaching spawning areas and traps to remove adults from tributaries. Chemical control involves the application of lampricides or pheromones. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must approve lampricides used in the United States, which are restricted-use pesticides manufactured for designated federal and state agencies. Lampricides are typically applied to streams and deltas to target sea lamprey larvae at nurseries. Application of lampricides follows a procedure that includes conducting pre- and post-assessment of sea lampreys and nontarget species and notifying residents who rely on treated lakes and streams for water. Pheromones are typically used to lure adults and larvae into traps for disposal. Biological control, used less commonly than other methods, involves the release of sterile males during spawning to reduce sea lampreys’ reproductive success.

Selected Federal Funding for Control Efforts
Federal funding for sea lamprey control comes from several programs. Congress has on several occasions expanded the scope and scale of programs to meet the goals of federal control efforts for sea lampreys and other aquatic invasive species. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI; 33 U.S.C. §1268(c)(7)) provides funding, allocated by EPA, to federal and state agencies for control of aquatic invasive species, including sea lampreys. In 2021, Congress extended the annual authorization of appropriations for GLRI and provided for an annual increase from $375 million in FY2022 and ending at $475 million in FY2026. Congress also has provided supplementary funds for sea lamprey control through annual appropriations to FWS’s Fish and Aquatic Conservation program.

Considerations for Congress
Research from the GLFC and LCFWMC suggests control efforts must be ongoing to prevent the rebound of sea lamprey populations. Recent studies from Lake Champlain also suggest sustained control requires that a large proportion of the larval population receive effective treatment every year. Congress may consider evaluating the impact of current efforts and the resources needed for long- term control.

Some stakeholders have expressed concern over chemical control of sea lamprey, especially the potential for negative effects on nontarget species, such as the common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). GLFC and LCFWMC scientists contend that lampricides have minimal effects on non-lamprey species, but some other scientists note that studies may not have addressed all potentially affected species. Additionally, some scientists suggest any negative effects of chemical control on nontarget species are usually short-lived or are not likely to result in mortality. Congress may consider conducting further oversight on EPA procedures for assessing the effect of lampricides on nontarget species, such as those listed under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544).

This product was coauthored by Christopher Field, former CRS Analyst in Natural Resources.

Enjoy! I'll keep my hands out of the water.

"If you wanted time to do your own research, you shouldn’t have gone into academics." - @ass_deans

CRS Legal Sidebar: 'Interstate Compacts - An Overview'

Stephen P. Mulligan is the author of this updated CRS Legal Sidebar: Interstate Compacts - An Overview'. 

Download CRS_LSB_Interstate_Compacts_Overview_15June2023

This publication has embedded URLs; the text below does not have these so you'll have to read the above PDFs.

This is a very useful report. I often wondered why interstate compacts involving water bodies requred Congressional approval. Read this and find out the reason. The map of the Big Blue River Compact (Nebraska-Kansas) is not from this report - it's for illustrative purposes.

 

Introduction
The Compact Clause (Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3) provides that “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, ... enter into Any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power.” Although straightforward on its face, the Compact Clause serves multiple functions. It protects the national interest by requiring Congress’s consent for interstate compacts while, at the same time, empowering states to negotiate and use compacts as a tool to address problems that cross state lines. Along with interstate compacts, the Compact Clause also requires congressional approval for any state agreement “with a foreign Power” (i.e., a foreign government). States’ pacts with foreign governments and other limits on states’ power to engage in foreign affairs are discussed in a separate Legal Sidebar.

The Compact Clause does not prescribe all elements of the compact-making process, and the Supreme Court has not always interpreted the requirement that Congress consent to “any” interstate compact literally. This Sidebar discusses the Supreme Court’s Compact Clause jurisprudence and provides an overview of Congress’s approval practice for interstate compacts and agreements.

What Are Agreements and Compacts?
The Compact Clause requires congressional approval for “Agreements” and “Compacts” but does not elaborate on the distinction between the terms. According to the Supreme Court, both terms refer to contracts between state governments stipulating “the conduct or claims of the parties.” There is little difference between the terms except that a compact may reflect a more “formal and serious engagement” than an agreement. When Congress approves an agreement or compact, its consent transforms the pact into federal law. As a result, interstate compacts have dual functions: They operate simultaneously as contracts between states and, once approved by Congress, as federal law.

Purpose of Congressional Consent Requirement
The ability to form compacts with other governments is a defining characteristic of sovereignty, and the Compact Clause is meant to balance federal and state control over this power. By allowing states to negotiate compacts but requiring congressional approval, the Compact Clause adapts the traditional compact-making power to the American constitutional system in which both the federal government and the states possess sovereignty authority. The clause safeguards national interests by giving Congress the ability to control matters that cross state borders but are not suitable for direct federal regulation. It also protects states’ interests by regulating an individual state’s ability to unilaterally form compacts that might disadvantage other regional or state interests.

Subject Matter of Interstate Compacts
For much of American history, boundary disputes were the predominant subject of interstate compacts. Beginning in the 1920s, states developed compacts as a tool for solving more complex regional problems. States made compacts to apportion interstate water bodies and to manage interstate resources and properties, such as oil and gas, fisheries, and parks. They also began to use compacts to carry out major public undertakings and infrastructure projects, such as the Port of New York and New Jersey. Later in the 20th century, interstate compacts addressed an even wider range of issues, with Congress approving interstate compacts on subjects as varied as education, urban planning, historical preservation, taxes, emergency aid, fire prevention, transportation, sewage disposal, and radioactive waste management.

Some interstate compacts create administrative bodies and empower those bodies to implement the compacts. For example, in West Virginia ex rel. Dyer vs. Sims, the Supreme Court addressed the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Compact, which authorized an interstate commission to issue orders requiring compliance with the compact’s sewage disposal restrictions. A West Virginia state court deemed the compact invalid under the theory that it unlawfully delegated the state’s sovereign authority (known as its police power) to a body outside the state. The Supreme Court, however, held that states could delegate their police power to an interstate compact commission because the Framers of the Constitution intended the Compact Clause to allow the states to resolve interstate problems in diverse and creative ways.

When Consent Is Required
One of the most common questions to arise under the Compact Clause is whether congressional consent is required for a particular state commitment. A literal reading of the Compact Clause would require congressional approval for any interstate compact, but the Supreme Court has not endorsed that approach in interstate compacts cases. Instead, the Court adopted a functional interpretation in which only interstate compacts that increase the political power of the states while undermining federal sovereignty require congressional consent.

The Supreme Court first expressed doubt that Congress must approve every interstate compact in Virginia v. Tennessee—an 1893 case about the constitutionality of a boundary settlement agreement. Congress had not given express consent to the boundary-setting agreement in Virginia, but the Supreme Court held that Congress had given its implied consent to the agreement by using the same boundary lines in later legislation. Even without that implied consent, the Court in Virginia reasoned that congressional approval was unnecessary in the first place. The Court saw no reason for congressional consent for compacts with which the United States would have no objection or desire to interfere. Rather than require congressional approval in every case, the Court in Virginia stated that interstate compacts need Congress’s consent only if they could lead to an “increase of political power in the [s]tates, which may encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the United States.”

The Supreme Court repeated Virginia’s test for determining when congressional consent is necessary in several later cases and clarified how the test applies to modern interstate compacts. For example, in U.S. Steel Corp. v. Multistate Tax Commission, the Supreme Court held that a compact creating uniform rules for state taxation of multistate corporations did not require congressional consent even though it increased the states’ bargaining power in relation to the taxed companies. The Court explained that Virginia’s test does not focus on whether the compact makes the states more influential in general but only whether it could enhance the states’ power in relation to the federal government.

The Supreme Court has also suggested that some engagements between states do not qualify as agreements or compacts at all. In Northeast Bancorp, Inc. v. Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System, the Supreme Court addressed a constitutional challenge to a system of reciprocal state legislation that limited acquisition of banks in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Court determined that congressional consent was not required because the reciprocal state legislation scheme lacked four “classic indicia of a compact,” which are:

1. Creation of a joint organization or body,

2. Conditioning one state’s action on the actions of other states,

3. Restricting states’ power to modify or repeal their laws unilaterally, and

4. A requirement for reciprocal constraints among all states.

The Court in Northeast Bancorp, Inc. also held that, even if it assumed a compact existed, the scheme was authorized under existing federal banking law and therefore could not infringe federal supremacy under the Virginia standard.

Viewed collectively, the Supreme Court’s interstate compact jurisprudence appears to establish a two-part inquiry for determining whether congressional consent is necessary: (1) Is the arrangement at issue an agreement or compact for constitutional purposes, and, (2) if so, does it belong in that class of compacts described in Virginia that require congressional approval because it affects federal supremacy?

Methods for Congressional Consent
The Constitution does not define a process for when or how Congress should consent to a compact. The Supreme Court has interpreted this silence to mean that Congress may use its wisdom and discretion to choose the manner of authorization. According to the Court, Congress can consent to a compact in advance or after the states have negotiated and joined in agreement. The Supreme Court has also held that Congress’s consent need not be expressly stated and may be inferred from the circumstances.

In practice, Congress frequently approves specific compacts, but it has also given advance approval to broad classes of compacts. Additionally, Congress has given consent for an indefinite period of time and has provided an end date for its authorization. When approving a compact, Congress can impose conditions on its consent provided the conditions are “appropriate to the subject” and do not exceed a constitutional limitation, such as infringing individual rights or exercising an authority exclusively assigned to another branch of government. Congress imposed a complex set of conditions, for example, in its legislation authorizing regional interstate compacts for radioactive waste disposal.

Interpretation and Effect of Interstate Compacts
The Supreme Court has stated that it has final authority to interpret interstate compacts. The Court often hears interstate compact cases under its authority in Article III, Section 2, clause 2, of the Constitution, which gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over disputes between states. Original jurisdiction cases go directly to the Supreme Court without proceedings in lower courts. For example, in April 2023, the Court issued a unanimous opinion in an original action concerning whether New Jersey could unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact with New York, which Congress approved in 1953. In 2018, New Jersey passed a state statute instructing its governor to carry out the withdrawal process, but New York argued that only Congress could repeal a congressionally approved compact. The Supreme Court held that New Jersey could unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact despite New York’s opposition.

The Supreme Court views its role in original jurisdiction cases as different from its more standard disputes on appellate review. It approaches original jurisdiction cases in an “untechnical spirit” that allows the Court to mold the process in a way that “will best promote the purposes of justice.” When private litigants are parties to interstate compact disputes, the cases do not fall under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction but may be heard in a federal court (rather than in a state court), because congressionally approved compacts, which are federal laws, raise federal questions.

As federal law, congressionally approved compacts can preempt inconsistent state law, and no court may order relief inconsistent with a compact’s terms unless the terms violate the Constitution. Even though the Supreme Court ordinarily defers to state courts’ interpretations of their own state law, the Supreme Court held in West Virginia ex rel. Dyer vs. Sims that it is not required to defer to state courts’ views on whether an interstate compact comports with state law and that those rulings do not bind the Supreme Court. In that case, the Supreme Court declined to adopt the highest state court in West Virginia’s interpretation of whether an interstate compact complied with the West Virginia state constitution.

Along with their status as federal law, interstate compacts function as contracts between states. As a result, the Supreme Court has used contract law principles and remedies in some interstate compact cases. For example, in Green v. Biddle, the Court held that interstate compacts fall under the protection of the Contract Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits states from passing laws that impair contract rights. In its April 2023 decision concerning New York and New Jersey, the Supreme Court drew upon contract law principles in concluding that New Jersey could unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact. That compact did not expressly speak to withdrawal, but the Court concluded that “background principles of contract law” allowed unilateral withdrawal from similar contracts and that this default rule applied “in the silence of the [c]ompact.” At the same time, there are limits on how far the Supreme Court will treat compacts as ordinary contracts. In Alabama v. North Carolina, the Court declined to read an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing into an interstate compact even though the Court acknowledged that every contract imposes that duty.

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