Billions of dollars are being spent on Covid-19 relief needs, but water affordability for poor and dis-invested communities doesn't make the cut.   

Commentary

“Michigan schools get creative in spending federal Covid-19 relief funds.” 

It was the “creative” in the Detroit Free Press headline that caught my eye 

The relief funds are $6 billion in federal money that President Joe Biden said should be targeted at getting schools open post-pandemic. Congress said a significant part of the funding should be dedicated to help recapture lost-learning. It’s up to the states to dole out the money.

In a nutshell, the funds were to help students cope with the effects of the pandemic.

But the Free Press story put a spotlight on school districts’ creativity in their spending requests. Upgrading athletic facilities, new security systems, better nutrition via a smoothie bar and the list goes on. Are those really pandemic related issues? I doubt it. 

I’ve got no ax to grind with the school districts. Many are cash-strapped and they’re taking advantage of a one-off opportunity by accessing federal largesse, warranted or not. That doesn’t make it right but it comes under the, everyone does it justification. It’s how it works in the U.S.

But how is it that federal Covid-19 relief money can be spent on smoothie bars, and none is spent on helping people in poor and dis-invested communities pay their water bills?

If there was ever a need for access to clean water, it’s during this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

But as the states and the feds toss billions of dollars around like they’re nickels, cities like Detroit, Benton Harbor and others lack water affordability plans. Plans that remove the threat of ongoing shutoffs. What could be a better use Covid-19 relief and wellness funding?

But water affordability never seems to make the top of any politician’s agenda in Michigan. 

While the Free Press story was about questionable use of federal funds, the state of Michigan is a bad actor too.

In its recent multi-billion dollar budget bill was an undefined grant of $50 million.Turns out it was for a private corporation to help jump-start a potash mine. An unnecessary venture that will take a couple million gallons of groundwater a day from an already sensitive area. (Scroll down for more on the mine.) 

So as it always is, the neediest people are at the end of the funding line. The mining company will get its water while people in dis-invested communities struggle to pay water bills. And a school district will get a smoothie bar.  And I'm not hearing outrage. 

That’s where we are, and who we are.

gw
​Photo: NOAA

Tribal leader calls out USEPA for lack of emphasis on protection in restoration program.  In rare candid remarks, says Lake Superior degradation is ongoing and without a plan to stop it.  

Commentary
I've been attending conferences of various sorts about Great Lakes restoration since 2006. And one thing is a given; the collection of activists and others peripheral to the cause of restoring the Great Lakes will be as close to perfection as possible when it comes to speaking with one voice. 

They've mastered the art of defining the message and repeating it ad infinitum,  no deviations.  Be it  the Great Lakes are a "national treasure" or money is the key to restoring the lakes or their hyper-emphasis on collaboration like its an outcome instead of a process. 

That's why it was refreshing to attend a recent Great Lakes restoration workshop sponsored by the
non-profit Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources.  The purpose was to brief journalists about what's happening with restoring the lakes in light of the $1 billion funding windfall the restoration program will soon receive. 

And many of the smart, hardworking and well-intentioned people who've been working on restoration for years were there presenting and for the most part, they repeated a variation of the same messages from 10-15 years ago. 

But there was a refreshing exception, Michael "Mic" Isham, an Ojibwe Tribal executive and leader.  He represented the Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and he too, has been part of  the restoration establishment for years.  

But Isham was willing to deviate from the approved talking point script. He acknowledged a few of the virtues of the restoration program then spoke candidly about its shortcomings. Like the neglect of Lake Superior which he said is suffering ongoing, unaddressed degradation exposing it to "death by 1,000 cuts."  

Isham said to get federal funding for restoration projects you have to hit metrics, but Tribal projects don't easily produce quick, quantifiable results. They are based on Seventh Generation and Traditional Ecological Knowledge principles that take time and don't work well within budget cycles, but are no less worthy. 

And perhaps most important, Isham dared to criticize the program's hyper-focus on restoration while not including protection in its mission. What good is it to restore if we don't protect and prevent, he said. 

But the consensus is that the Great Lakes restoration works so don't tamper with it. And there's a darker side to that picture.  Program supporters don't want to do anything that could cause Congress to examine the program. That's because it brings a lot of federal money to the region.

I was assigned to write a story based on the workshop and there were two tracks I could take. The safe, "the Great Lakes restoration program is an incredible success but there's more work to do" route. That's the forever talking point. Or put a spotlight on Isham's priorities,  the need to protect the lakes and reduce reliance on metrics to justify funding and define success.   

Here's my headline.
Federal Great Lakes restoration program should focus on protection and flexibility, says Ojibwe leader. 

The story is here. 
gw
Note: This was updated on Feb 13.  
​Photo: NOAA