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Earlier this month in a legislative session that went until the early hours of the morning, both chambers of the Michigan Legislature passed the budget for 2017. Included in the budget omnibus bill is $114.3 million in emergency supplemental funding for solutions to the Flint water crisis. As late as the week before, it looked like there was a good possibility that the Legislature would adjourn for summer recess without passing funding for Flint.

The State Senate passed $128 million in emergency funding for Flint with a 34-3 vote in early May. For weeks, the Senate bill languished in the House

Last night, the Baltimore City Council held a public hearing on two ordinances that would provide transparency and accountability for how funds being collected from Baltimore City residents intended to be used for stormwater infrastructure improvements and environmental restoration are being spent. Check out the bills for yourself:

City Council Resolution 06-0301R: Expediting Stormwater Management Projects and Activities City Council Resolution 06-0302R: Stormwater Enterprise Fund Usage

I was also honored to testify on behalf of Clean Water Action in support of these ordinances. You can read

One of my favorite places to ride my bike in Baltimore is the Jones Falls Trail between North Avenue and Druid Hill Park. The trail follows the last section of the Jones Falls before it flows underground in pipes underneath downtown on its way to the Inner Harbor, in a narrow stream valley below the traffic of I-83.

But often – especially after a storm – the trail is marred by the stench of raw sewage. That’s because, when rainwater infiltrates into the sewer pipes carrying wastewater away from our homes, businesses, and schools, it floods the pipes and spills untreated sewage into our streams