Panel #2 – Snap Shot Summary: Water Governance in the Great Lakes Region

The Great Lakes can't solve all environmental threats facing the Great Lakes, but it can set an example for other regions and nations to follow.  And check out the Great Lakes Futures Project.

A pre-Q&A summary of the second panel of the CUSLI 2013 Conference.

Participants: 

• Lana Pollack, Chair of the U.S. Section, International Joint Commission (Chair)
• Andy Buchsbaum, Regional Executive Director, Great Lakes Regional Center, National Wildlife Federation
• Tim Eder, Executive Director, Great Lakes Commission
• Gail Krantzberg, Professor and Director of the Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy, School of Engineering, McMaster University
• Jeffrey Mears, Environmental Area Manager, Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin
• Rear Adm. Michael Parks, District Commander, Ninth  U.S. Coast Guard District (Discussant)

Past Successes, and Current Successes:  The Great Lakes, Great Lakes Compact, and the Invasive Species Threat

Study Highlights Troubling Threats to Critical Infrastructure-Should We Fret Over Canada-U.S. Joint Infrastructure?

ZDNet.com reports on the recent release of Trend Micro Inc.'s 2013 research paper, Who's Really Attacking Your ICS Equipment? 

The report shows attackers didn't wait long to attack a dummy control site emulating an Industrial Control System, similar to systems that could control a water pump or monitor a power plant's output.  

The impact:  Computer system monitoring critical private and public infrastructure in the United States is most likely being attacked repeatedly and on a daily basis.

And it's as simple as having a computer and internet access.  With power system systems, dam networks, and international finance dependent on internet connectivity, all wired nations must grapple with protecting their critical infrastructure.

Budget Deal Shields DHS Sequestration, For Now

According to Mickey McCarter's illuminating article at HSToday.us, DHS has been largely spared sequestration's across the board cuts.  But, unless replaced, sequestration will bring back automatic cuts over the next nine years.

From HSToday.us's Under Continuing Resolution, DHS Largely Escapes Sequestration:

Congress agreed Thursday to a continuing resolution (HR 933) to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2013, providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a full budget that takes most of the sting out of the automatic budget cuts under sequestration. At least for now. 

Previously, DHS faced cuts across the board in a manner that was allocated to eligible accounts, trimming about five percent of the department's overall budget in FY 2013, according to estimates from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Although the sequester remains in effect under the continuing resolution, the budget bill largely spares DHS from its worst effects for this fiscal year, drawing cuts from other areas to keep budget caps in line with levels spelled out in the Budget Control Act of 2011.

...

DHS could see sequestration cuts in FY 2014 unless the sequester is repealed or DHS is again granted authority to avoid it.

Read the article to see how the FY13 CR impacts DHS's overall budget, especially when it comes to the U.S. Coast Guard. 

2013 Niagara Moot Court Competition Results

The results are in!

Click the image for a full-screen view, and learn more about the 2013 competition here.

Call for Papers: Canada-United States Law Journal 2013 Issue

Got a submission for the only academic law journal dedicated to the exploration of the complex trade, policy, and legal relationship between Canada and the United States?

Email submissions to cusli@case.edu.

Read the Journal's 2013 call for papers below for details.