Great Lakes Community Restoration Act (money for cleanbeaches)

["Shannon Briggs" <BRIGGSSL@michigan.gov>]

The news story is included below and can be found at 

http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-4/108275460148370.xml   
 
 
Great Lakes projects could see $400 million in federal funding 

Saturday, April 24, 2004 

By Sarah Kellogg 
Washington Bureau 




WASHINGTON -- Cities and towns along the Great Lakes would be eligible for $400 million in federal grants over the next four years to restore lighthouses, clean beaches and repair sewers, under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate. 

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the bill's sponsor, said Friday that the bill, known as the Great Lakes Community Restoration Act, would set aside $100 million a year for four years for intensive local renewal projects. 

"We're getting requests from local communities all over the state for specific projects that relate to the Great Lakes and their communities," said Stabenow, a Democrat. "It may be cleaning up the beaches or clearing zebra mussels clogging local utility pipes or reducing pollution in some way. One of the best things we (in the federal government) could help is to provide resources to communities based on their local needs." 

Lakeshore communities in the eight states bordering the Great Lakes could apply to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for local project grants. Eighty percent of the approved projects' funding would come from the federal government, while the cities would be expected to pick up 20 percent. 

Stabenow's bill, introduced Thursday, is the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at providing significant federal funding to refurbish Great Lakes waters and coastlines. The most substantial measure would set aside $6 billion over 10 years to finance massive renewal projects in the lakes, including combating sewer overflows, reducing mercury emissions and battling invasive species. 

Similar multibillion-dollar renewal efforts have been undertaken by the federal government in cooperation with state and local officials in the Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades and San Francisco Bay. 

"What the senator's bill sounds like is a way to get the larger Great Lakes restoration legislation jump-started," said Cameron Davis, spokesman for the Lake Michigan Federation, a regional environmental group. "The Great Lakes are a national treasure, and they need national protections right now. Senator Stabenow's bill sounds very similar to the restoration bill that everyone is rallying around right now, and it's a part of the effort." 

Stabenow's legislation also piggybacks on the work being done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002, introduced by Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, and signed by President Bush two years ago. 

The act allows local communities or private companies to apply for federal grants to remove contaminated sediments from riverbeds or shorelines along the lakes. The law authorized up to $50 million a year over five years for research and grants. Last year, the act was funded at $15 million. President Bush has proposed $45 million for this year. 

"I welcome any attempt to improve the Great Lakes, but I do have to note this is duplicative of the program I put in place," said Ehlers of Stabenow's bill. "(My provisions) have just started, and I would welcome her help in getting additional funding." 

Environmentalists say the future of Great Lakes cleanup and restoration efforts is in the hands of President Bush, who has yet to endorse any of the cleanup bills. They're hoping that because a number of Midwest states, including Michigan and Ohio, are up for grabs this election year, the president may feel some pressure to endorse one of the bills to keep in good standing with voters. 

"We'd like to try to separate politics from this discussion, but the reality is you can't," said James Clift, a spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council, a coalition of state environmental groups. "We're nervous about people announcing they're going to do one thing before the election, and then after the election is done, doing something totally different." 

© 2004 Booth Newspapers. Used with permission


Copyright 2004 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved. 


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