Cherry Highlights Top Priorities of
Great Lakes
Commission
Lt. Governor will aggressively encourage increased
federal investment in Michigan’s greatest natural
resource
LANSING – Lt.
Governor John D. Cherry, Jr. today reiterated the need for increased protection
and preservation of the Great Lakes and will aggressively urge lawmakers in
Washington over the next year to increase
federal investments in Michigan’s greatest natural
resource.
“With one-fifth of the Earth’s surface freshwater supply,
the Great Lakes are truly a world-class
resource and a national treasure without peer,” said Cherry, who is chairman of
the Great Lakes Commission. “State, local, tribal and private interests
contribute billions of dollars for Great Lakes
protection. It is essential that the federal government step up its
support, recognizing that investing in the Great
Lakes will protect a national asset and produce a good return for
taxpayers’ dollars.”
Acting on behalf of its membership – the Great
Lakes states – the commission will present its annual list of federal
legislative priorities to Congress on February 28, which has been designated as
Great Lakes Day in Washington. The annual event, held in
conjunction with the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Healing Our Waters® -
Great Lakes Coalition, is designed to convey a unified message regarding
Great Lakes needs and legislation to address
them.
At the top of the list – legislation to curb the introduction
and spread of aquatic invasive species and to implement other key
recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration’s Strategy to Restore
and Protect the Great Lakes. The
commission’s priorities are consistent with and complement those of the Council
of Great Lakes Governors.
Among the commission’s highest
priorities are:
• Enacting legislation to curb
the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species by ensuring that
commercial vessels visiting Great Lakes ports meet uniform ballast water
discharge requirements, providing funding to control invasive sea lamprey and
complete a barrier to prevent Asian carp from migrating into the lakes from the
Mississippi drainage.
• Reauthorizing and fully
funding the Great Lakes Legacy Act at $150 million a year to clean up
contaminated hot spots in Great Lakes rivers
and harbors.
• Appropriating $28.5 million
to restore 200,000 acres of wetlands toward the Great Lakes Regional
Collaboration strategy’s goal of restoring 550,000 acres.
•
Appropriating $1.35 billion nationwide to protect water quality by restoring
funding to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund – cut significantly in 2008. The
program is essential to updating sewerage systems and improving coastal health
in the Great Lakes and
nationwide.
The full
list of the commission’s FY2009 legislative priorities is available at www.glc.org/restore