GLIN==> Coalition Reacts to Federal Great Lakes Restoration Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 19, 2009
 
CONTACT:
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition 734-904-1589
 
Coalition Reacts to Federal Great Lakes Restoration Plan 
 
Strong plan can benefit from clear action on invasive species, take
into account impacts of climate change
 
ANN ARBOR, MICH.--The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition
submitted comments yesterday in response to the U.S. EPA’s plan to
address aquatic invasive species, toxic sediments, sewage contamination
and other threats over the next five years. The plan will help guide the
implementation of President Barack Obama’s new $475 million Great Lakes
restoration initiative.
 
“The EPA's action plan will serve as a strong foundation for advancing
Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery,” said Jeff Skelding,
campaign director for HOW. “Our comments have one goal: To make a good
plan better, so that we can restore the Great Lakes now before the
problems get worse and more costly.”
 
The coalition applauded the plan for adhering to four principles it
submitted to the EPA to guide the use of future Great Lakes restoration.
These included:
• Use the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy (GLRC) to inform
program funding. 
• Supplement – not supplant – funding for existing Great Lakes
programs. 
• Ensure all State, local, Tribal, and non-governmental entities are
involved in the new initiative in an open and transparent way. 
• Improve coordination and collaboration among Federal agencies and
between the Federal, State, local, Tribal, and Canadian Governments,
colleges and universities, and non-governmental entities. 
 
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition suggested several ways in
which the action plan could be made stronger, including:
• Update the nearly 5-year-old Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
Strategy to reflect current science, including impacts of climate change
on the lakes. 
• Include a decisive action plan on how to deal with the ongoing
problem of aquatic invasive species introduced from ballast water of
foreign ships. 
• Bolster interim milestones for activities such as wetlands
restoration.
 
The coalition also urged the EPA to incorporate recommendations from a
paper, “Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and
Restoration: Avoiding the Tipping Point of Irreversible Changes,” put
forward by a pre-eminent group of scientists. The paper recommended
targeting restoration projects in critical areas; reducing region-wide
threats, such as toxic pollution and nutrient-loading; and protecting
healthy aquatic habitats from harm.
 
With the public comment period ending, the EPA's plan will be further
developed with public input and grants may be distributed as early as
December 2009. 
 
The White House Great Lakes restoration initiative has passed the House
of Representatives for the full $475 million. The Senate appropriations
committee has passed the plan with $400 million in funding. The full
Senate is expected to vote on the measure in the fall.
 
To read the coalition’s comments, visit: http://www.healthylakes.org/ 
 
### 
 
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 100
environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos,
aquariums and museums representing millions of people, whose common goal
is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. 
 
 
Jordan Lubetkin
Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation - Great Lakes Office
213 West Liberty, Suite 200 | Ann Arbor, MI 48104
 
Phone: 734-887-7109 | Fax: 734-887-7199 | Cell: 734-904-1589
 
NWF's mission is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our
children's future. www.nwf.org/news/ 
 
Working to restore the Great Lakes by offering solutions to sewage
contamination, invasive species and other threats. www.healthylakes.org
( http://www.healthylakes.org/ )
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