GLIN==> Coalition Urges Congress to Restore Great Lakes Restoration Funding

Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition

For Immediate Release:
July 23, 2010

Contact:
Jordan Lubetkin, Communications Director, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 734-904-1589
Jeff Skelding, Campaign Director, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 410-242-2704
Chad Lord, Policy Director, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 202-454-3385

Coalition Urges Congress to Restore Great Lakes Restoration Funding

Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery hinge on robust commitment by federal government

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (June 23, 2010)-The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition today urged the U.S. Senate to restore funding for Great Lakes restoration programs, following action taken by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment yesterday voted to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 million, a 36 percent reduction from the $475 million funded this year.  President Obama also only requested $300 million for the Initiative this year, well below his inaugural request of $475 million last year.

"We need to keep pace with the urgent threats facing the Great Lakes," said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. "It is imperative that Congress fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $475 million now and in the coming years.  There is a tremendous need for this kind of investment in Great Lakes restoration if we are to catch up from years of delay. Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery hinge on a robust commitment by the federal government. Otherwise, the longer we wait, the problems will only get worse and the solutions more costly. We look to the U.S. Senate to fund Great Lakes restoration at last year's level, which better reflects the need for a healthy environment and economy."

Unveiled by President Obama in his inaugural budget and enacted by Congress last fall, the $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been widely hailed as kick-starting a moribund federal effort to restore the largest surface fresh-water resource in the world-a resource that 35 million people depend on for their drinking water and millions more depend on for their jobs and way of life.

In this year's budget, President Obama cut funding for the initiative from $475 million to $300 million, inspiring a strong push by the Great Lakes Congressional delegation to boost funding to restoration programs.

"Great Lakes members of Congress and this President have made Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery a national priority," said Skelding. "Now is not the time to scale back that commitment or momentum. The stakes are too high for our environment and economy."

There is a growing awareness that the health of the regional economy is inextricably linked to the health of the Great Lakes. The Brookings Institution found that the eight-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin stands to gain at least $2 in economic benefit for every $1 invested in Great Lakes restoration.

"In these economic times, Great Lakes restoration is an investment that makes sense," said Skelding. "We can put people to work in jobs that lay the foundation for long-term prosperity."

After years of neglect and abuse there is a huge backlog of work. When the EPA put out its request for restoration proposals as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the agency was inundated. It received proposals that outpaced funding by more than 7-to-1. Many projects will not be funded.

Every day, the lakes face serious threats, including:
* Sewage contamination, which closes beaches and threatens public health.
* Aquatic invasive species, which cost people, communities and businesses at least $200 million annually in damage and control costs.
* A legacy of toxic pollution, which leads to drinking water restrictions, beach closings and fish consumption advisories.
* Habitat destruction, which threatens water quality and harms the region's outdoor recreation economy.

"The need for increased Great Lakes restoration funding remains higher than ever," said Skelding. "The good news is that we have solutions to these problems. We just need to act."

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.

For more information, visit: http://www.healthylakes.org/


Jordan Lubetkin
Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Regional Center
Office: 734-887-7109
Cell: 734-904-1589

www.nwf.org/greatlakes
www.healthylakes.org

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