GLIN==> Coalition Applauds Historic Great Lakes Restoration Bill

Coalition Applauds Historic Great Lakes Restoration Bill
 
ANN ARBOR, MI (MARCH 4) — The Healing Our Waters®-Great Lakes Coalition
today applauded historic new legislation that promises $650 million
annually for the next five years to restore the Great Lakes—the largest
federal investment ever to clean up the Great Lakes.
 
“This monumental legislation adds momentum to Great Lakes restoration
and sets in place a framework for the future,” said Lynn McClure,
co-chair of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and Midwest
Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “We
applaud the President for proposing his Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative and we applaud Congress for introducing bi-partisan
legislation that recognizes the national importance of the Great Lakes
to our economy and way of life.”
 
U.S. Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio), along
with Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Al Franken
(D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.),
introduced the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act (S. 3073) today in
the U.S. Senate. Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.) with Reps. John Dingell
(D-Mich.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced
similar legislation (HR 4755) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
“The Great Lakes are a unique American treasure,” said Sen. Levin.
“Nearly a tenth of our population lives in the Great Lakes basin,
relying on the life-sustaining drinking water the lakes provide, and
reaping economic and recreational benefits from them daily. We must
recognize that we are only their temporary stewards and do all we can to
ensure that the federal government meets its ongoing obligation to
protect and restore the Great Lakes. The bill I am introducing today
provides a host of sensible, bipartisan proposals that appropriately
treat the Lakes as the great treasure they are. The bill aims to ensure
the Lakes will prosper in the long term so that future generations of
Americans will be able to enjoy them and benefit from them as we have.”
 
“Our Great Lakes congressional champions have put forward a bill that
is a shot in the arm for the Great Lakes and the economy,” said Andy
Buchsbaum, co-chair of Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and
regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great
Lakes Regional Center. “This bill treats the Great Lakes as the landmark
they are and offers the prescription needed to help heal the Lakes back
to health.”
 
“The Great Lakes are a precious resource located in our own backyard,
so it is imperative that we do everything we can to protect them,” said
Rep. Ehlers. “The Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act will provide for
the removal of contamination within the next ten years in the areas of
concern identified in the Great Lakes Legacy Act, and it will authorize
funding in support of the important recommendations in the Great Lakes
Regional Collaboration Strategy. The longer we wait to address areas of
serious contamination, the more difficult and expensive it will be to
clean them up.”
 
“The Great Lakes represent 20 percent of the world’s fresh water
supply, and it is about time we put some serious effort into restoring
and protecting them,” said Rep. Slaughter.  “The economies of the cities
bordering the Great Lakes, including Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and
Rochester, all of which I represent, are absolutely dependent on
them-making this not just an environmental issue, but an economic one.”
 
The legislation promises $650 million annually for the next five years
for programs to restore the Great Lakes, including those to clean up
toxic pollution, control invasive species, and restore habitat. The bill
includes the largest federal investment to restore the Great Lakes.
 
“This legislation means we all have a say in making sure Great Lakes
restoration is done right,” said Jill Ryan, co-chair of Healing Our
Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and executive director of Freshwater
Future. “Passage of this bill will pay huge dividends for the people,
businesses and communities which rely on the lakes 365 days a year. We
urge the U.S. Congress to pass this bill, before the problems get worse
and the solutions get more costly.”
 
The legislation:
• Authorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and provides $475
million annually for the program, which was first funded in President
Obama’s 2009 budget. The GLRI is a multi-agency federal effort to remove
contaminated sediments from the lakes, control invasive species, reduce
non-point source pollution, and restore fish and wildlife habitat.
• Reauthorizes the Great Lakes Legacy Act and provide $150 million
annually for the other federal program that removes contaminated
sediments from the lakes and their connecting waters.
• Guarantees $25 million annually for the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes
National Program Office, which oversees several Great Lakes programs for
the EPA.
• Enhances transparency by establishing a leadership board and
multi-stakeholder management committee to ensure continued, broad
collaboration and partnerships.
• Creates accountability by requiring federal agencies to incorporate
the restoration recommendations from the leadership committee into its
annual budgets and restoration plans or explain why those
recommendations are being ignored.
 
The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of all fresh surface water on the
planet, and 95 percent of all fresh surface water in the U.S. The lakes
support one of the world’s largest regional economies, including a $7
billion fishery and a $16 billion tourism industry. More than 35 million
people rely on the lakes for drinking water, jobs and their way of life.

 
Despite their significance, the Great Lakes remain threatened by
chemical pollutants that threaten the health of people and wildlife;
invasive species that cost the region at least $200 million per year in
damages and control costs; and habitat destruction that hurts water
quality, wildlife, and the region’s outdoor recreation industry.
 
“After decades of assault and abuse, the Great Lakes will not be healed
over night,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our
Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “It’s going to take a sustained,
multi-year effort to nurse the Lakes back to health, which is why the
new Great Lakes bill is a big deal. It shows that Congress is treating
the Lakes as a national priority. Passing this bill will create jobs,
protect public health and uphold our way of life.”
 
A study by the Brookings Institution found that every $1 spent on Great
Lakes restoration would yield $2 in economic activity in the region.
 
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/ 
 
For Immediate Release:
March 4, 2010
 
Contact:
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition,
734-904-1589, lubetkin at nwf.org 
Jeff Skelding, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 410-242-2704,
JSkelding at nwf.org 
Chad Lord, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, 202-454-3385,
clord at npca.org 
 
 
Jordan Lubetkin - Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St., Suite 200
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1398
www.nwf.org/greatlakes 
www.healthylakes.org ( http://www.healthylakes.org/ )

Phone: (734) 887-7109 
Cell: (734) 904-1589

Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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