GLIN==> Great Lakes Commission urges Congress to sustain funding for Great Lakes restoration

For immediate release: February 3, 2011

 

Great Lakes Commission urges Congress to sustain funding for Great Lakes
restoration

http://www.glc.org/announce/11/02funding.html 

Ann Arbor, Mich. - In a letter this week to the Great Lakes Congressional
Delegation, Great Lakes Commission Chair James Tierney urged the delegation
to sustain appropriations for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
in the FY 2011 federal budget. “Now, more than ever, we need support from
our congressional delegation to help us leverage the Great Lakes to advance
our region’s economic and environmental vitality,” Tierney said.

The GLRI is a five-year, $2.2 billion program to implement a comprehensive
restoration plan for the Great Lakes. The Initiative was funded at $475
million in its first year and the President requested $300 million for the
current fiscal year, FY 2011. As Congress moves to finalize FY 2011
appropriations, the Commission notes that sustaining GLRI funding is
essential to enable the region to respond to numerous threats, including
Asian carp.

“Nearly 300 restoration projects are underway and hundreds more await
funding,” wrote Tierney, emphasizing that “the GLRI is putting people to
work and revitalizing an economic engine for shoreline communities.” In the
long term, Tierney noted that “sustaining funding for the GLRI is essential
to maintaining our collective efforts to stimulate economic growth and
invest in the largest freshwater resource in the world.”

The Great Lakes Commission highlighted specific activities that depend on
continued funding for the GLRI, including critical actions needed to keep
Asian carp out of the Great Lakes; large-scale cleanup projects in four
Great Lakes toxic hotspots; and efforts to prevent sewage discharges, toxic
algal blooms and polluted runoff that threaten public water supplies and
recreational beaches.

Great Lakes Commission Executive Director Tim Eder said “the restoration
work being carried out under the GLRI not only creates jobs now, it
contributes to our long-term strategy to use the Great Lakes as a foundation
to stimulate economic development and revitalize waterfront communities.”
Eder added: “The Great Lakes are an important part of our region’s economic
infrastructure.”

The GLRI is implementing a comprehensive restoration plan completed in 2005
and based on priorities established by the governors of the Great Lakes
states. A detailed study prepared by the Brookings Institution in 2007
projected that fully implementing this plan would generate $80-$100 billion
in short and long-term benefits. 

Contact: Tim Eder

Email: teder at glc.org 

Office: 734-971-9135

Cell: 734-604-7281

 

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The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by James Tierney, assistant commissioner
of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, is an
interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and
dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high
quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents.
The Commission consists of governors' appointees, state legislators, and
agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for
Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a "Declaration of
Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving
U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies
and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.

 

 

 

 

 

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