Release Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition

Landmark Great Lakes Restoration

Bill Advances in U.S. Senate

Bill includes more than $650 million in restoration funds

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (June 30) – A landmark Great Lakes restoration bill advanced in the U.S. Senate today. The Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act of 2010, which authorizes more than $650 million for restoration initiatives, passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a vote by voice vote.

“This is a major step forward in the effort to restore the Great Lakes and revitalize the region’s economy,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “Millions of people, businesses and communities will benefit from the swift passage of this bill. We encourage the full Senate and House to pass this landmark legislation before the problems facing the Great Lakes get worse and more costly.”

Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) introduced the bill, S. 3073, which is cosponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Senators Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) joined Sen. Voinovich as cosponsors of the legislation when it was amended by the Committee. All three Senators and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) are members of the Senate EPW Committee.

“We applaud Senators Levin, Voinovich, Klobuchar, and Gillibrand and the entire Great Lakes delegation for making the restoration of this iconic resource a national priority,” said Skelding. “This bill will help accelerate the restoration of the Great Lakes, which are the foundation of our economy and way of life.”

The Great Lakes face many serious threats. More than 185 invasive species in the Lakes cost the region at least $200 million annually in damages and control costs; a legacy of toxic pollution threatens the health of people and wildlife; sewage overflows close beaches; and habitat destruction hurts water quality, wildlife, and the region’s outdoor recreation industry.

The Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act integrates several successful restoration programs into one bill. It permanently authorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $475 million, establishing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as the lead program in the region to guide restoration efforts. The legislation re-authorizes the Great Lakes Legacy Act at $150 million. Both are programs that invest in restoring habitat, preventing invasive species, cleaning up toxic pollution, and reducing polluted run-off from fields and cities. It also authorizes the EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office—which oversees
and directs the nation’s Great Lakes restoration efforts—at $25 million. The bill also includes strong provisions to ensure restoration efforts are prioritized, science-based and transparent.

In addition to passing the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed restoration bills to restore other iconic U.S. waters, including the Chesapeake Bay, Columbia River, Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay.

“We support the restoration of all our nation’s great waters,” said Skelding. “After years of degradation and abuse, there is a tremendous backlog of work,” said Skelding. “These restoration bills provide the necessary funding and oversight to move forward on restoring these nationally important waters and revitalizing the regional economies which depend on them.”

The Brookings Institution found that restoring the Great Lakes provides $2 in economic benefit for every $1 investment.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 115 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 Immediate Release:
June 30, 2010

Contact:
Jeff Skelding, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, (202-) 797-6893, skeldingj@nwf.org
Chad Lord, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, (202) 454-3385, clord@npca.org
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, (734) 904-1589, lubetkin@nwf.org