Restore The Great Lakes

Protecting the Great Lakes

On June 30^th, the Senate Environment and Public Works committee passed a bill that will work to protect and restore the Great Lakes. This legislation will provide the structure and funding that is needed to implement projects that will restore the fragile ecosystem and fight new threats, like Asian carp. The committee also passed several other water bills that Environment America has been working on alongside members of Congress throughout the past year.

Comprising 90 percent of the fresh surface water in North America, the Great Lakes are an unparalleled natural treasure that provides drinking water for millions of people, habitat for wildlife, and is the lifeblood of an entire region. But protecting the Great Lakes will require great efforts – curbing sewage overflows, cleaning up toxic pollution, preserving wetlands, and conserving the Lakes’ water. Already, we have made some progress on each of these challenges, but much more remains to be done. We have reversed a Bush-era policy that allowed dumping of untreated sewage, but now we need a national investment in green infrastructure to prevent overflows at the source. We forced BP to halt its plans to increase toxic discharges into Lake Michigan, but we need to redouble efforts to clean up toxic hotspots across the region. Working at the state and federal level, we finally won passage of the Great Lakes Compact to prevent major withdrawals, but now we need to use water more efficiently within the region. In 2009, we will have several opportunities to advance these solutions for the Great Lakes. Already, we worked to help pass President Obama’s Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included $6 billion in clean water funding. The President’s proposed budget includes an additional $3.9 billion. In addition to funding, a new administration brings the promise of enforcement against polluters and renewed protection for the wetlands and streams that feed the Lakes.