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EPA awards 13 Great Lakes grants, and Erie County gets three

August 10, 2016

by Tom Jackson, Sandusky Register

SANDUSKY — The U.S. EPA awarded nearly $500,000 of grants Wednesday to Sandusky, Huron and Vermilion to improve parks and beaches along the Lake Erie shore.

The green infrastructure grants will prevent hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated storm water from running into Lake Erie, making the water cleaner and aiding in the fight against harmful algal blooms.

Here are the grants:

• Sandusky received $175,000 for rain gardens and a meadow at Lions Park. The work, which will likely be done next year, will prevent more than 280,000 gallons of untreated water from reaching Lake Erie.

• Huron is getting $125,439 for green infrastructure at Lake Front Park that will reduce storm water runoff by nearly 600,000 gallons.

• Vermilion got $175,000 for work on the Main Street Beach. Proposed projects that include permeable pavement, bioretention areas and a tree pit will keep more than 450,000 gallons of untreated storm water from running into the lake.

In all, the EPA announced it is awarding $2 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants to 13 cities in Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin. Two other Ohio cities, Ashtabula and Cleveland, also got grants.

President Barack Obama's top Great Lakes advisor joined local officials to announce the three Erie County grants at a press conference held Wednesday morning at Lions Park in west Sandusky.

As Canada geese swam offshore and seagulls soared overhead, Cameron Davis, senior advisor for the U.S. EPA administrator for the Great Lakes, said the 13 projects will eliminate more than 12 million gallons of polluted runoff in the Great Lakes.

"We are trying to reduce polluted runoff into our recreational shorelines," he said.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, said many members of Congress still don't know how important the Great Lakes are or how big they are. She said that when lawmakers visit one of the lakes, they often remark, "You can't see over to the other side."

Sandusky city manager Eric Wobser, Vermilion mayor Eileen Bulan and Huron city manager Andy White also spoke, along with representatives of Ohio's two U.S. senators, Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown.

Before the press conference began, Wobser spoke to Davis, emphasizing the importance of Lions Park.

"This is the waterfront park for the whole west side of the city," Wobser told Davis. "This will be really well received."

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