House Passes Great Lakes Restoration Bill
April 26, 2016
By: Sandusky Register
April 26, 2016
The U.S. House today passed by voice vote the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2016, a bill that is an integral piece of federal Great Lakes restoration efforts.
The bill, H.R. 223, authorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 million annually over the next five years. The initiative supports efforts to restore fish as wildlife habitat to support outdoor recreation opportunities, clean up toxic pollution to protect human health, reduce farm and city runoff to protect drinking water and keep beaches open, and fight invasive species.
Authorizing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a top priority of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.
Commenting on passage of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2016 bill, Todd Ambs, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:
“We thank the U.S. House for passing a bill that is vital to the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, jobs, and way of life. We especially appreciate the support from U.S. Rep. David Joyce, who has worked tirelessly to pass this important bill. Federal restoration efforts have enjoyed strong bi-partisan support from Day 1—a testament to the importance of the Great Lakes, which supply drinking water to more than 30 million people.
“Federal restoration efforts are producing results. Although we have made progress, the Lakes still face serious threats. So we urge the U.S. Senate to act swiftly so that the nation continues its commitment to the Great Lakes. We can’t afford to stop now. Restoration projects will only get harder and more expensive the longer we wait.”
Joyce is an Ohio Republican. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill.
Over the last seven years, the U.S. Congress has invested over $2.2 billion through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in more than 2,900 projects in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. These projects have restored more than 150,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat; opened up fish access to more than 3,800 miles of rivers; helped farmers—in combination with other programs—implement conservation programs on more than 1 million acres of rural working lands; and accelerated the cleanup of toxic hotspots by delisting three formerly contaminated sites. In the previous two decades before the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, only one site identified as a toxic hotspot had been delisted.