Rep. Kaptur Congratulates Great Lakes Restoration Initiative on Success of First 5 Years

GAO, GLRI reports detail project impacts in Great Lakes region; algal blooms up next

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) responded to two reports released this week showing results from the first five years of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The firstreport, from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) following on its original report in 2013, showed that more than 98 percent of GLRI funding has been allocated to the agencies undertaking critical Great Lakes projects. Earlier this week GLRI published its Report to Congress and the President, 2010-2014 detailing the successes and impact the initiative has had over the past five years, including:

- Five Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) eligible or formally removed from AOC list.

- More than 2,500 projects undertaken to improve water quality, clean and restore contaminated shoreline, protect and restore native habitat and species, and prevent and control invasive species in the Great Lakes;

- More than 148,000 acres of wetlands, coastal, upland and island habitat protected, improved or restored.

“These reports show the success and the increasing importance of GLRI restoration efforts as we respond to critical threats to one of the world’s most precious freshwater resources, the Great Lakes,” said Congresswoman Kaptur. “The results are in: the Initiative works, especially when its efforts are targeted.Our top priority now is to put a stop to the harmful algal blooms that threaten Lake Erie communities and the millions that depend on the Great Lakes for fresh water, tourism and economic opportunity.”

Under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the United States and Canada designated 43 heavily contaminated sites around the Great Lakes as Areas of Concern. In the 25 years before the GLRI, only one Area of Concern was cleaned up and delisted.

“The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is making the Great Lakes healthier and local economies stronger,” said EPA Administrator and Great Lakes Interagency Task Force Chair Gina McCarthy. “With continued commitment from GLRI partners, we will continue to improve the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem and the communities that depend on that ecosystem for generations to come.”

GLRI projects are also coordinating with the agricultural community to reduce phosphorous runoff, one of the leading causes of Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms (HABs), and working to prevent the introduction of new invasive species to the Great Lakes.

Rep. Kapturadded: “With the proven success of GLRI in protecting and restoring this precious ecosystem, our next step must be stopping the harmful algal blooms that continue to threaten communities throughout the Great Lakes region. We brought in an additional $12 million through GLRI last year specifically focused on addressing nutrient management in our watershed. With active blooms appearing in Lake Erie this season, it is apparent that we need an even stronger funding commitment this year.

“Our tri-state Western Lake Erie Basin watershed is the largest‎ in the Great Lakes. Healing Lake Erie will require healing the watershed by stopping the excessive, nutrient-rich runoff, especially phosphorus that courses through all of its tributaries. The volume of nutrients overloads the Lake's capacity to process it. To date, one year after the serious algal bloom of 2014, much more scientific dispatch is required to accurately trace, and arrest, the sources of this nutrient runoff so the Lake can achieve a healthy outcome. Until we find a way to significantly reduce the amount of phosphorous flowing into Lake Erie, the threat of blooms will remain.”

Federal agencies used GLRI funding to increase the number of acres of farmland enrolled in agricultural conservation programs in these priority watersheds by more than 70 percent. In the summer of 2014, EPA also provided almost 12 million dollars through the Initiative to protect public health by targeting harmful algal blooms in Western Lake Erie.

More information about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and an interactive project map, visit www.glri.us.

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