Donnelly helps Iintroduce Llegislation to protect and revitalize the Great Lakes

Details

Published: Friday, 13 February 2015 15:45

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly helped introduce legislation Thursday (Feb. 12) designed to protect and revitalize the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act (GLEEPA) of 2015, introduced Thursday by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), would formally authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Great Lakes Program Office, and reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act.

Donnelly said, “There is a strong, bipartisan group of senators committed to protecting the Great Lakes. This bill has the potential to improve water quality for Hoosiers who depend on Lake Michigan for drinking water, address invasive species management, and bring positive economic benefits as a result of restoration efforts. I am proud to support this measure to revitalize the Great Lakes.”

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was implemented by the Obama administration after recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to Great Lakes ecosystem restoration in 2010 to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. An interagency Great Lakes Task Force oversees the implementation of GLRI, which targets the most significant problems within the basin, including aquatic invasive species, toxics and contaminated sediment, nonpoint source pollution, and habitat and wildlife protection and restoration.

Currently, GLRI is broadly authorized under the Clean Water Act (P.L.92-500). It has not been specifically authorized by Congress, though Congress has appropriated funds for implementation. If enacted, GLEEPA would amend the Clean Water Act to formally authorize the GLRI under the jurisdiction of EPA. It also would establish an administrative and management structure for restoration activities, specify the scope and function of GLRI, and authorize the coordinating role of the Interagency Task Force to ensure that federal programs concerning Great Lakes restoration are coordinated efficiently, reflect input from a variety of stakeholders, and ensure that taxpayer funds are effectively directed to appropriate projects.

This legislation would also reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy program, which supports the removal of contaminated sediments at more than 30 toxic Areas of Concern across the Great Lakes, and the Great Lakes National Program Office, which handles Great Lakes matters for EPA.