Congressional leaders have finished drafting a spending bill allocating $300 million for the Great Lakes cleanup.
The Great Lakes Restoration Program Initiative (GLRI) is a program aiming to solve all the problems associated with the Great Lakes such as invasive species, loss of wildlife habitat, runoffs, and toxic pollution. Since the funding began in 2010, the program was allocated at most $300 million each year making it the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. However, in 2013, the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies proposed cutting the budget for 2014 to $60 million.
When the proposal for the budget cut was made, lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans representing states depending on the Great Lakes staged their protest.
"This budget represents a significant victory for the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, jobs and quality of life," said campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition Todd Ambs to Kansas City Star.
The newly-approved budget will also help in maintaining a program which provides loans to communities around the Great Lakes so they can have access to clean drinking water and sewage treatment facilities. For 2014, this program will receive $1.14 billion, an increase from the $1.37 billion last year. One-third of this allocation usually goes to the Great Lakes area due to its severe problems with sewer overflows.
To date, the restoration program has allocated $1.3 billion for 1,700 grants dedicated to research and projects around the area. Wetlands and other habitats have been restored and protected; cleanups have been done especially in the areas where toxic industrial chemicals are being dumped. Furthermore, millions of dollars have been allocated as well to eradicating the Asian carp using electric barriers. The funds will also be used to pay people to catch the invasive fish species living in Illinois waters so they won't have the chance to reach Lake Michigan.
Senate's No. 2 Democrat and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said that the restoration program will pave the way for the healing of "one of the country's greatest treasures."
