Great Lakes get $475 million funding boost
Environmentalists laud additional federal funding
WASHINGTON — The Great Lakes will get an unprecedented boost in federal funding now that President Obama, almost unnoticed, has signed bipartisan legislation.
Obama approved the $475 million, one-year infusion of funding for the lakes last week when he quietly signed an annual spending bill for the Interior Department and environmental programs, which include his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
But environmentalists took notice Thursday, trumpeting the signing as proof that Obama has begun to live up to his campaign commitment that he will spend upwards of $5 billion on restoring the lakes.
“We’re very excited about it,” said Derek Stack, executive director of Great Lakes United, a cross-border advocacy group with headquarters in Buffalo. “The president is really treating this as a down payment. He really came through on his promise.”
The funding greatly enhances the odds that Buffalo will receive federal funding for a $60 million project to remove contaminated sediments from the Buffalo River, said Julie O’Neill, executive director of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper.
It also boosts the chances of winning local funding for a habitat rehabilitation project on the Niagara River, O’Neill said.
Buffalo is in a better position than many communities in bidding for federal money for such projects because matching local funds already have been specified, she said.
The $475 million represents nearly a doubling of the previous annual federal commitment to the lakes.
In addition to funding the cleanup of contaminated sediments, the money will help to restore wetlands and other wildlife habitats and to prevent flooding. It also will be used to try to stop invasive species such as the Asian carp, which is threatening to invade Lake Michigan from the Illinois River.
Environmentalists said they expect the money will have a visible impact throughout the eight-state Great Lakes region.
“With one stroke of his pen, President Obama has propelled Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery forward,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “This is a great day for anyone who cares about clean beaches, safe drinking water, and abundant fish and wildlife populations.”
Obama supported a vast infusion of federal money into Great Lakes programs while serving as a senator and during his campaign for president. And members of Congress from the region — from both parties — have been pressing for the funding for years.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said the money will provide a long-term boost to the region’s economy.
“Cleaning up the Great Lakes will allow the region’s fishing and tourism industry to grow, providing much-needed jobs and millions of dollars in revenue,” he said.
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio, said on the House floor last week that the money was the first major federal commitment to the Great Lakes since he came to Congress in the mid-1990s.
But support for the measure was not unanimous among the region’s congressional delegation. Rep. Chris Lee, R-Clarence, voted against the spending bill that included the Great Lakes money.
Lee said that he supported the Great Lakes effort and had signed letters lobbying for it but that he could not vote for the legislation that included the money because the $32 billion measure was 17 percent bigger than the previous year’s spending bill for the same programs.
“I’m all for supporting the environment, but this bill was spending money we didn’t have,” he said. “It was excessive in its nature.”
The Interior Department spending bill probably won’t be Lee’s only opportunity to vote for increased Great Lakes funding. In February, Obama is expected to propose a budget for the next federal fiscal year that will include another increase.
“The fact that this is just the beginning of a five-year, $5 billion commitment is a very exciting thing,” O’Neill said.
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