Bill to triple funding for cleanup projects

WASHINGTON – The highly successful Great Lakes cleanup law, the Great Lakes Legacy Act, will be renewed for an additional five years and authorized at three times the current level of federal funding under bipartisan legislation introduced today. Congressmen Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI) and James L. Oberstar (D-MN) introduced the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2008 (H.R. 6460). The law is responsible for cleaning up contaminated sediment in polluted “areas of concern” around the Great Lakes, but much work is left to be done before all 31 areas outlined in the 2002 law are addressed.

“The Great Lakes Legacy Act has proven to be one of the most successful cleanup programs in the history of the Lakes,” said Congressman Ehlers. “It is clear that much more work is needed before contaminated areas can be fully cleaned up, which is why this authorization will triple the amount of funding provided by the existing law.”

“Now that we have a bill before the House to renew and expand this critical funding, I will do everything I can to see it through the legislative process before the end of the year,” added Ehlers.

The bill will increase the authorization for federal funding from $50 million per year to $150 million per year for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out monitoring, prevention, and cleanup of contaminated sediment in areas of concern around the Great Lakes. It also provides $5 million per year for research and development programs to develop new and innovative ways to complete these cleanup programs, an increase of $2 million compared to the previous funding level. States and localities will still be responsible for a 35-percent share of cleanup projects.

The House Committee on Appropriations will determine how much of the authorization is allocated to the EPA as part of the annual appropriations process.

“When Congressman Ehlers and I worked on the original Great Lakes Legacy Act in 2002, we realized that addressing toxic hotspots in the Great Lakes basin in a comprehensive manner would require the assistance of the Federal government, and we had high hopes for the new program’s success.  While we have seen some positive results in regard to cleaning up contaminated sites and the 2002 Act’s framework is sound, the overall effectiveness of this program can be improved upon.  Many of the needs that existed in 2002 remain today, and it is clear that adjustments are required to strengthen the program,” said Oberstar.  “This legislation will not only address the environmental and social good of remediating past pollution, but it will provide very real economic benefits to cleaning up the Great Lakes.”  

New to the Great Lakes Legacy Act is a provision that would shift partial responsibility from the state to the federal government for the initial site characterization, which every site needs before cleanup can begin. The federal government would pay for 100 percent of the initial characterization to encourage states and localities to take part in cleanup efforts. Also, the bill would allow funding provided for the initial cleanup to be used for aquatic habitat restoration, which is necessary before a site can be declared clean.

According to the EPA, the Great Lakes Legacy Act is responsible for the removal of more than 850,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment since 2004. The U.S. Policy Committee on the Great Lakes estimates that approximately 75 million cubic yards of toxic sediment remain in areas of concern.