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St. Clair Shores Sentinel
April 23, 2008 |
Julie Snyder
Staff Writer |
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Representatives Urge Funding for Lake Management
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Two local representatives in Washington are urging the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy to include about $1 million in their 2009 fiscal year budget for Lake St. Clair management. Congresswoman Candice Miller, R-Michigan, 10th District, and Congressman Sander Levin, DMichigan, 112th District, earlier this month urged the subcommittee to include $900,000 in the fiscal year 2009 for the Lake St. Clair/St. Clair River Management Plan.
Miller and Levin requested the funds for implementation of the management plan, which both say is critical to a healthy future for the local waterways.
"Our magnificent Great Lakes have experienced significant challenges in recent years," Miller said in a statement. "The federal government has a responsibility to fund the Lake St. Clair/St. Clair River Management Plan, which will help protect and preserve these precious waters."
The St. Clair River is 39 miles long, from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair.
"Their health has a direct impact on fishing, boating, tourism and quality of life around the Great Lakes, which are one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply," Miller said.
Last year, both representatives, along with Michigan Democratic senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow worked together to secure an authorization of $20 million to implement the Lake St. Clair Management Plan in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.
Now the authorized funds must be appropriated in a congressional budget. The actual appropriation of these funds will allow the projects identified in the Management Plan to move forward.
"We cannot allow the Lake St. Clair Management Plan recommendations to sit on the shelf," Levin said. "It is imperative that we make the investments necessary to turn the management plan's recommendations into reality.
Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes are regional and national treasures."
Levin and Miller have also been working on the local level, engaging Lake St. Clair stakeholders in the area to protect and restore the lake.
St. Clair Shores resident Joe St. John said he is pleased to learn of this recent effort to protect the lake.
"Lake St. Clair is overlooked," said St. John, co-chair of the St. Clair Shores Waterfront Advisory Committee. "A lot of money goes to the five other lakes, but not enough goes to our lake."
The Waterfront Advisory Committee is a volunteer group that works to promote better water quality, a cleaner lake, and community awareness and education regarding waterfront stewardship.
St. John calls Lake St. Clair one of the most active lakes, in that boating and recreational fishing are aplenty year round.
"And there are not a lot of positive comments made about the lake (regarding water quality and water levels)," he said. "But it's a great and healthy lake that needs to be protected. It needs appropriations that can protect it."
St. Clair Shores Mayor Robert Hison said he is anxiously awaiting support by the state House, followed by the Senate.
"This is our drinking water and our recreation. This is one of the top priorities in our region," he said last week. "The lake has gotten so much better, and it's so important that we're not stepping backward. This is our backyard."
Last month, Miller and Levin addressed the Binational Lake St. Clair Conference, at which local leaders and organizations discussed the implementation of restoration and protection efforts for Lake St. Clair.
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