WASHINGTON - Congressman Tom Petri took the occasion of Great Lakes Day today to note a recent report from the Brookings Institute which concludes that a $26 billion investment in restoring the health of the Great Lakes would yield a $50 billion economic benefit.
"According to the report, 'Developing America's North Coast: A Benefit Cost Analysis of a Great Lakes Infrastructure Program,' the Great Lakes and its waterways offer a tremendous opportunity for reinvigorating the economy of the region and boosting the competitiveness of the nation as a whole. While other regions face long-term sustainability challenges from lack of water, congestion, costs of infrastructure, sprawl, and natural disasters, the lakes offer the prospect of environmentally and financially sustainable commercial and population growth," said Petri. "We need to understand and take seriously the potential benefits of restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem."
Great Lakes Day is an annual event hosted by the Great Lakes Commission and its partners to carry a unified expression of the Great Lakes region's priorities for legislation and appropriations to assist in protecting the region's environment and sustaining its economy.
Petri noted that he is a member of the Great Lakes Task Force in Congress and is participating in efforts to deal with invasive species in the lakes, toxic sediments, the restoration of wetlands in the region, and the protection and improvement of water quality.
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