Letter in Support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The Honorable Norman D. Dicks
Chairman
Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment,
and Related Agencies Appropriations

The Honorable Michael K. Simpson
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations

Dear Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member:

We are writing to urge you to include $475 million for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as proposed by the President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget as well as included in the budget resolution recently passed by Congress.  The Great Lakes are an important national treasure. Almost all of the Great Lakes= waters are a legacy of the glacier age with less than one percent renewed annually by precipitation and run off. They hold 90 percent of the U.S. surface fresh water and are the largest system of fresh surface water on earth. Over 40 million people currently rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water, and the global water demand is expected to double every 21 years. 

The proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget includes a new initiative to accelerate the restoration of the Great Lakes.  The budget proposes that this new money will be allocated for an inter-agency initiative to address problems such as invasive species, non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment.  This initiative will use outcome-oriented performance goals and measures.  Further, the federal agencies will coordinate the work of non-federal partners.   

Unfortunately, the health of the Great Lakes is threatened by aquatic invasive species, contaminated sediment, nonpoint source pollution, and habitat loss. According to some scientific views, the Great Lakes are at a tipping point.  Failure to protect and restore the lakes now will result in more serious consequences.  Knowing the importance of the Great Lakes, over 1,500 federal, state, local, tribal and other stakeholders from the region spent over a year drafting the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy Report in 2005.  The Strategy Report is the blueprint for how additional federal resources may be spent to address the many threats facing the Great Lakes.

We have long supported Great Lakes restoration, and we urge you to provide $475 million in new funding for the Great Lakes.  The work carried out by the EPA and other federal agencies is of critical importance to the sustainability of the Great Lakes' natural resources.  We urge the Committee to carefully consider these requests and thank you for your attention to this matter.  If you have questions, please contact Joy Mulinex at 224-1211.

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