DeWine Sponsored Great Lakes Legacy Act Funds Ashtabula River Project

DEWINE SPONSORED GREAT LAKES LEGACY ACT FUNDS ASHTABULA RIVER PROJECT

Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), Co-Chairman of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, today applauds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ashtabula Port Authority, and the Ashtabula River Partnership, as they announce their Great Lakes Legacy Act project to clean up the PCB contaminants of a one-mile stretch of the Ashtabula River.

"Cleaning up the contaminated sediment in the Ashtabula River ensures healthier drinking water for Ohio families and improved recreational opportunities, like fishing. I worked to enact the Great Lakes Legacy Act and secure funding to help us improve Ohio's waters which are magnificent natural resources," said Senator DeWine. "I have personally discussed this project with EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on several occasions and I am pleased that the Ashtabula River clean up is Ohio's first Great Lakes Legacy Project. We need to protect and restore the Great Lakes and its tributaries for our children and grandchildren."

The clean up project to reduce PCB sediment in a portion of the Ashtabula River could cost up to $61 million dollars. Funding will come from the Great Lakes Legacy Act, the state of Ohio and local contributions. The project is expected to be completed in 2009.

In 2002, Senator DeWine was the lead Republican sponsor of the Great Lakes Legacy Act which was signed into law to authorize funding for the clean up of polluted rivers that flow into the Great Lakes. The Act allows the EPA to clean up contaminated sediments to protect human and ecosystem health. In the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill, Senator DeWine helped secure $30 million in Legacy Act funding, an increase of nearly $7.5 million from the previous year.

http://dewine.senate.gov/