DeWine Statement on the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategic Plan

DEWINE STATEMENT ON THE GREAT LAKES REGIONAL COLLABORATION STRATEGIC PLAN

U.S. Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), co-chairman of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, today released the following regarding the release of the strategic plan from the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC).

"For many years, I have been calling for a unified vision for the Great Lakes, one of our nation's most important natural resources. The report released today in Chicago is the collaborative work of 1,500 people and it provides that vision for the Lakes. The Administration committed to continuing the regional collaboration partnership and working to implement restoration, and that is positive. What I have said throughout this process, however, is that the federal government needs to commit additional funding, and I am disappointed that that commitment was not made today. The problems in the Great Lakes are getting bigger and more expensive, and we cannot make real progress without new dollars. I hope that the necessary funding is in the Administration's fy07 budget, and I will use today's report to continue to work on projects to restore the Great Lakes, such as improving the dispersal barriers in the Chicago Ship & Sanitary Canal to prevent invasive species, securing funding for the Great Lakes Legacy Act to cleanup contaminated sediments, and securing funding to protect and restore coastal habitat and wetlands."

Senator DeWine, with Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), is the sponsor of S.508, the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act, which authorized $6 billion for Great Lakes restoration. As co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Senators DeWine and Levin have worked on legislation and other initiatives to protect this great natural resource. In recent years, they have secured funding for water level gauges, the electric dispersal barrier in the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, and sea lamprey control through the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. In addition, they have worked to prevent water from the Lakes being diverted abroad and to address harmful algal blooms.

http://dewine.senate.gov/