Durbin: Equity In Great Lakes Restoration Initiative A Key Part Of Protecting Our Lake

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined the Alliance for the Great Lakes and State Representative Kam Buckner (D-26) in Chicago to discuss efforts to prioritize historically marginalized and underserved communities in projects to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Durbin is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take concrete steps to prioritize low-income and communities of color within the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) - an inter-agency effort led by the EPA to support ecological projects in the region. The plan to create more equity in the GLRI is part of Durbin's "Our Lake" initiative--an effort to engage with state, local, and community partners to advance new policies and projects focused on protecting Lake Michigan.

"Despite all of the great work of the GLRI to fund the cleanup of toxic pollution, prevent the spread of invasive spices, and invest in much needed habitat restoration, communities of color and low-income communities along Lake Michigan--our lake--have not been provided equitable resources to address these issues," Durbin said. "These communities face some of the greatest challenges with pollution, contaminated sites, drinking and wastewater systems, water quality, and wetland and other habitat loss. Focusing on these communities and having community participation in the program will ensure the areas most impacted by pollution benefit from federal restoration investments. We have always considered Lake Michigan as a national treasure that needs to be protected. Now it is time to see the communities that surround it as treasures that need to be protected."

Today, Durbin and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan outlining steps the agency should immediately incorporate into GLRI, including:

Increase the share of GLRI grants to communities of color, indigenous and low-income communities to better align the program with the President's Justice40 Initiative;
Publicly report the percent and amount of GLRI funds annually for communities of color, indigenous, and low-income communities;
Prioritize environmental justice and contracting with disadvantaged businesses in the award and selection of grants and grantees;
Expand and prioritize community engagement with underserved communities;
Use existing authorities to the maximum extent practicable to waive cost-share requirements, lowering the financial barriers for projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities;
"I am grateful for Senator Durbin's continued leadership, to not only protect our lake and shoreline, but to prioritize historically marginalized, neglected and under-served communities," said State Representative Buckner. "My colleagues and I in the General Assembly stand poised to partner with our Federal counterparts to drive home the fact that sustainable solutions for the Great Lakes that don't have equity and environmental justice at their core are not sustainable at all."

"Every single person who lives here depends on the Great Lakes," said Joel Brammeier, president & CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "Over a decade the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has successfully invested more than $3 billion in our lakes, but future needs loom large. Some Great Lakes communities bear more than a fair share of pollution, while climate change wreaks havoc on our waters. The next generation of Great Lakes investment should confront these challenges to ensure the Great Lakes are truly shared and available for all."

The Great Lakes make up more than 20 percent of the world's available surface fresh water supply. Congress authorized the GLRI in 2010 to allow the EPA to provide funding to States, Tribes, local governments and entities, and federal agencies to undertake efforts to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Since the beginning of the GLRI program, Illinois has received more than $270 million for 279 projects.

Last year, Durbin worked with the Great Lakes Task Force to pass the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act, which increased GLRI's authorization from $300 million to $375 million and by $25 million annually until it reaches $475 million in FY26.

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