Hearing of the Senate Committee on Enviornment and Public Works: Great Lakes Resotoration

Hearing of the Senate Committee on Enviornment and Public Works: Great Lakes Resotoration

HEARING STATEMENT [AS PREPARED] -- ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: GREAT LAKES RESTORATION

Good morning. I appreciate the opportunity to be here this morning. It's good to see such a strong showing of Great Lakes supporters. I believe that our interest stems from the fact that the Lakes are such an extraordinary treasure for our region and the country.

The Great Lakes are a unique natural resource that needs to be protected for future generations. They hold one-fifth of the world's surface freshwater, cover more than 94,000 square miles, and drain more than twice as much land. Over 30 of the Basin's biological communities - and over 100 species - are globally rare or found only in the Great Lakes Basin.

The 637 state parks in the region accommodate more than 250 million visitors each year. The Great Lakes are significant to the eight states and two Canadian provinces that border them, as well as to the millions of other people around the country who fish in the Lakes, visit the parks surrounding the them, or use products that are affordably shipped to them via the Lakes.

Unfortunately, the Great Lakes remain in a degraded state. A 2003 GAO report said the following:

"Despite early success in improving conditions in the Great Lakes Basin, significant environmental challenges remain, including increased threats from invasive species and cleanup of areas contaminated with toxic substances that pose human health threats."

Many scientists affirm that the Great Lakes show signs of stress from a combination of sources, such as toxic contaminants, invasive species, nutrient loading, shoreline and upland land use changes, and hydrologic modifications. A 2005 report from a group of Great Lakes scientific experts says this:

"Historical sources of stress have combined with new ones to reach a tipping point, the point at which ecosystem-level changes occur rapidly and unexpectedly, confounding the traditional relationships between sources of stress and the expected ecosystem response."

You cannot see the threats to the Lakes just by looking at them. The zebra mussels - an aquatic invasive species - cause $500 million per year in economic and environmental damage in the Great Lakes. One study found that since 1990 - the year that zebra mussels really began to take hold -- Lake Michigan's yellow perch population has decreased by about 80 percent! In 2000, seven people died after pathogens entered the Walkerton, Ontario, drinking water supply from the Lakes, and in May of 2004, more than 10 billion gallons of raw sewage and stormwater were dumped into the Great Lakes. In that same year, over 1,850 beaches in the Great Lakes were closed.

Each summer, Lake Erie develops a 6,300 square mile dead zone. There is no noticeable natural reproduction of lake trout in the lower four lakes. More than half of the Great Lakes region's original wetlands have been lost, along with 60 percent of the forests. And, wildlife habitat has been destroyed, diminishing opportunities for fishing, hunting, and other outdoor recreation.

Because of the growing number of ecological threats facing the Great Lakes and with some encouragement from those of us in the Great Lakes region, the President issued an Executive Order in 2004, calling for a Great Lakes Regional Collaboration of National Significance. This process brought together people from all types of backgrounds to come up with a vision for the Great Lakes.

Approximately 1,500 people came together last year and adopted a set of recommendations for federal, state, tribal, and local actions to help restore the Great Lakes to a healthier ecosystem. Using those recommendations, Senator Carl Levin and I, as well as our colleagues in the House, are introducing a bill to implement those recommendations:

Our bill would do several things:

• It would reduce the threat of non-native species invading the Great Lakes through ballast water and other pathways. The bill targets the Asian carp and would authorize the Corps of Engineers to improve the dispersal barrier project and prohibit the importation or interstate commerce of live Asian carp.

• It would address threats to fish and wildlife habitat by reauthorizing the Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Restoration Act, a current program that provides grants to states and tribes.

• The bill would reauthorize the State Revolving Loan Fund and provide $20 billion over five years to assist communities with the critical task of upgrading and improving their wastewater infrastructure.

• The bill would authorize $150 million per year for contaminated sediment cleanup at Areas of Concern under the Great Lakes Legacy program. It also would provide the EPA with greater flexibility in implementing the program by allowing the EPA to disburse funds to the non-federal sponsor of a Legacy Act project.

• The bill would establish a new grant program within the EPA called the "Great Lakes Mercury Product Stewardship Strategy Grant Program" to phase-out mercury in products.

• The bill would improve existing research programs and fill the gap where work is needed. We need baseline data to understand how the Lakes are changing and where improvements are succeeding.

• The bill would authorize NOAA to restore and remediate waterfront areas. Projects would require a non-federal partner, who would provide at least a 35 percent cost-share. Individual projects may not cost more than $5 million.

• Finally, the bill would establish the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force and the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration process to coordinate and improve Great Lakes programs.

Mr. Chairman, today's hearing is a great opportunity to bring attention to one of our Nation's natural treasures and the resources that will be needed to keep the Great Lakes protected for future generations. Through the work of the Great Lakes Task Force and the efforts of other members, like you, in holding these hearings, we have been able to make positive changes on the Lakes. Unfortunately, more work is needed. I hope that this Committee is able to move legislation that will help protect and restore the Great Lakes because the Lakes need attention and action now.

Thank you.

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