The News Herald - Dave Joyce Introduces Great Lakes Cleanup, Restoration Legislation

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By John Arthur Hutchison

U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce stood Monday at Lake Metroparks Lake Erie Bluffs in Perry Township to announce a bill he planned to introduce that would aim to clean up and restore the Great Lakes region.

With Lake Erie in the background, Joyce, R-Russell Township, said the Great Lake Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013 would create jobs and improve the environmental quality of the region's greatest resource that supplies drinking water to more than 40 million people.In a bipartisan show of support, Joyce was joined by staff members from the office of U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights.

Representatives from Lake Metroparks, Ohio Environmental Council, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy in Ohio and Western Reserve Land Conservancy also spoke at the news conference.

"This is a comprehensive bill," Joyce said. "The purpose of the bill is to protect our Great Lakes and to boost the economy in the Great Lakes region. It will authorize five main programs and $600 million to accomplish these goals."

Specifically the legislation would:

- Authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that would provide $475 million annually toward cleanup efforts.

Joyce said these funds in the past helped to cleanup of 630,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment in the Ashtabula River.

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