For immediate release: April 26, 2016

Contact: Tim Eder, [email protected] }
Office: 734-971-9135; Cell: 734-604-7281

Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission today applauded the unanimous passage of the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act (H.R. 223) by the U.S. House of Representatives and urged the Senate to move on similar legislation awaiting action there. The bill passed by the House would authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) at $300 million annually. The GLRI is a successful and popular program that is helping states and local communities clean up degraded toxic hotspots, restore habitat for fish and wildlife, thwart Asian carp and other invasive species, and prevent polluted runoff that closes beaches and causes harmful algal blooms in the eight-state Great Lakes region. In January, similar legislation passed out of committee in the Senate.

“The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is generating important economic and environmental improvements in communities across the region,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “So far 2,900 restoration projects have been implemented, but more work is needed to complete our restoration program, which is projected to generate $50 billion in long-term economic benefits for our region. I thank the House for their leadership in sustaining the GLRI into the next administration and urge the Senate to take action by either taking up the House-passed bill or the Senate legislation immediately.”

GLRI efforts have been underway since 2010, funded annually by the program’s inclusion in the President’s budget and with broad bipartisan support from Congress. The bills approved by the House and Senate committee will remove the annual uncertainty and help ensure continued support for the program by the next administration. Securing stand-alone authorization for the initiative is a top priority for the Great Lakes Commission and many other regional organizations.

Eder added that “this legislation will provide a solid legislative platform to ensure our region continues to work together successfully to implement a science-based plan of action for restoring and protecting the Great Lakes as a natural treasure and vital economic asset.”

# # #

The Great Lakes Commission, led by chairman Jon Allan, director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, is an interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.