President Obama Great Lakes Change - landmark cleanup bill

This was a bipartisan accomplishment, set in motion during President George W. Bush's administration when Great Lakes shippers, environmentalists, fishermen and recreational boaters created an ambitious restoration blueprint calling for investments from U.S. and Canadian governments, states and provinces and the private and nonprofit sectors...Without fanfare, President Barack Obama has OK'd a large cash infusion to help clean up the Great Lakes, quietly signing a bill that was years in the making and marks a rare bipartisan milestone.

"President Obama is committed to protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and recognizes this is a shared effort in partnership with regional leadership," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said. "The Administration is very encouraged that the funding the president requested for the Great Lakes restoration initiative was in the final Interior Appropriations bill as it will help to improve water quality and reduce pollution in the nation's largest system of fresh water." ...It had to be signed by the end of last week or the government would not be able to pay its bills, since Congress has not yet approved all the spending for the current fiscal year and the old resolution was expiring. So Obama signed it, barely 24 hours after the Senate took the last legislative step. While senators, environmental groups and reporters were expecting word from the White House on a signing ceremony or Great Lakes kickoff event, the president's signature was already dry.

...It will mean about $146 million can be spent in the next year to clean toxic sediment and areas of concern, including the lower Cuyahoga River, while $60 million more can go toward removing zebra mussels, keeping out Asian carp and dealing with other invasive species that threaten marine life, shipping and recreation, according to figures in Obama's budget. Another $97 million will go to reduce runoff and contamination from entering streams and rivers from farms and industry, while $105 million will help restore habitat and wildlife, including building the populations of lake trout, brook trout, lake sturgeon and piping plover. Finally, the budget has $65 million for accountability and monitoring.

That's what makes this news "a huge deal," Meyer said Monday. "This is the first time ever that a president has given substantial money to the Great Lakes."

The spending bill also contains $3.4 billion for drinking water and sewer improvements acround the nation. It has another $4 million to add 635 acres to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Summit County.

"This is a great day for the Great Lakes and the people who depend on them for their jobs and their way of life," said Jeff Skelding of the National Wildlife Federation.

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