Healing Our Waters Coalition » White House

President Obama to Release Budget February 13

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:34:18 +0000

The Obama Administration will release its fiscal year 2013 budget Monday, February 13, according to reports in media including the Washington Post, National Journal, USA Today, Politico, Bloomberg News and Reuters. By law, the president is to release its budget the first Monday in February.

The president’s budget serves as a framework for congressional budget process and helps set national priorities. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition will analyze the budget to determine the support of Great Lakes programs such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The coalition will host a briefing for reporters on the budget Wednesday, February 15. (Time to be determined.)

The coalition has worked to maintain funding for essential clean water programs. Congress approved $300 million for the fiscal year 2012 budget. President Obama’s previous three budgets have contained substantial funding for Great Lakes programs.

Commenting on the upcoming release of the President Obama’s budget, Jeff Skelding, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:

“The nation cannot afford not to protect the Great Lakes—they supply drinking water to more than 30 million people. Great Lakes restoration programs are already producing results, but there is more to do. If we cut funding now, it will only cost more later because projects will become more difficult and expensive the longer we wait.”

EPA Announces First of $30 Million in Great Lakes Restoration Grants

Jordan Lubetkin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:30:47 +0000

The U.S. EPA today announced the first of its 2011 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative awards, providing 11 grants to Ohio organizations totaling more than $4.5 million. In a press release, the EPA announced it will be awarding 70 awards for nearly $30 million over the next few weeks.

The Ohio awards include:

–$1,348,595, University of Toledo (Maumee River Area of Concern—Wolf Creek passive treatment wetland).
–$498,612, Wayne State University (Toledo Harbor invasive species early warning system pilot project).
–$242,837, Ohio Environmental Council (Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan public engagement).
–$331,669, The Nature Conservancy (Phragmites control on western Lake Erie shoreline).
–$151,000, Delta Institute (Cleveland and Toledo e-waste reduction).
–$425,160, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (Cuyahoga River Area of Concern debris management system).
–$369,472, Cleveland Metroparks (Invasive plant control in Cuyahoga River Basin).
–$294,693, Cleveland Metroparks (West Creek ecosystem restoration).
–$546,417, Ohio EPA (Lake Erie nutrient reduction).
–$177,688, Ohio EPA (Fish deformity analysis).
–$122,429, Ohio EPA (Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorus Task Force).

Responding to the announcement, Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:

“Today’s announcement is good news for people, communities and businesses. Efforts to restore the Great Lakes are already producing results. These grants will allow that effective work to continue. But there is still more work to be done.”

Read the full statement here.

The EPA’s announcement comes as the U.S. Congress works to craft a 2012 budget. The U.S. Congress funded the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 million in the 2011 budget. The 2012 House Interior and EPA spending bill includes $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative—along with several bad policy riders and funding cuts to core programs, prompting the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition to oppose the bill.

The EPA has not announced when it will award grants to recipients in other states.

Coalition to EPA Administrator Jackson: Restore Great Lakes Funding in 2013 Budget

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:35:49 +0000

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition last week sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, requesting the agency to restore to funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in the 2013 budget to $475 million.

President Obama and the U.S. Congress funded the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $475 million in the 2010 budget before seeking reductions in the program in the 2011 budget ($300 million requested by Obama Administration) and 2012 budget ($350 million requested by the Obama Administration).

The letter states:

“As you know, the $475 million in funding that President Obama and Congress provided in fiscal year 2010 for the GLRI has energized the region. Project by project, communities are benefiting from successful restoration activities in the form of increased economic benefits and better quality of life.”

The coalition is sending the letter to Administer Jackson now because federal agencies, believe it or not, will soon be crunching numbers and submitting recommendations to the president for fiscal year 2013 funding.

It’s important for the administration to hold the line against cuts to restoration programs that are producing results in communities across the region and restore funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

House Budget Undermines Restoration Efforts

It’s important for the Obama Administration to stand up for restoration programs, considering the uncertainty of clean water programs in the U.S. House of Representatives. Simply: Restoration programs are on thin ice in the 2012 budget. House leaders are trying to ram through cuts to programs that uphold water quality, prevent sewage contamination, protect public health and uphold a way of life for people in the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – and across the region.

As Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Water-Great Lakes Coalition said in an Ohio radio story today: “it’s a misguided attack on fundamental protections for public health, clean water, communities and people.”

The bottom line is that cuts to Great Lakes restoration programs will not save the nation money. Problems like sewage contamination and invasive species are only going to get worse and more costly if federal funding is cut. People expect clean water for drinking, safe beaches for swimming and healthy fish for eating. Americans do not have to sacrifice clean water and clean air to balance the books – and any politician who thinks as much does not belong in office.

Mayor to President Obama: ‘Fund Great Lakes Restoration Initiative’

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:54:36 +0000

The Grand Rapids Press is reporting the following encounter between President Barack Obama and Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, who was in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Annual Conference.

Heartwell said he was among a dozen mayors invited to the White House to personally meet the president. During his moment with Obama, Heartwell said he stressed the need to fund the “Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.”

Let’s hope that the President heeds the mayor’s advice and offers up a strong budget in February that continues to support Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery.

White House Makes Final Recommendations for Ocean Policy Task Force

tpache — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:41:54 +0000

The Obama Administration released the final recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force that sets up a national policy for the protection and restoration of the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes. The Task Force recommends establishing a National Ocean Council (NOC) that will govern policies addressing conservation, economics, sustainability and user conflict among the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.

The next step will be for the President to adopt the recommendations and issue an Executive Order. This effort will untangle a web of more than 140 various laws and regulations that are enforced by more than 20 agencies. In June 2009, President Obama ordered the Ocean Policy Task Force to develop a plan for protecting, maintaining and restoring this nation’s coastal waters. This week’s recommendations are the result.

Briefing on President’s Budget: Materials for Journalists

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:54:11 +0000

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is hosting a briefing for media on President Obama’s budget and the implications for Great Lakes restoration and economic recovery.

Read our take on the budget from our press release.

Here’s how much funding the eight Great Lakes states stand to receive from the national program to help communities update wastewater infrastructure.

The EPA has provided two documents to help you sort through the $475 initiative:

A breakdown of the plan by issue area.

Another that looks at the initiative based on agency responsibility.

The First One Hundred

tpache — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:05:34 +0000

Has it been 100 days already? It sure has and President Barack Obama has come through on many of his Great Lakes promises. Let’s see, he has set aside millions for a Great Lakes Interagency Restoration Initiative, hired Great Lakes lover Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff and he has called for the appointment of a Great Lakes Czar.

Not bad at all. Congress has agreed, so far, with the Presidents funding of the Great Lakes Initiative – that’s good. But we have yet to see the administration appoint this so called Great Lakes Czar – a person who will coordinate the restoration efforts and who we think should be within the Council on Environmental Quality and not the Environmental Protection Agency.

All in all, it looks like the President has used his first days in office to the benefit of the Great Lakes and we are very grateful. Still, we plan to continue in our vigilance until the budget is secure and someone is placed in the coordinators position.

HOW Coalition Presses For $475 Mill Restoration Effort

tpache — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:13:12 +0000

The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition doesn’t want anyone to doubt where we stand on President Barack Obama’s proposed $475 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. That is why we have sent letters of support to the US House, US Senate and the President. This is the first time a US President has made this kind of commitment to restoring our shared fresh water resource. We have to let them know we appreciate it and we have to ensure that Congress delivers on this promise. We’ll be watching the Congressional budget process closely to keep track of this all-important issue.

We’d Like To Thank You, President Obama

tpache — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:43:14 +0000

Talk about showing us the way; President Barack Obama is the first president to set aside money in his budget specifically for Great Lakes restoration. We can’t thank him enough for this historic $475 million commitment. Now, we must urge our members of Congress to include this budget line in their budget resolution. The Senate Budget Committee is holding a hearing today on the President’s Budget so the process is already underway. It is time to show this country’s political representatives that our region speaks with one voice when it comes to our Great Lakes and restoration cannot be put off any longer.

Great Lakes To Get $475 Million In Obama Budget

tpache — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:57:05 +0000

Just hours after Great Lakes advocates and officials left Washington, HOW learned that the Obama budget has set aside $475 million for a new “interagency Great Lakes restoration initiative.” Woo Hoo, yes we are giddy to say the least. This just goes to show Obama will be a real Great Lakes President.