Materials from the 2024 Fall Fly-in

This week the EPA removed New York’s Rochester Embayment Area of Concern on the shore of Lake Ontario from the list of most-contaminated sites in the Great Lakes region, drawing praise from the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

Hundreds of advocates for the Great Lakes are preparing to gather in Chicago, Illinois, September 26-27, for the 2024 Great Lakes Conference, put on by the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations released its proposed fiscal year 2025 Interior and Environment funding bills. The Republican budget being considered would hold Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding at $368 million (level with current funding) but would eviscerate other core clean water programs by cutting the EPA budget by 20 percent.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and 48 of our member organizations urged House appropriations subcommittees to support robust funding for Great Lakes restoration and clean water priorities in their Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations bills.

A recent audit by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General found that Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants supported the EPA’s program goals for the Great Lakes, overall, but could benefit from improved monitoring and reporting.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is supporting the EPA’s new draft five-year plan to oversee federal investments to restore and protect the Great Lakes and the interconnected waters that feed it – waters that more than 42 million people depend on for their drinking water, health, and quality of life.

New bipartisan federal legislation boosting investments in Great Lakes restoration and protection advanced out of a U.S. Senate committee today, paving the way for the full chamber to vote on legislation authorizing $500 million to be spent annually to clean up toxic pollution, curb farm and urban runoff, restore habitat, and confront invasive species.