Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grants Documenting Continued Improvements
Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition
Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grants Documenting Continued Improvements
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (June 6, 2024)—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 supports continued auditing of federal programs, as they are essential to continue to improve successful programs like the GLRI. Overall, the report found no gross financial mismanagement, rather, recommendations primarily focused on issues with reporting and training structures. These are problems across government programs due to insufficient funding for staff capacity and training, further showcasing the need for continued - and increased - funding for core functions of federal programs like the GLRI.
The report also emphasized the need for EPA to better track and report how projects help contribute to meeting the GLRI’s environmental justice goals. The Coalition, along with other organizations in the region, has been advocating for a stronger emphasis on environmental injustice within the GLRI Action Plans, most recently within the drafting of Action Plan IV, which is set to come out this fall.
“The report affirms that the EPA is running a successful program. Like with anything, it can do better,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “Over the last several years, the EPA has committed itself to targeting the region’s biggest environmental challenges and prioritizing areas hit hardest by pollution. We are glad to see this reflected in the recently released draft of the Great Lakes Action Plan IV, but we need to do more. We will keep advocating for EPA and the other federal agencies to make a strong program even stronger so that it can help the people and communities most impacted by environmental harm.”
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 180 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads @HealthyLakes.
