Senate Passes Great Lakes Bill, Focus Shifts to House for Action
Senate Passes Great Lakes Bill, Focus Shifts to House for Action
Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition
Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Senate Passes Great Lakes Bill, Boosting Federal Investment
Focus shifts to U.S. House, which has yet to act.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 5, 2024)—The U.S. Senate last night passed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024, paving the way for the federal government to continue investing in actions through 2031 to clean up toxic pollution, restore fish and wildlife habitat, reduce runoff pollution, and combat invasive species—actions that are vital to the health of the lakes, which more than 42 million people depend on for their drinking water. The focus now shifts to the U.S. House, which has yet to act.
Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said: “We applaud the Senate for passing this bill, and we urge the House to act with urgency to ensure the nation maintains its commitment to protect and restore the drinking water source for more than 42 million people. Federal Great Lakes restoration investments have been producing results in local communities across the region, but serious threats remain. Increased funding for ongoing actions to protect our local waters is critical and will support the much-needed progress we’re making to restore the Great Lakes, thereby protecting our drinking water, public health, jobs, and quality of life.”
It is important that the House pass the bill in the remaining days of Congress, as a failure to act will mean that the Great Lakes congressional delegation will have to start from square one with a new Congress in January 2025.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition heralded the bill, which provides a critical increase in investment up to $475 million annually in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI); in comparison, Congress has invested $368 million in the current year for restoration actions. The GLRI has had widespread bipartisan support throughout its history, and the GLRI Act of 2024 has been no exception. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition would especially like to thank the members of the Great Lakes delegation who are leading the charge on this bill: U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), along with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and other Senate cosponsors, and in the House, U.S. Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), and Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan).
The GLRI has allowed the region to undertake one of the world’s most successful freshwater ecosystem restoration projects. Over the past decade the GLRI has improved lives across Great Lakes communities after decades of environmental damage threatened public health, the regional economy, ecosystems, and drinking water. Highlights include:
Over 8,100 restoration projects currently completed or underway;
1.8 million farmland acres have received assistance for nutrient management actions;
Over 6,700 river miles have been cleared of dams and barriers;
A greater than 3-to-1 return on investment, as revealed by a 2018 analysis;
7 Areas of Concern have been delisted and 9 have completed the actions necessary for delisting (Areas of Concerns are toxic hotspots and some of the most polluted areas in the region);
113 beneficial use impairments have been addressed (Beneficial Use Impairments are changes in the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the Great Lakes system sufficient to cause significant environmental degradation); and
Nearly 480,000 acres of habitat, including 72,000 acres of coastal wetlands have been enhanced, protected, and restored.
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 social media @HealthyLakes.
