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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing plans for the next phase of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The effort began in 2010 and has funded more than 4,000 improvement projects totaling $2.4 billion.
The next phase is set to begin in September and be carried out over the next five years. It’s moving forward despite President Trump’s initial plan to de-fund it.
Lawmakers fought to have funding restored, but Senator Sherrod Brown said the president’s view of the project is a concern.
Brown says president's position a concern
“It doesn’t help in the long-term plan to have a president of the United States that’s hostile to the plan and hostile apparently to the people that depend on the great lake.”
In its next phase, the Initiative plans work to rid toxic substances from areas of concern, control invasive species, and promote conservation practices that can reduce farm runoff. Phosphorus from farm fertilizer has been linked to algal blooms in Lake Erie.
You can submit a comment on the plan here through Friday, May 24.
A draft of the plan is available below.
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