With the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act approved by the U.S. Senate, the Great Lakes are one step closer to becoming the beneficiary of another $1 billion to combat a host of related environmental problems.
A politically cooperative team of both Republican and Democrat senators have secured – at least for the moment – the one billion dollars for the Great Lakes Watershed.
The proposal passed the Senate August 10th. The bill moved over the House, but as of this writing that body had not taken up the matter. If the House approves than the bill will head to President Biden for his signature, and he has stated he will sign the measure.
Funding came from hard-won negotiations during the long-debated bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure proposal. And several of the senators who worked on reaching the trillion-plus dollar infrastructure agreement were also involved in developing the original Great Lakes Initiative, which was first passed in 1995 and has since been renewed.
In fact, the U.S. EPA says the revised Initiative “..is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. “
In April, Congress approved without any objections a five-year extension of the Initiative until 2026. And included is an annual increase in funding of from $300 million to $475 million by 2026.
Now there is likely going to be a bonus $1 billion. Thanks to the bipartisan effort that saw 19 of the Senate’s 50 Republicans sign on as supporting the measure.
Leading the cooperative venture was Ohio’s junior and retiring Republican Senator, Rob Portman. Along with Portman was Michigan’s senior senator, Democrat Debbie Stebenow.
Both of these two senator serve as co-chairs of the Senate’s Great Lakes Task Force.
Portman said in a prepared statement that he is pleased that new funding for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“With Senate passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we’ve taken another historic step in supporting Lake Erie and our Great Lakes,” Portman said.
“For our communities along Lake Erie, healthy water and ecosystems are the bedrock of a more resilient economy and more durable infrastructure,” Portman said, continuing.
“Lake Erie is an Ohio treasure that provides drinking water for millions of Ohioans, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, and draws millions of visitors each year. I will continue to fight to help preserve this treasure for future generations.”
To which, Stebenow agreed, applauding too that bipartisanship is not extinct in the Senate. Not when it comes to protecting the Great Lakes anyways.
“This is the single largest investment we’ve made in the Great Lakes and it’s great news,” Stabenow said in her prepared remarks.
“Republicans and Democrats worked together to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative because we know our precious Great Lakes aren’t just a key part of our economy, they are an important part of our way of life in Michigan and every other Great Lakes state. This transformative investment will help protect our Great Lakes for our children and grandchildren.”
In other Infrastructure Act recommendation is a $350-million grant program to fund the construction of roadway crossings. Such crossing are intended to help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, and allow for animals to successfully navigate traditional migration pathways that all-too-often are broken up by highways and other human-associated development.
Likewise, a bipartisan group of Senate proponents have worked to have earmarked $250 million for what’s known as the “Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program.” This money would go for helping maintain and repair the U.S. Forest Service’s network of roads and trails on such lands as the Wayne National Forest.
A leading Ohio conservation group singled out Portman for his relentless work in hammering out an agreement that would appeal to members on both sides of the partisan political divide.
Matt Misicka, Executive Director for the Ohio Conservation Federation, said in his remarks that “...the hundreds of GLRI-funded projects in Ohio since 2010 have helped combat invasive carp, restore critical riparian habitat, fight harmful algal blooms, and clean up toxic waste sites from Ashtabula to Toledo.”
“This restoration funding opens the door for more significant improvements for communities in the Lake Erie basin, which ultimately benefits the entire state of Ohio. We greatly appreciate Senator Portman’s leadership,” Misicka said.
By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com
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