Sen. Schumer Announces $475 Million For Great Lakes Initiative

Federal Dollars Will Clean Up Great Lakes, Reduce Beach Closures, Boost Economic Development & Tourism

October 29, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the 2010 Interior Appropriations will include $475 million for President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to clean up the Great Lakes and Rochester’s beaches and allow the area’s tourism and fishing industry to thrive.

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Poor water conditions forced beaches in the Rochester region to be closed more often than they were opened this past summer, hampering the region’s economic growth by precluding the development of beach front resorts and tourist destinations, and preventing the fishing industry from living up to its full potential. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will be run by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and provide funding to local governments and environmental groups, as well as other federal agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO), to reduce pollution and invasive species in the Great Lakes. Rochester has been designated an Area of Concern (AOC) by the EPA, and will therefore receive a larger amount of funding through the program. In August, Schumer pushed Congress to fully fund the initiative and today announced that they will be funding it at the full $475 million.

“Lake Ontario has the potential to be even more of an economic catalyst but the region hasn’t been able to take full advantage of those benefits because of poor water quality," said Schumer. "Cleaning up the Great Lakes will allow the region’s fishing and tourism industry to grow, providing much needed jobs and millions of dollars in revenue. That is what I fought to fully fund the Great Lakes Initiative to restore our lakes, clean up our beaches and provide an economic shot in the arm to our fisheries and tourism industry.”

Rochester has been hard hit by problems with Lake Ontario’s water quality. Local beaches were closed more than they were open this year. As of September, Ontario Beach was closed a total of 34 out of 63 days due to high bacteria levels in the previous day’s water tests. Lake Ontario is also plagued with invasive species, such as lamprey and zebra mussels. At an event at Rochester City Hall in August, Schumer noted that the unpredictability of the water quality was precluding resorts from being developed along the shore, and hindering tourism because people do not want to take a risk visiting a beach that is closed half the time.

The President's 2010 Budget requested $475 million in EPA's budget for a new Environmental Protection Agency-led, interagency Great Lakes restoration initiative, to target the most significant problems in the region, including invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution, and contaminated sediment.

Today, after pushing Congress to fully find the initiative, Schumer announced that the final Interior Appropriations bill will include a total of $475 million to help clean up contaminated waters, treat and prevent invasive species prevent run-off and other pollution responsible for beach closures; and restore habitat that is the foundation of the region's outdoor recreational economy.

The program, which will be in place for the next five years, will focus on the following areas:

· Toxic substances, particularly in the agency's geographically fixed "areas of concern."

· Invasive species.

· Non-point source pollution and the health of nearshore environments.

· Wildlife and habitat restoration.

· Program administration, including accountability, monitoring and evaluation.

Much of the restoration work will be done through federal agencies, but local governments and NGO’s will have access to $250 million that will be distributed as grants. Such a distribution method will allow Rochester to tailor methods of pollution control to its needs. Schumer said that the funding is an important investment for communities along the Great Lakes – a recent study by the Brookings Institute showed that every dollar invested in cleaning up the lakes would yield $2 in savings and increased revenue through economic development.

Source: Senator Charles E. Schumer