Emanuel, Kirk unveil Great Lakes Restoration Fund
U.S. Representatives Rahm Emanuel and Mark Kirk on July 2 announced the Great Lakes Restoration Fund, a bipartisan bill that will establish a fund for Great Lakes revitalization. The event took place at North Avenue Beach House, 1603 N. Lake Shore Dr.
The Great Lakes and their connecting channels form the largest freshwater system on Earth. Thirty years after passage of the U.S. Clean Water Act, Great Lakes water quality has improved, but the Lakes remain unhealthy for wildlife and people, and there is clear and convincing evidence that the ecosystem is deteriorating. For example, there were a record 897 beach closings in 2002 on Lake Michigan alone.
In the mid-1990s, the Everglades, the source of freshwater for much of the state of Florida, faced a threat similar to the one the Great Lakes face now. Congress quickly responded with the creation of a massive $8 billion restoration effort. Building on that successful model, the bill would restore the largest fresh water ecosystem on earth and the source of drinking water for 28 million people. The Great Lakes Restoration Fund would establish a funding source through block grants for Lakes restoration and revitalization.
Specifically, the Fund would:
Ensure the economic and ecologic sustainability of the Lakes;
Clean up toxic hot spots;
Combat invasive species;
Control pollution from urban and agricultural runoff;
Restore and conserve wetlands and critical coastal habitat; and
Increase public education of Great Lakes issues.
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