Great Lakes Funding

 

  I noticed the announcement above and it reminded me that recently President Biden and the EPA announced that $1 Billion is going to be spent on cleaning up the Great Lakes. Let's hope it is not too late. One would think that the water in Lake Superior would be superior to the water in the others, but apparently there are problems even in that lake which is farther from the big cities.  The announcement was made in Lorain, Ohio and one of the Areas of Concern being addressed is the Maumee River near Toledo which is a major contributor to the algae bloom close by us in Lake Erie.

   The $1 Billion is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and to make it palatable to some of the very partisan members of Congress promises had to be made that the result would be more than just cleaner water. The economic spin-off can be substantial: In 2018, an independent economic study from the Great Lakes Commission and the University of Michigan found that every Great Lakes Restoration Initiative dollar spent produces an additional $3.35 of economic activity. For older industrial cities, including AOCs such as Buffalo and Detroit, the study found that there may be more than $4 in additional economic activity for each federal dollar spent. A 2020 analysis of the Great Lakes determined that the region supports more than 1.3 million jobs, generating $82 billion in wages annually.

  I did not notice much of a reaction on this side of the lakes. Perhaps most Canadians were more worried about the shutdown of Line 5, the rupture of which could really dirty the lakes. Canadian Press did take notice and this was found in the Toronto Star: "Biden's Billion-Dollar Cleanup Pledge Puts Great Lakes Back in the Environmental Spotlight," James McCarten, March 9.

"Joe Biden, facing a Republican reckoning in November's midterm elections, marked one year since his inauguration with a vow to get out of the White House and brag a little more about his legislative wins….So it was, then, that Biden found himself in Lorain, Ohio, last month, announcing plans to spend no less than US$1 billion on what he called the most significant restoration of the resource "in the history of the Great Lakes." The effort will target 22 of the 25 problem areas, known as "areas of concern," on the U.S. side of the lakes -- a level of commitment that experts, advocates and activists have been clamouring for since the 1990s and beyond."That's a huge thing, you know?" said John Hartig, a U.S.-born conservation scientist who's currently serving as a visiting scholar at the University of Windsor's Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research. Hartig, widely hailed as one of the world's leading experts on Great Lakes remediation, grew up in Detroit before becoming the first graduate to earn a PhD at the institute more than 35 years ago. "Money makes this go, right? You need resources to do it, you can't just talk about it. So these are pretty significant investments."

The same is true on the Canadian side -- and hopes are high that the latest levels of ambition in the U.S. will increase pressure on the federal and Ontario governments to finally finish what they started.
It's happening already: Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault visited Hamilton Harbour on Wednesday to announce major progress on Randle Reef, long the single most polluted area of concern on the Canadian side of the lakes."

Sources:
   This is the news release: "President Biden, EPA Announce $1 Billion Investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Will Significantly Accelerate Cleanup and Restoration of Great Lakes: EPA Projects Work to Be Completed at 22 of 25 Remaining Great Lakes “Areas of Concern” by 2030, Feb. 17, 2022.
   GreatLakesNow provided the Associated Press story: "Biden Infrastructure Plan Gives $1 Billion For Great Lakes Cleanup," Feb. 18, 2022.
"The lakes provide drinking water for 40 million people and underpin the economy in eight Northeastern and Midwestern states and two Canadian provinces. They fueled a 20th century industrial boom that generated wealth and jobs but caused ecological devastation."
 For Canadian Areas of Concern see: "Great Lakes: Areas of Concern."
 I live close to two of the lakes so Mulcahy's Miscellany often has material about them. See, for example, North Of Long Tail (Lake Erie) which also has links to some of the other posts.

The Bonus:
   Here are the "Top Five Great Lakes Stories of 2021."
1. Canada and Ontario mark 50th anniversary of Great Lakes agreement
2. New partnership to publish community water monitoring data from Great Lakes region
3. Great Lakes communities to spend $2 billion combatting climate change
4. Partnership aims to bolster coastal resiliency along Great Lakes communities
5. Circular Great lakes launches to combat plastic pollution.