Federal Grants to Clean Up Lake, Beaches Awarded
By Staff in News on Aug 17, 2011 2:00PM
Despite looming budget rollbacks threatening to deepen recent cuts in environmental funding, the faucet remains open for President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded nearly $2.7 million in grants Monday to organizations and agencies in Illinois under the initiative, including $1.1 million to the Chicago Park District to clean up city beaches.
These awards, announced at Chicago’s 12th Street beach, are among 70 grants totaling nearly $30 million EPA is presenting this year. EPA says it will announce additional awards across the Great Lakes basin in coming weeks; Funds for conservation programs in Indiana and northern Michigan have already been announced.
Lake Michigan’s problems go beyond Asian carp. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District dumped nearly 19 billion gallons of bacteria-laden stormwater into the lake between 2007 and 2010, according to records obtained by the Tribune. Toxic chemicals discharged from industrial sites along the lakefront have also contributed to water quality concerns, expected to worsen with the onset of climate change.
Last week Sen. Mark Kirk played the role of disappointed parent to the Great Lake, issuing an overall water quality grade of C on his Lake Michigan Report Card. In 2008, Obama proposed $5 billion over five years to clean-up the Great Lakes and prevent the spread of invasive species. Congress signed off on an environmental bill authorizing $475 million of that pledge the following year. In 2004, The Bush administration established the Great Lakes Inter-Agency Task Force, composed of members from 10 government offices, to coordinate federal and bi-national restoration efforts.
The Great Lakes contain about 90 percent of the nation’s freshwater and provide drinking water to more than 26 million people along the U.S.-Canadian border. Eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario maintain roughly 6,500 miles of shoreline along the five lakes.
— Chris Bentley