MEMORAND
E
DUM OF SUPPORT
T
Great
G
Lakkes Restorration Iniitiative F
Funding
BACKGR
ROUND
Forty million people rely on the Great Lakes for their dr
drinking wateer, and milliions more beenefit
nd on the w
waters of the Great Lakees. Unfortunaately,
from the commerce and businesss that depen
the health
h of the Greeat Lakes con
ntinues to bee seriously th
threatened byy problems such as untrreated
sewage, toxic pollutiion, and inv
vasive speciees. The eighht states thatt border the Great Lakes and
numerou
us cities, tribes, and non--governmenttal organizat
ations have innvested a siignificant am
mount
of time and resourcces in preseerving these bodies of water. Addiitional fundding, however, is
U
the federal
f
goveernment conttinues to invvest in the laakes these pproblems wiill get
needed. Unless
worse an
nd the price we
w pay will be
b higher.
CATION
JUSTIFIC
While reestoration eff
fforts to datee have madee progress, ffederal fundding historically has nott kept
pace with
h the enormity of the prroblem. Overr $26 billionn is needed aaccording too the Great L
Lakes
Regionall Collaboratiion Strategy
y, yet Great Lakes progrrams over thhe last decade have received
only a small
s
fractio
on of that amount.
a
The
T region iis now embbarking on more signifficant
restoratio
on activities thanks to President
P
Obama’s Greeat Lakes R
Restoration Innitiative (GL
LRI).
Cleaning
g up the Greaat Lakes is not
n only critiical for the hhealth and qquality of life
fe of the regiion, it
will also drive econo
omic develop
pment – and jobs – in ouur nation forr years to com
me. Accordiing to
the Brookings Institu
ution, an inv
vestment of $26
$ billion tto restore thhe Great Lakkes will leadd to at
least $50
0 to $80 billlion in econ
nomic benefiit. That’s whhy the regioon’s chambeers of comm
merce,
industry, governors, mayors, trribes, and conservation
c
n organizatioons have unnited aroundd the
common goal of resto
oring the Grreat Lakes—
—the largest ssurface freshhwater resouurce on the pllanet.
ment to the Great Lakees by
Presidentt Obama reccognized the importancce of a fedeeral commitm
including
g a new $475
5 million Grreat Lakes Restoration
R
Innitiative in hhis inaugurall fiscal year 2010
budget. Congress
C
su
upported thee President’ss request byy fully fundding the GLR
RI in fiscal year
2010. Th
his support has
h energizeed the regio
on like at noo other timee and peoplee are responnding.
CCE urges continued
d strong fund
ding supportt for the Greaat Lakes Resstoration Iniitiative.
CITIZ
ZENS CAMP
PAIGN FOR
R THE ENVIIRONMENT
T STRONGL
LY SUPPOR
RTS FUNDIN
NG
THE GREA
AT LAKES RESTORAT
TION INITIIATIVE
Citizens Campaign
C
for the
t Environment is an 80,000
0 member non-p
-profit, non-parrtisan advocaccy organizationn that
works to
t protect publiic health and th
he environmennt in New York and Connecticcut.