Press Release of Senator Feingold

FEINGOLD BACKS GREAT LAKES RESTORATION

Bipartisan Group of Senators Pushes for Full Funding for Restoration Efforts

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is part of a bipartisan group of senators supporting an effort to fully fund Great Lakes restoration efforts.  In a letter led by Carl Levin (D-MI) and George Voinovich (R-OH) to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Feingold and the other senators stated that the funding was crucial to fighting invasive species, pollution, contaminated sediment and habitat loss.  The senators are requesting that the full $475 million included in the president’s budget for the restoration efforts be allocated in the final appropriations bill.  The funding would be used for a new inter-agency initiative to address problems such as invasive species, non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment.  This initiative will coordinate the work of states and private organizations working to improve the health of the Great Lakes.    

“The health of the Great Lakes is vital to the economy and environment of Wisconsin and we must do everything we can to protect these incredible natural resources,” Feingold said.  “We must invest now to address the numerous threats facing the Great Lakes including pollution, invasive species and habitat loss and to ensure they continue to be an asset to the region for generations to come.”  

In their letter, the senators wrote that “according to some scientific views, the Great Lakes are at a tipping point.  Failure to protect and restore the lakes now will result in more serious consequences.  Knowing the importance of the Great Lakes, over 1,500 federal, state, local, tribal and other stakeholders from the region spent over a year drafting the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy Report in 2005.”  

The restoration effort is supported by the Alliance for Great Lakes, Council of Great Lakes Industries, the Great Lakes Commission, Great Lakes United, National Wildlife Federation, Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, Council of Lake Committees, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Council of Great Lakes Fishery Agencies, Ducks Unlimited, Great Lakes Metropolitan Chambers Coalition, National Parks Conservation Association and The Nature Conservancy.

Feingold has an extensive record of supporting Great Lakes restoration efforts:

  • Feingold is the author of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would undo two Supreme Court decisions that weakened the 1972 law regulating the destruction and pollution of wetlands and streams that are critical to both the quality and quantity of the Great Lakes’ water.  The bill recently passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.  
  • Last year, Feingold supported passage of the Great Lakes Legacy Reauthorization Act, which was later signed into law to help clean up harbors and tributaries in the Great Lakes, including the Milwaukee Estuary, Sheboygan River, Menominee River, St. Louis River and Bay, and Lower Green Bay and Fox River.  
  • Feingold also played an important role in the passage of the Great Lakes Compact, which protects the Great Lakes from increased water withdrawals.  On July 30th, 2008, Feingold held a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which contributed to the Senate’s swift passage of the measure two days later.  
  • Feingold is also continuing his support for legislation to help prevent Asian carp, a harmful invasive species, from entering the Great Lakes.  Feingold is a cosponsor of the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act to prevent the invasive species from harming native species, destroying native plants and wreaking havoc on commercial fishing spots in the Great Lakes.

A copy of the letter can be viewed here.