Feingold Calls for Great Lakes Restoration and Protection New Bill Aims to Improve Water Quality of World's Largest Fresh Water Source January 28, 2004 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is urging the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to hold a hearing on new legislation on environmental restoration of the Great Lakes. In a letter to Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Ranking Member Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Feingold and a group of his Senate colleagues cited important provisions in the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act, introduced by Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), that would protect the Great Lakes ecosystem. "The Great Lakes are a valuable environmental and economic asset to the United States," the letter read. "Preservation of this diverse ecosystem and maintenance of the water quality of the Great Lakes is of the utmost national importance." The bill would create a Great Lakes Advisory Board and Federal Advisory Council to coordinate the many agencies that oversee the Great Lakes. The legislation also establishes grants for state and local governments to assist with contaminated sediment cleanup, wetland restoration, invasive species control and prevention, coastal wildlife and fisheries habitat improvement, and water quality improvement. Finally, the bill would also create a federal monitoring system and data collection system for water quality in the Great Lakes area. "People across Wisconsin depend on the Great Lakes for everything from recreation to food and drinking water," Feingold said. "This bill would assist in the preservation and recovery of this vital natural resource." The Great Lakes system holds one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply and nine-tenths of the fresh water supply for the United States. The system is also the drinking water source for 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

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