WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown today announced more than $250,000 in new federal funding to install green infrastructure projects in Mentor that will help improve the health of Lake Erie. The City of Mentor was awarded the funding by the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Shoreline Cities grant program. 

“Ohio’s shoreline cities are leading our ongoing efforts to improve the health of Lake Erie. This significant investment will allow our shoreline cities to pursue infrastructure that will help clean up the lake and protect the water supply.”

The City of Mentor will use the $250,000 award to install 30,000 square feet of porous pavement and construct 2,000 square feet of bioswale at the Mentor Lagoons Marina and Nature Preserve to help prevent the discharge of approximately 860,000 gallons of untreated stormwater per year into Mentor Marsh and Lake Erie.

The EPA’s GLRI Shoreline Cities grant program aims to give communities the resources they need to fund infrastructure projects that will improve the water quality of the Great Lakes.

Brown recognizes the importance of preserving our Great Lakes. Earlier this year, Brown cosponsored the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act (GLEEPA), bipartisan legislation that would protect the Great Lakes by formally authorizing the GLRI. Last year, Brown helped secure more than $300 million in bipartisan Omnibus Bill funds for the GLRI. After the release of President Obama’s budget proposal which recommends a reduction in GLRI funding from $300 million to $250 million, Brown again highlighted the importance of the program.

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