WASHINGTON D.C.—Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that he is cosponsoring the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013 (GLEEPA), bipartisan legislation aimed at preserving the Great Lakes and bolstering economic growth throughout the Great Lakes region. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), is intended to protect the Great Lakes—and the millions of jobs they support—from a variety of ecological threats and invasive species.

“Protecting Lake Erie is about protecting Ohio’s drinking water and the thousands of fishing, boating, and recreation jobs that are dependent on clean and safe waters,” Brown said. “The Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013 is a bipartisan effort to ensure that the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie, are preserved for future generations to enjoy.”

“In addition, Congress must fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which over the years has helped keep our lake healthy for Ohioans to enjoy and has ensured that Lake Erie and its tributaries can continue to be utilized for commerce and shipping,” Brown continued.

According to the State of Ohio, more than $10 billion of the state’s nearly $40 billion tourism industry is derived from counties along the Lake Erie shoreline. Brown has long fought to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and protect Lake Erie. The GLRI is an interagency effort to target the most significant problems in the region and jumpstart restoration efforts to protect, maintain, and restore the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes. GLRI funding has helped support the removal of invasive species and plants in Ohio, funded the Toledo Harbor Sediment Management Plan, and provided resources for a comprehensive monitoring program to assess the nearshore Lake Erie water quality.

The Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013 would:

  • Authorize the GLRI and direct the implementation of recommendations presented in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy of 2005 and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan. The bill authorizes the appropriations for the GLRI at $475 million annually.
  • Reauthorize the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO), the primary office within the agency for handling Great Lakes matters, including the GLRI, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), the Great Lakes Legacy Program, Remedial Action Plans for Areas of Concern, and Lakewide Management Plans.
  • Reauthorize the Great Lakes Legacy Act, which was first authorized in 2002 and has been extremely successful at removing contaminated sediment from the U.S. Areas of Concern (AOC).
  • Authorize the Federal Interagency Task Force (IATF), which brings together eleven U.S. Cabinet and federal agency heads to coordinate restoration of the Great Lakes amongst the different agencies.
  • Authorize the Great Lakes Advisory Board (GLAB), which will provide advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator, as Chair of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, on matters pertaining to Great Lakes restoration and protection.

Last month, the Senate passed legislation to connect businesses and communities throughout Ohio with critical resources for maintenance, inspections, and upgrades to water infrastructure projects. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) also includes three bipartisan amendments introduced by Brown that would help slow the spread of Asian carp in the Ohio and Upper Mississippi River Basins, expedite projects like the Blanchard River Flood Mitigation Project (BRFRP), and utilize American-made steel and iron in water infrastructure projects.

Brown has long worked on a bipartisan basis to stop Asian carp from destroying the Great Lakes’ ecosystem. As the Senate debated WRDA in May, Brown and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan amendment, that passed by a vote of 95-0, that would help prevent the invasion of Asian carp in the Ohio River basin. The amendment to WRDA is based on the Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act, which the senators introduced earlier this year and would enable the federal government to have a more effective partnership with state and local entities that are working to slow the spread of Asian carp.

Although several federal agencies have been working to combat Asian carp, none have been designated as the lead agency to coordinate the federal response with state and local partners in the Ohio and Upper Mississippi River Basins. The Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act places the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in charge of coordinating a new federal multi-agency effort that includes the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Army Corps of Engineers. These agencies would provide high-level technical assistance, coordination, best practices, and other means of support to state and local governments that are working to protect economies and ecosystems in the Ohio River basin from Asian carp.

In June 2012, Brown helped to pass the Stop Invasive Species Act, which requires the expedited creation of a plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through a number of rivers and tributaries across the Great Lakes region. 

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