U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
Great Lakes Cleanup Projects Get New
Direction
Contact: Dale Kemery (202)
564-4355 / kemery.dale@epa.gov
(Washington, D.C. - April 25, 2006) How and where contaminated sediment will be
cleaned up in the Great Lakes is the subject of a new rule announced today by
the Environmental Protection Agency. Acting under the authority of the Great
Lakes Legacy Act, the agency has outlined how projects will be identified,
selected and evaluated to clean up the sediment and reverse the environmental
harm to Great Lakes rivers and harbors.
"The Great Lakes Legacy Rule is our roadmap for selecting the best, priority
cleanup projects and leveraging public and private dollars to accelerate
environmental progress," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H.
Grumbles.
The cleanup of such "areas of concern" has been a priority of the Great Lakes
Regional Collaboration. The result will be healthier aquatic habitat and cleaner
water for fish, wildlife and the 35 million residents of the Great Lakes
region. Proposed funding for this effort has quintupled in four years.
Congress appropriated $9.9 million in fiscal year 2004, $22.3 million in 2005,
and $29.6 million in 2006 for Legacy Act cleanups. The president has requested
$49.6 million in the proposed 2007 budget.
Additional funding comes from state and local partners, who contribute at least
a 35 percent match for each project. A request for projects will be issued
within 90 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. Proposals
may be submitted at any time.
Contaminated sediment is a significant problem in the Great Lakes basin. The
United States and Canada have designated 41 areas of concern. In recent years,
state and federal agencies have worked with local communities to clean up
sediment through dredging and disposal, capping the contaminated material with
clean material, allowing natural recovery of the materials in place, or a
combination. From 1997-2004, approximately 3.7 million cubic yards of
contaminated sediment were remediated from the Great Lakes Basin.
Projects that have received funding under the program include the Ashtabula
River in northeast Ohio; the Black Lagoon in the Detroit River; Ruddiman Creek
in Muskegon, Mich., and Hog Island, near Superior, Wis.
More information on Great Lakes Legacy Act:
http://www.epa.gov/glla/
More information on Contaminated Sediments Program:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/sediments.html
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