MERRILLVILLE | Protection and restoration of the Great Lakes could get a major infusion of new funding if Congress approves President Barack Obama's 2010 federal budget. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants input on what kinds of "on-the-ground" projects that money could fund even before Congress OKs the budget.
The proposed $475 million Obama requested for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is drawing standing-room-only crowds at public meetings hosted by the EPA in the eight states bordering the five Great Lakes.
Environmentalists, municipal representatives and business owners from as far away as Elkhart County packed the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's northwest office in Merrillville on Thursday evening. And Wednesday's meeting in Chicago attracted dozens of participants from such groups as Save the Dunes, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Sierra Club and the Great Lakes Boating Federation.
All the proposed money would be funneled through the EPA and shared with 16 federal agencies working on Great Lakes projects. Of the proposed amount, $250 million would be available in grants to target the most significant problems in the region, including invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment.
The grants would be competitive and would be available to states, tribes, cities and local governments and organizations including environmental groups and universities.
The remaining funds would be added to the budgets of the federal agencies and used to continue projects already benefiting the Great Lakes, said Gary Gulezian, director of the EPA's Great Lakes program office based in Chicago.
The EPA would receive $60 million for continuation of that agency's existing Great Lakes budget.
"This is an exciting development to possibly have significant new resources for protection and restoration of the Great Lakes," Gulezian told meeting participants in Merrillville.
"This has been a long time in the coming and based on the work of a lot of people over the years," he said "It is potentially extraordinary."
The House of Representatives passed the $475 million budget proposal. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee provides only $400 million. That actual amount will come from a conference committee of both houses of Congress, Gulezian said.
Although the funding currently is proposed only for the fiscal year 2010, Gulezian said, "We're talking about a multiyear action plan." In addition, many of the grants will not require non-federal matching funds.
Gulezian said groups seeking grants are asked to submit Requests for Projects to the EPA to demonstrate to Congress that projects are ready "to hit the ground running."
COMMENTS BEING SOUGHT
The EPA is accepting public comments through Aug. 19 through mail or online.
-- To comment online, visit http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/glri/outreach.html.
-- Mail comments to U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, Attention: Anthony Kizlauskas.
