Echo

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative meeting in East Lansing, Mich., tonight; State Area of Concern officials plan strategy Tuesday

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By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Aug. 3, 2009

Environmental Protection Agency officials are coming to Michigan tonight to discuss how the Obama Administration’s proposed $475 million to clean up the Great Lakes should be spent. The two-hour public meeting starts at 5 p.m. at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center, 55 S. Harrison Ave. in East Lansing. This is the seventh hearing in a series of eight – one was designated in each of the Great Lakes states.

Echo

Great Lakes toxic hot spots could get restoration boost from GLRI

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Editors note: Congress is considering a $475 million appropriation for Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Andrew McGlashen
amcglashen@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 31, 2009
A plan to spend $147 million to restore Great Lakes toxic hotspots is inspiring cautious optimism among those involved in a long and often frustrating cleanup process.

Echo

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative may restore fish passages, habitats

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Editors note: Congress may invest $475 million this year in Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas or suggest your own on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
July 24, 2009

Old hydropower dams and roadways that cross streams can keep Great Lakes fish from traveling upstream to spawn.

Echo

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could play major role in Great Lakes habitat restoration

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Editors note: Congress may invest $475 million this year in Great Lakes cleanup. This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for spending it. Weigh in on this and other ideas on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Jeff Gillies
jeffgillies@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
July 23, 2009

A federal agency better known for dredging harbors than building wetlands could soon have a bigger stake in restoring Great Lakes habitats.

Echo

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative may battle beach bacteria

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Editors note: Congress is considering a $475 million appropriation for Great Lakes cleanup.  This story is part of an occasional look at proposals for how to spend it.  Is this an appropriate use of these funds? Weigh in on this and other ideas or suggest your own on Echo’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative forum. Other stories. By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
July 21, 2009

Getting buried in the sand at the beach is a childhood rite-of-passage that could have negative consequences. Children could also be playing with bacteria and viruses that can lead to vomiting or diarrhea.

Echo

Congress pushed to OK Great Lakes aid

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(OH) Toledo Blade – Representatives of Great Lakes industry, environment, government, and policy groups yesterday called on Congress to approve President Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget plan because it contains a provision to set aside $475 million to restore the lakes, collectively the world’s largest source of fresh surface water.  

The breakdown would include $146 million for removing toxic sediment from tributaries and harbors polluted enough to be listed as “areas of concern”; $105 million to protect wildlife and their habitat; $97 million for near-shore health and pollution prevention that could, among other things, improve beaches; $65 million to evaluate and monitor overall progress, and $60 million to stave off the influx of exotic species. More

Echo

Great Lakes groups urge passage of Obama cleanup plan; cite jobs, environment benefits

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By Allison Bush, bushalli@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
May 14, 2009

Regional environmental and economic groups on Thursday urged Congress to quickly approve President Barack Obama’s proposed allocation of $475 million to restore and protect the Great Lakes. “This initiative, from our perspective, is the exact priorities the Great Lakes need, and the right amount,” said Andy Buchsbaum, co-chair of Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. The proposal allocates the most money – $146 million – to cleaning toxic substances from contaminated sediments. Other funding would go to keeping out and removing invasive species, preventing pollution, improving near-shore health and protecting habitat and wildlife. The president has not identified specific geographic regions that would receive the funding.