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  • Copies of President Barack Obama's fiscal 2013 federal budget arrive at the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday. The Associated Press

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February 13, 2012

Obama seeks $300M for lakes cleanup

Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY — A federal push to heal the ailing Great Lakes would get another $300 million for fighting Asian carp, cleaning polluted harbors and making progress on other long-festering environmental problems under the budget President Barack Obama submitted Monday.

Congress has appropriated $1.075 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative during the first three years of Obama's presidency. The most recent installment has yet to be spent. But money from the program's first two years has been divided among more than 600 projects across the region, from monitoring beaches for bacteria to researching how nuisance algae might be spreading deadly botulism among shore birds.

"We're very pleased that the president is keeping restoration on track in the Great Lakes," said Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

During his 2008 campaign, Obama called for devoting $5 billion to Great Lakes restoration over 10 years. To fulfill that goal would require annual installments of $500 million. Obama came up with $475 million his first year in office. But since then, the totals have dropped to about $300 million a year.

"The longer we wait, the more expensive it gets, so we'll always hope for more," Skelding said. "But given the budget challenges on a broader scale, we're happy to be moving forward."

The initiative was developed from a wish list crafted by scientists, advocacy groups, state officials and tribal representatives. It identified the Great Lakes' biggest environmental threats, including invasive species, toxic hot spots, urban and farm runoff and shrinking wildlife habitat.

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