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Water bill funds Great Lakes restoration efforts

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will be funded for another five years under the new Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act.

Victoria Pebbles with the Great Lakes Commission tells Brownfield the initiative provides additional sources of funding to compliment traditional programs.  “The GLRI has been able to complement existing farm bill programs and other state funding programs and connecting the dots so that these programs aren’t working in silos, they’re really able to leverage one another and build linkages outside of the agricultural community.”

The $1.5 billion-dollar authorization dedicates funding for cleaning up pollution, preventing and controlling invasive species, reducing nutrient loading, and protecting native species.

More than 3,000 projects in the 8-state Great Lakes Region, including Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, have been completed since it was established six years ago.

AUDIO: Interview with Victoria Pebbles