Renner Barsella, renner.barsella@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Biden and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan announced yesterday plans to use $1 billion, allocated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to clean up and restore severely degraded sites throughout the Great Lakes region. The investment will target the most polluted sites, known as “Areas of Concern,” many of which are in environmental justice communities heavily burdened by toxic industrial legacies.
"The unprecedented commitment to funding restoration of the Great Lakes is another positive step towards accounting for the real cost of decades of industry treating one fifth of the world's fresh water as a dumping ground. While it's impossible to put a price on the Great Lakes, this level of funding shows that our leaders in Washington have their priorities straight,” said Christy McGillivray, Political and Legislative Director, Michigan Chapter of Sierra Club.
Great Lakes Areas of Concern where work is expected to be completed by 2030 include: Waukegan, IL; Grand Calumet River, IN; Clinton River, MI; Detroit River, MI; Manistique River, MI; Muskegon Lake, MI; River Raisin, MI; Rouge River, MI; St. Clair River, MI; St. Marys River, MI; Torch Lake, MI; St. Louis River, MN/WI; Black River,OH; Cuyahoga River, OH; Maumee, OH; Buffalo River, NY; Eighteenmile, NY; Rochester Embayment, NY; Niagara River, NY; Fox River, WI; Milwaukee Estuary, WI; and Sheboygan, WI.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.