[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 42 (Wednesday, April 5, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2905-S2910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Levin, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. 
        Voinovich, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 2545. A bill to establish a collaborative program to protect the 
Great Lakes, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment 
and Public Works.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce the Great 
Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act with my colleague, Senator 
Levin. I would like to thank him for all of his hard work on this 
legislation and the Great Lakes.
  The Great Lakes are a unique natural resource that need to be 
protected for future generations. The Great Lakes hold one-fifth of the 
world's surface freshwater, cover more than 94,000 square miles, and 
drain more than twice as much land. Over thirty of the basin's 
biological communities--and over 100 species--are globally rare or 
found only in the Great Lakes basin. The 637 State parks in the region 
accommodate more than 250 million visitors each year. The Great Lakes 
are significant to the eight States and two Canadian provinces that 
border them, as well as to the millions of other people around the 
country who fish, visit the surrounding parks, or use products that are 
affordably shipped to them via the lakes.
  Unfortunately, the Great Lakes remain in a degraded state. A 2003 GAO

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report said, ``Despite early success in improving conditions in the 
Great Lakes Basin, significant environmental challenges remain, 
including increased threats from invasive species and cleanup of areas 
contaminated with toxic substances that pose human health threats.'' 
Many scientists affirm that the Great Lakes are exhibiting signs of 
stress due to a combination of sources, including toxic contaminants, 
invasive species, nutrient loading, shoreline and upland land use 
changes, and hydrologic modifications. A 2005 report from a group of 
Great Lakes scientific experts states that ``historical sources of 
stress have combined with new ones to reach a tipping point, the point 
at which ecosystem-level changes occur rapidly and unexpectedly, 
confounding the traditional relationships between sources of stress and 
the expected ecosystem response.''
  One cannot see the many threats to the Lakes simply by looking at 
them. The zebra mussel, an aquatic invasive species, causes $500 
million per year in economic and environmental damage to the Great 
Lakes. One study found that since 1990--the year that zebra mussels 
really began to make an impact--Lake Michigan's yellow perch population 
has decreased by about 80 percent. In 2000, seven people died after 
pathogens entered the Walkerton, Ontario drinking water supply from the 
lakes. In May of 2004, more than ten billion gallons of raw sewage and 
storm water were dumped into the Great Lakes. In that same year, over 
1,850 beaches in the Great Lakes were closed. Each summer, Lake Erie 
develops a 6,300 square mile dead zone. There is no appreciable natural 
reproduction of lake trout in the lower four lakes. More than half of 
the Great Lakes region's original wetlands have been lost, along with 
60 percent of the forests. Wildlife habitat has been destroyed, thus 
diminishing opportunities necessary for fishing, hunting and other 
forms of outdoor recreation.
  For several years, I have been calling for a plan to restore the 
Lakes and have been urging governors, mayors, environmental community 
and other regional interests to agree on a vision for the Great Lakes--
not just immediately, but for the long-term future.
  Last year, over 1,500 people worked to draft a plan through a process 
called Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. The Collaboration strategy 
includes dozens of recommendations for action at the federal, state, 
local, and tribal actions that will help restore the Great Lakes. 
Senator Carl Levin and I--as well as our colleagues in the House--have 
crafted a bill to implement these recommendations.
  This bill would reduce the threat of non-native species invading the 
Great Lakes through ballast water and other pathways. The bill targets 
the Asian carp by authorizing the Corps of Engineers to improve the 
dispersal barrier project and prohibiting the importation or interstate 
commerce of live Asian carp.
  The bill addresses threats to fish and wildlife habitat by 
reauthorizing the Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Restoration Act, a 
current program that provides grants to states and tribes.
  The bill reauthorizes the State Revolving Loan Fund and provides $20 
billion over five years to assist communities with the critical task of 
upgrading and improving their wastewater infrastructure.
  The bill authorizes $150 million per year for contaminated sediment 
cleanup at Areas of Concern under the Great Lakes Legacy program. It 
also provides the EPA with greater flexibility in implementing the 
program by allowing the Great Lakes National Program Office to disburse 
funds to the non-federal sponsor of a Legacy Act project.
  The bill establishes a new grant program within EPA, called the Great 
Lakes Mercury Product Stewardship Strategy Grant Program, to phase out 
mercury in products.
  The bill improves existing research programs and fills the gap where 
work is needed. We need baseline data to understand how the lakes are 
changing and where improvements are succeeding.
  The bill authorizes NOAA to restore and remediate waterfront areas. 
Projects will require a non-federal partner who will provide at least a 
35% cost-share. Individual projects may not cost more than $5 million.
  Lastly, the bill establishes the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force 
and the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration process in order to 
coordinate and improve Great Lakes programs.
  Restoring the Great Lakes to a healthy ecosystem is not something 
that will happen overnight. This is a long-term process, but Congress 
needs to act now. Our bill is a major step in the right direction. We 
need to continue to refocus and improve our efforts in order to reverse 
the trend of degradation of the Great Lakes. They are a unique natural 
resource for Ohio, the entire region, and the country--a resource that 
must be protected for future generations. I ask my colleagues to join 
me in support of this bill and in our efforts to help preserve and 
protect the long-term viability of our Great Lakes.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to submit a concurrent 
resolution to honor the fallen soldiers we have lost in Operation 
Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). My 
resolution, which Congressman Rahm Emanuel is introducing in the House 
of Representatives, directs the Architect of the Capitol to display an 
exhibit to honor the memory of these brave men and women in the Rotunda 
of the Capitol building during the period beginning on May 29, 2006, 
and ending on July 4, 2006. The exhibit will display the name, 
photograph, and biographical information of each individual member of 
the United States Armed Forces who has been killed in Afghanistan and 
Iraq. Visitors will also have the opportunity to write messages of 
support and sympathy to the families of the fallen.
  On March 20, 2006, we observed the third anniversary of the war of 
Iraq. Since the start of the war, more than 2,500 American soldiers 
have been killed serving their country. As we continue our efforts in 
Iraq and Afghanistan, we must recognize the ultimate sacrifice made by 
these troops. This temporary display will show the families of these 
heroes that they will always be remembered by a grateful nation.
  I want to thank Senators Clinton, Bingaman, Kennedy, Johnson, Boxer, 
Menendez, Landrieu, Kerry, and Feinstein for co-sponsoring this 
important resolution. I hope that the rest of the Senate will support 
its passage, too.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues, 
Senator Levin an Senator DeWine, in offering the Great Lakes 
Collaboration Implementation Act of 2006. I am a cosponsor of this 
bipartisan bill, introduced on behalf of the Great Lakes Senators by 
the co-chairs of our Great Lakes Task Force. Our bill is also 
cosponsored by Senator Clinton, Senator Voinovich, and Senator Schumer.
  The health and sustainability of the Great Lakes are something I feel 
passionately about. There is no more important issue to Michigan and 
our region of the country than the Great Lakes.
  I want to take just a moment to recognize someone else who is equally 
passionate about Great Lakes protection and restoration. No single 
person has devoted more time, energy, and personal resources to the 
Great Lakes than Peter Wege of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  Peter Wege has been a leader and visionary for Great Lakes 
restoration for decades. Through the Wege Foundation, which he founded 
in 1967, he has made generous gifts to the people of Grand Rapids and 
communities all over Western Michigan for community development. I 
believe that part of the reason we are standing here today with a 
comprehensive bill to restore the Lakes is due to the work of Peter 
Wege. In 2005, a gift from the Wege Foundation created the Healing Our 
Waters Coalition, a coalition of grassroots groups dedicated to 
securing a sustainable restoration plan and Federal and State funding 
to carry it out. The Healing Our Waters Coalition and Peter Wege have 
been instrumental in bringing Great Lakes restoration to the forefront 
of national policy.
  For the people of Michigan the Great Lakes are more than just one-
fifth of the world's fresh water and a unique ecosystem--they are part 
of our identity. The Lakes are where we spend summers with our 
families, where we boat and swim, and where we fish and hunt. The Lakes 
also sustain our State and local economies by providing a

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major route for intrastate and international commerce. The health and 
future of Michigan is directly linked to the health and future of the 
Great Lakes.
  We in Michigan are blessed with a beautiful State full of lakes, 
rivers, forests, and streams. We have more public access to waterways 
than all of the other 49 States combined. We are surrounded by four of 
the five Great Lakes and more than 40,000 interior lakes, streams, and 
trails. This rich abundance of natural resources has made the outdoors 
a critical part of Michigan's economy and our way-of-life. The Great 
Lakes are key in this. Consider that the total revenue from Michigan's 
fishing, hunting and wildlife watching is nearly $5 billion every year. 
Fishing brings $2 billion annually to our State economy. Michigan has 
the most registered boaters of any State, nearly one million, and 
recreational boating brings $2 billion annually to the state. It's easy 
to see what restoring the Great Lakes is so important to us.
  There are currently between 140 and 200 separate Great Lakes 
environmental programs administered by 10 Federal agencies. Each of 
these is important and has helped us significantly improve the health 
of the Great Lakes over the past 35 years. That said true restoration 
will take local, regional, and national coordination on projects that 
address all of the critical challenges facing the health of the Great 
Lakes.
  In May 2004, President Bush signed a Presidential Executive Order 
creating the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, also called the GLRC. 
The group is composed of Federal agencies, Great Lakes governors and 
mayors, local communities, Native American Tribes, and other 
stakeholders from the Great Lakes Basin. In December of last year the 
GLRC released a report outlining comprehensive and collaborative 
restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem--the Great Lakes Regional 
Collaboration Strategy. The report calls for $20 billion in Federal, 
State, and local funding to clean up toxic hot-spots, restore wetlands, 
prevent the introduction of new invasive species, and modernizing water 
treatment systems.
  The GLRC Strategy has been endorsed through the Great Lakes Regional 
Collaboration Resolution by Great Lakes mayors, governors, tribes, the 
Congressional delegation, and the Interagency Task Force.
  The bill that I am introducing today with my colleagues takes the 
next critical step and turns the strategy document into an on-the-
ground reality.
  Our commitment is strong. We have the will and the way, all we need 
now is the support of Congress to ensure the future of the Great 
Lakes--a magnificent natural resource that has been entrusted to our 
care.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the ``Great Lakes 
Restoration Implementation Act'' with Senator Mike DeWine and our co-
sponsors, Senators Debbie Stabenow, George Voinovich, and Hillary 
Rodham Clinton. I also want to thank Representatives Vern Ehlers and 
Rahm Emanuel for introducing similar Great Lakes restoration 
legislation in the House today.
  The Great Lakes are vital not only to Michigan but to the Nation. 
Roughly one-tenth of the U.S. population lives in the Great Lakes basin 
and depends daily on the lakes. The Great Lakes provide drinking water 
to 33 million people. They provide the largest recreational resource 
for their neighboring States. They form the largest body of freshwater 
in the world, containing roughly 18 percent of the world's total; only 
the polar ice caps contain more freshwater. They are critical for our 
economy by helping move natural resources to the factory and to move 
products to market.
  While the environmental protections that were put in place in the 
early 1970s have helped the Great Lakes make strides toward recovery, a 
2003 GAO report made clear that there is much work still to do. That 
report stated: ``Despite early success in improving conditions in the 
Great Lakes Basin, significant environmental challenges remain, 
including increased threats from invasive species and cleanup of areas 
contaminated with toxic substances that pose human health threats.''
  The Great Lakes problems have been well-known for several years, and, 
for the past year, 1,500 people through the Great Lakes region have 
worked together to compile recommendations for restoring the lakes. 
These recommendations were released last December, and, today, I am 
introducing this legislation to implement those recommendations.
  This bill would reduce the threat of new invasive species by enacting 
comprehensive invasive species legislation and put ballast technology 
on board ships; it specifically targets Asian carp by authorizing the 
operation and maintenance of the dispersal barrier. The bill would 
restore fish and wildlife habitat by reauthorizing the Great Lakes Fish 
and Wildlife Restoration Act. It would provide additional resources to 
States and cities for their water infrastructure. It would provide 
additional funding for contaminated sediment cleanup and would give the 
EPA additional tools under the Great Lakes Legacy Act to move projects 
along faster. The bill would create a new grant program to phase-out 
mercury in products. It would authorize additional research through 
existing Federal programs as well as our non-Federal research 
institutions. And it would authorize coordination of federal programs.
  The Great Lakes are a unique American treasure. We must recognize 
that we are only their temporary stewards. If Congress does not act to 
keep pace with the needs of the lakes, and the tens of millions of 
Americans dependent upon them and affected by their condition, the 
current problems will continue to build, and we may start to undo some 
of the good work that has already been done. We must be good stewards 
by ensuring that the federal government meets its ongoing obligation to 
protect and restore the Great Lakes. This legislation will help us meet 
that great responsibility to future generations.
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