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Congress passes bill extending the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

By:Peggy Kirk Hall, Attorney and Director, Agricultural & Resource Law Program Thursday, January 28th, 2021
Ohio's Stone Laboratory on Lake Erie

Not long after its 10th anniversary, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) received a hefty package celebrating its success.  Congress passed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019 last month, not only reauthorizing the GLRI for another five years but also significantly increasing its funding levels.  The annual funds for GLRI will grow from $300 to $330 million in 2021, to $375 million in 2022, and up another $25 million per year until reaching $475 million in 2026.   The GLRI had been set to expire at the end of 2021 and faced funding threats in recent years.  The boost in funding with solid bi-partisan support, however, suggests long term viability for the GLRI.   

The GLRI began in 2010 with the goals of making water safe to drink and fish safe to eat, reducing harmful algal blooms, protecting native habitat and species and prohibiting invasive species in the Great Lakes basin.  It does so by awarding grants for projects that aim to restore and protect the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin.  In its ten-year history, GLRI has funneled $2.7 billion into over 5,000 projects in the eight states that comprise the Great Lakes ecosystem. 

In Ohio, GLRI has funded projects for the removal of dams, agricultural best management practices, stream restoration, coastal wetlands, management of invasive species, and clean-up of contaminated sediments in Ohio’s four targeted “areas of concern,” which include the Ashtabula, Black, Cuyahoga, and Maumee Rivers.  Ohioans can expect to see more of these and other projects in the coming years. 

For more on the GLRI, visit this link.

Go to this page to view the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019.