Tell Congress to pass the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024
The Great Lakes supply millions of New Yorkers with their drinking water, provide habitat for wildlife, and support billion-dollar industries such as tourism and fishing. To help protect and restore the health of the lakes, Congress established the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in 2010. The GLRI has funded thousands of projects to clean up the lakes—protecting drinking water, cleaning up toxic pollution, fighting invasive species, and more.
Despite our progress, more work remains to protect and restore the health of our Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024 will extend the successful program for another five years—authorizing $500 million annually. We need our federal representatives from New York State to fight for passage of this critical legislation as soon as possible—email your representatives today!
BACKGROUND
New York’s Great Lakes basin covers 42% of the state’s surface area—second most among all Great Lakes states
The Great Lakes are a natural wonder of the world that hold 20% of the world’s fresh water supply. Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and the St. Lawrence River comprise over 700 miles of shoreline in NYS. The Great Lakes provide four million New Yorkers with drinking water and support a multibillion-dollar tourism, fishing, and recreation economy.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Established by Congress in 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was created to fund projects to protect and restore the health of the Great Lakes—cleaning up toxic pollution, restoring important habitat, fighting invasive species, reducing pollution from farms, and more. To date, the GLRI has funded more than 7,563 individual projects totaling over $3.7 billion and has greatly improved the quality of life in the region. New York State has received over $270 million to support hundreds of restoration projects.
The GLRI is not only restoring the health of our Great Lakes, but it is also providing major economic benefits. Throughout the Great Lakes region, every dollar invested in restoration provides $3 in economic returns to the regional economy. In Buffalo, where the GLRI is supporting the cleanup of the Buffalo River and other important projects, the return is even higher—providing a 4-to-1 return on investment!
Threats to the Great Lakes Ecosystem Remain
Despite progress to protect and restore the Great Lakes in recent years, the health of Great Lakes remains threatened. Examples include:
Toxic legacy pollution: Only one of New York’s six toxic hot spots (known as Areas of Concern), which were identified back in 1987, has been cleaned up.
Invasive species: Invasive carp sit on the doorstep of the Great Lakes. If established in the lakes, they would decimate the ecosystem and the multibillion-dollar fishing industry.
Emerging Contaminants: Emerging toxic pollutants, such as PFAS “forever chemicals,” are being found in Great Lakes waters and contaminating drinking water.
Congress Must Continue Progress to Restore the Great Lakes
The GLRI program is authorized through 2026, and unless action is taken by Congress, the program will expire in 2027. Recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024 would reauthorize the GLRI program for an additional five years. The GLRI Act of 2024 would provide $500 million annually, from 2027-2031.
Thank you for taking action.
Sincerely,
All of Us at CCE