Joyce, EPA Chief Announce Lake Cleanup Funding

The Lake Guardian is the largest research vessel in the U.S. EPA fleet, and the largest research vessel currently operating on the Great Lakes.

On July 19, U.S. Congressman Dave Joyce (R-Bainbridge Township) toured the vessel with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, where the pair announced a new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant program specifically focused on funding trash-free water projects.

“The Great Lakes aren’t just an invaluable natural resource or an economic powerhouse,” Joyce said. “They’re a national treasure and the Trash-Free Great Lakes Grant Program will help us preserve them for future generations. It was truly an honor to join Administrator Wheeler in meeting the Lake Guardian crew today and applaud his announcement of GLRI’s newest grant program.”

Wheeler said the removal of trash, litter and garbage, including plastics, from marine and freshwater environments is one of the EPA’s highest priorities.

Eligible entities for the GLRI Trash-Free Great Lakes Grant Program will include state agencies, federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia, any agency or instrumentality of local governments, nonprofit organizations, interstate agencies, and colleges and universities.

“The Trash-Free Great Lakes Grant Program is intended to fund efforts by communities and other applicants to clean up beaches and waterways so that the Great Lakes watershed will continue to provide habitat for wildlife and drinking water and recreation for tens of millions of people,” Wheeler added.

A statement from Joyce’s office said eligible projects include beach and shoreline cleanup projects, harbor and river cleanup projects, and trash and litter prevention and education projects.

The statement said Joyce, as the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, has fought to keep the GLRI fully funded.

Joyce, his office said, has championed efforts to protect the Great Lakes, which provide more than 1.5 million jobs, supply 90 percent of the nation’s fresh water, support over 3,500 species of plants and animals, and generate $62 billion in wages every year.