BAINBRIDGE – This week, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement that it has awarded $1.3 million to the Ohio EPA to continue restoration work at four highly contaminated sites on the Great Lakes and to coordinate the state’s management plan for Lake Erie. The four sites include the Maumee River, the Black River, the Cuyahoga River, and the Ashtabula River, all of which were designated as Areas of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

“The Great Lakes are an invaluable natural resource and an economic powerhouse, and it is of the utmost importance to protect and preserve them for future generations,” said Dave. “This important funding helps us do just that. I commend the EPA for recognizing the need to provide these funds so we can continue to treat the Great Lakes like the national treasure they are.”

This funding is the first installment of an approximately $3.7 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant to the Ohio EPA. The GLRI is an effective, bipartisan program that cleans up the most polluted Great Lakes sites, addresses threats of Asian carp and other invasive species, combats Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), restores habitats for valuable fish and wildlife, creates jobs and paves the way for economic development in waterfront communities. Since 2010, the EPA has provided states with GLRI funds totaling more than $300 million, helping to remove more than 4 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and restore more than 195,000 acres of habitat. 

Dave has long been a fierce advocate of the GLRI and other programs that aim to protect and preserve the Lakes. Having authored the language formally authorizing the GLRI at $300 million annually for the first time in 2016, Dave has successfully fought to ensure the GLRI receives appropriate funding every year since coming to Congress in 2013. As the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Dave continues to lead the effort in Congress to ensure the Great Lakes receive the investments necessary to protect them to the fullest extent.

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