Again - the Bush Administration plays the bait and switch game. We suspected as much at the time, but were hoping we weren't correct.
Chicago Tribune | Great Lakes plan all washed up
After a year of promises to make the Great Lakes a greater national priority, the Bush administration is pulling back from an ambitious $20 billion plan to restore and protect the world's largest source of freshwater. Three months after the plan was released for public comment, administration officials are finalizing a report to President Bush that concludes federal spending on the Great Lakes should remain “within current budget projections,” meaning no new money should be allocated.Instead, federal, state and local officials should concentrate on “improving the efficiency and effectiveness of existing programs,” according to the draft report, a copy of which was obtained by the Tribune. Without the administration's support, Congress likely will not endorse more aggressive--and more expensive--efforts to clean up contaminated ports, fix aging sewer systems, block invasive species and improve the shoreline. Legislation calling for more spending on the Great Lakes already is bottled up in House and Senate committees.
Many of the problems facing the lakes will cost considerably more to fix. Cleaning up 31 toxic hot spots around the lakes is estimated to cost up to $4.5 billion alone. In the Chicago area, the sites include Waukegan Harbor, the Grand Calumet River and the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal.
The most expensive item on the wish list is nearly $14 billion to upgrade sewage systems in cities around the lakes. Beaches occasionally are closed following chronic sewage overflows. But financing sewer improvements is a perennial battle in Congress.
For instance, the president's budget request this year included no money to continue work on the Deep Tunnel project, a system of tunnels and reservoirs in the Chicago area that captures storm run-off and helps keep human and industrial waste out of Lake Michigan.
...But after a year of debate, many of those involved in efforts to improve existing programs say more money is needed to help the lakes, the source of one-fifth of the world's freshwater. They point to other multibillion-dollar initiatives to restore the Everglades and Chesapeake Bay.
“I don't think we will bring the lakes back to health with existing budgets,” said Cameron Davis, executive director of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. “There is a significant national interest in the Great Lakes that deserves a significant national investment.”
Tags: Great_Lakes
