VP Gore asks for $50 Million to Help Restore Great Lakes

[mchuber]

Vice President Al Gore announced today that the administration will propose a new $50 million initiative in its fiscal year 2001 budget to help restore the beauty and livability of our nation's Great Lakes. Under the proposal, Great Lakes communities such as Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Gary, Duluth, and Buffalo -- would be eligible for matching grants to help them restore and protect their waterways for drinking, fishing, swimming, boating and urban redevelopment.

"The Great Lakes are among our nation's most cherished natural treasures. We have made tremendous progress in restoring the quality of their waters, but much remains to be done," said Vice President Gore. "Today, we are proposing a major new partnership withGreat Lakes communities to help restore their treasured lakes and enhance their livability. Working together, we can continue to improve water quality, redevelop some of our nation's oldest urban centers, and protect the health of millions of Americans who use and enjoy the Great Lakes every year."

There are 42 designated "areas of concern" around the Great Lakes Basin where the aquatic environment has been most severely affected. Of the 42 "areas of concern," 26 are located exclusively in the United States, five are in waters shared by the U.S. and Canada, and the remaining 12 are located exclusively in Canada. All of these areas have significant water pollution problems that restrict fishing, swimming, boating, and use for drinking water.

Great Lakes "Areas of Concern

Illinois: Waukegan Harbor

Indiana: Grand Calumet River

Michigan: Clinton River, Deer Lake, Detroit River, Kalamazoo River, Manistique River, Muskegon, River Raisin, Rouge River, Saginaw River/Bay, St. Clair River, St. Marys River, Torch Lake, White Lake

Minnesota: St. Louis River

New York: Buffalo River, EighteenMile Creek, Niagara River, Oswego River/Harbor,Rochester Embayment, St. Lawrence River

Ohio: Ashtabula River, Black River,Cuyahoga River,Maumee River

Pennsylvania: Presque Isle Bay

Wisconsin: Lower Green Bay & Fox River, Menominee River,Milwaukee Estuary, Sheboygan River.

[Steve]

This can only be good news to sportsmen!

[Allen Glore]

Or a BRIBE to get votes. Would you really sacriface your right to keep and bear arms for a lousy $50,000,000.00. I wouldn't.

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AlleninAlaska

[Steve]

Not a big fan of him myself, just glad to see a little money coming back our way.

[mchuber]

I would have a difficult time walking away from money which is going to help improve the Great Lakes, just because the person trying to get us the money doesn't share your views on guns.

The Great Lakes and gun control are two very different issues. Perhaps from where you live, the $50 million may appear as a bribe to you, but for those of us who live around the lakes and use its water on a daily basis it is welcomed.

Now, having said that, do not bet on the fact that I like Al Gore or would vote for him, I just like the money he is attempting to get to the Great Lakes States.

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My life is good . . .
Fishing helps make it that way

Max
Waterford MI

[Hamilton Reef]

There is an article in the 2/1/00 Muskegon Chronicle on this topic titled "Groups: Focus Great Lakes cleanup funds" The link to the Muskegon Chronicle article follows.
http://mu.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20000201mtoxicst.frm

The main theme of this article is how the $50 million is "a drop in the bucket" to the reality of what is needed. That is absolutely true. I am a fishery biologist involved with the White Lake and Muskegon Lake RAPs/AOC. We've had meetings with the MDEQ, Corps of Eng., and several others last week and more meetings yet this week. Yes, we got some money for partial clean-up projects for this year on White Lake, but only a fraction to clean up the complete lake. We got only a fraction of the $5 million to clean up the contaminated sediments of Tannery Bay for this year. We don't even have the money to collect the data to know how much the total clean up of White Lake will cost. I do know the Corp of Engineers have an estimate of 260,000 cu ft to take out of Tannery Bay alone and that is only one piece of the lake.

We are talking of up to $170 million to clean up Wisconsin's lower Fox River, or up to $210 million to clean up a few spots on the Detroit River, and still there are 42 AOCs with the total costs not even known. Yes, the $50 million is a drop in the bucket.

[mchuber]

If so much more money is needed for these clean up projects, as you pointed out, why then doesn't some person/organization come out loudly and say so.

When the government releases a statement that $50 million is going to be released for the Great Lakes, then something should be said at that time about the need for more.

VP Gore looks like a cowboy in a white hat, he gave the Great Lakes $50 million for cleaning the water. Hey, that's like me giving the kid down the block 5 cents to buy a candy bar, it just can't be done.

Thanks for the update on this issue, keep us posted if you read/hear more.

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My life is good . . .
Fishing helps make it that way

Max
Waterford MI

[toto]

Great, the Great Lakes could use a little help, but he still ain't getting my vote.

Then there is the other side of the coin. On march 10, 2000, a bill, signed by Engler and sponsored by Gougeon, was ENACTED stopping the monitoring of pollutants in our waterways caused by farms. Local authority over offenders was also stripped away. Those big, corporate farms are the benifactors of this bill. Read all about it at: http://cruisenews.net/michigan_water_quality.htm
Who's hands are in who's pockets? The environmental governor, yeah, right!

[trout]

Man the politics involved in preserving and protecting our resources is mindboggling!
The gernal public deserves a clean world in which to live,yet it seems as though the very departments in control are always chumming with the crooks.????? Looks like I need to send some faxes for sure!

[briangpp]

I bet many of our member now wish that Al Gore had won.

What has Bush done for the Great Lakes? Not even a drop in the bucket!
Brian

[SomeYahoo]

Nice first post briangpp... way to make friends here.

Wish this sort of stuff would stay in the political forum. Now I'm all spun up instead of just sitting and enjoying coffee... I'll stay out to not encourage.

[Lund Lubber]

Sounds great, but ask yourself.... Would you buy a used car from that man!!:lol:

[radiohead]

Just think, if it weren't for Al Gore inventing the internet we wouldn't even have this great forum ! :lol:

[TimEye]

what about the mercury that BP is dumping, they are told to stop dumping mercury by 2012 or be fined, why not stop them now and fine them then we have less to clean up. and they got the ok to dump amonia? who is the person that keeps ok ing this crap!

[Robert Hoover]

Not to take this off track or anything but how exactly does farm runoff effect fish other than their eggs?Trout are on of the most fragile fish and being that they survive and do good in the streams all around especially in farm areas just makes no sense wouldnt they be more apt to poisonin or does the ground filter it out?

[dennisthemenace]

Ummmm, NO!!!!!!
And I dont believe he is Vice president. lol

[CL-Lewiston]

Too bad he dont take 4-5 mil out of his taxpayers supplied retirement and divide it up. That would be something.