a ‘game-changer’ for the region
By Michael D. Regan, PBS News Hour
The Great Lakes region could lose $300 million in annual federal funding under a budget proposal released Thursday by the White House that would impose drastic cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a promise made by President Donald Trump during his campaign, and eliminate financial support to restore portions of the largest body of freshwater on Earth.
Started in 2010 under former President Barack Obama, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has given $2.2 billion to eight states along the Great Lakes, a project that has led to improved water quality and pollution control and a bustle of waterfront development. It has also begun the process of ebbing the trove of invasive species that have offset the ecological balance of the Great Lakes. To read entire article.