The Great Lakes are reaching a tipping point and without more federal government help, they could be damaged beyond repair, environmentalists say.
"The federal government has really been dragging their feet on this issue," National Wildlife Federation regional spokesperson Jordan Lubetkin said. "The Great Lakes' immune system is so weakened that every new stress has the potential to cause a ripple effect."
After decades of toxic chemicals seeping into the lakes, wetland destruction and invasive nonnative species transported by ships, the Great Lakes ecosystem is in danger, Lubetkin said.
The federal government promised $500 million this year, but the Great Lakes Task Force asked for $20 billion, Great Lakes United senior coordinator Reg Gilbert said.
"The $20 billion figure is an estimate over the long term," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water. "At the present time the agency sees this as a shared responsibility among all sectors of government and non-government organizations."
In 2004, President Bush issued an executive order establishing a task force to outline a restoration plan for the Great Lakes, Lubetkin said.
The executive order organized the task force to collaborate between local, state and federal officials concentrating on the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair and all streams, rivers and lakes within the drainage basin of the Great Lakes.
Fifteen hundred federal, state and local governmental leaders, tribal authorities, industry representatives and private citizens joined the task force to strategize for the Great Lakes.
The task force requested $20 billion from the government to clean and restore the Great Lakes, Lubetkin said.
Over 15 years, the task force asked for $13.7 billion to upgrade sewer systems, $2.4 billion to clean up the toxic harbors and waterways and several billions of dollars to restore more than 550,000 wetlands, Lubetkin said.
"The Great Lakes restoration plan is a very solid plan addressing some of the most serious problems," Lubetkin said. "The president, Congress, state and local leaders need to invest the money necessary to restore the Great Lakes."
With tightened wallets, the U.S. government said it is unwilling to pay the amount put forward by the task force, said EPA spokesperson Dale Kemery.
"The money is going to be a big problem because Katrina hit, and the government has to help them," said Michigan Sea Grant specialist Mike Klepinger.
"The budget for 2007 will probably be spending money on other things, other than cleaning up the Great Lakes."
The fiscal year 2007 budget will be announced to Congress on Monday, said Kemery.
Since the 1970s and 1980s, the federal support has diminished, Gilbert said.
Four years ago Congress asked the surrounding states to join together to receive federal support for restoration, Gilbert said.
Representatives of the eight states include governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, he said.
The governors and representatives from Canada have been working toward updating water management systems and ensuring Great Lakes preservation, he said.
The Great Lakes provide 20 percent of the world's access to fresh water, serving 36 million people in the Great Lakes region.
"We have a finite resource, and it's our responsibility to use it wisely," Lubetkin said.
