Critics Say Bush's Budget Dangerous to Great Lakes

President Bush's proposed budget will shortchange efforts to clean up the Great Lakes and alleviate sewage overflow and exotic species invasions, according to critics. Under Bush's 2009 fiscal year spending plan, federal spending for Great Lakes water quality programs would be cut 16 percent, advocacy groups said.

Environmentalists have called on Congress and presidential candidates to invest more in the lakes, which comprise about one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water supply. "The White House budget fails the Great Lakes and the millions of people who depend on them for their jobs and their way of life," said Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. The group's research indicates that the president requested $297.6 million for Great Lakes programs in 2009, down $353.8 million from 2008.

Furthermore, a coalition representing shippers, ports and other Great Lakes industries has said that Bush may cut the Army Corps of Engineers dredging budget by 35 percent. "The lakes are already suffering with extremely low water levels," said Patrick J. O'Hern, president of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force. "Now is the worst imaginable time for any reduction in Great Lakes dredging funds."

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund, too, would suffer cuts of nearly 20 percent--from $250 million federal budget spending in 2008 to $201.5 million in 2009. The program supports community wastewater treatment system upgrades. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, which aims to control invasive sea lamprey, would see 21 percent funding reductions. Bush has also recommended no spending go toward a Great Lakes Commission erosion control program that received $430,000 for fiscal year 2008. Under the president's plan, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., would see cuts totaling 9.5 percent.

Source: Associated Press