EPA ANNOUNCES 2011 GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE GRANTS IN TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN (MI)
MEDIA CONTACTS: Peter Cassell,
312-886-6234,
[email protected]
Phillippa Cannon, 312-353-6218,
[email protected]
For Immediate Release
No. 11-OPA069
EPA ANNOUNCES 2011 GREAT LAKES
RESTORATION INITIATIVE GRANTS IN TRAVERSE CITY,
MICHIGAN
MORE THAN $4.9 MILLION FOR 7
GRANTS
(CHICAGO – August 12, 2011) - The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded organizations and
agencies working in the Boardman River Watershed and other nearby
watersheds in Northern Michigan more than $4.9 million in grants
under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. These seven grants
are among 70 totaling nearly $30 million awarded by EPA under the
GLRI in 2011.
“These grants are an investment
in accelerating Great Lakes restoration, community by community,"
said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who also serves as chair of
the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force of federal agencies
implementing the GLRI. "This is another important step toward
lasting protections for the waters that affect the health and jobs
of millions of Americans."
The grants were announced by EPA Senior
Advisor to the Administrator Cameron Davis and U.S. Sen. Carl
Levin. EPA will announce additional investments across the state of
Michigan and the Great Lakes basin in the weeks ahead.
"Not only will these funds improve the
natural environment, they will also support the regional economy,"
said Levin. "One example of this investment is the Boardman River
Dam Removal Project, the most comprehensive dam removal and river
restoration project in the history of the Great Lakes. Once
completed, this project will result in the restoration of over
three miles of cold-water stream, 253 acres of wetlands and 57
acres of upland habitat and is expected to generate $3 million in
economic value due to increased recreation, tourism and property
values."
Funded projects will advance the goals
and objectives of the GLRI Action Plan, which EPA Administrator
Jackson released in cooperation with 15 other participating
agencies and several Great Lakes governors in February
2010.
The funded projects in the Traverse
City region include:
· $86,829 - Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (Paradise Lake Pilot Boat Washing Station).
· $667,971 - Nature Conservancy (Invasive Predator Suppression on Critical Spawning Reefs).
· $887,723 - Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council (Little Traverse Bay Stormwater Management Initiative).
· $767,648 - Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay (Grand Traverse Bay – East Bay Park Remediation).
· $987,102 - Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay (Grand Traverse Bay - Suttons Bay Stormwater Remediation).
· $533,161- Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay (Boardman River Dams Removal - Sediment Management).
The Great Lakes provide 30 million Americans with drinking water and underpin a multi-billion dollar economy. In February 2009, President Obama proposed the GLRI, the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades.
The Great Lakes Interagency Task Force to coordinate federal and binational restoration efforts includes:
· White House Council on Environmental Quality
· U.S. Department of Agriculture
· U.S. Department of Commerce
· U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
· U.S. Department of Homeland Security
· U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
· U.S. Department of State
· U.S. Department of the Army
· U.S. Department of Interior
· U.S. Department of Transportation
· U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Some of the other federal agencies that are part of the task force have their own grant programs under the GLRI. Today’s announcement only covers EPA’s grant program.
FY 2011 awards will be published on the multi-agency website at www.glri.us.
More information on the president’s GLRI and Action Plan are available at the same site.
