WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today hailed Senate passage of the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2008.  Senator Clinton is an original cosponsor of the bill, which was introduced earlier this year by U.S. Senators George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and Carl Levin (D-MI).  The bill expands on legislation passed six years ago, and aims to clean up contaminated expanses in the Great Lakes known as “Areas of Concern.”

“Passing the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2008 is a critical component in fulfilling our role as good stewards of our nation’s irreplaceable natural resources,” said Senator Clinton. “So many of our New York communities depend on the Great Lakes for recreation and economic vitality, and restoring the health of the Great Lakes by cleaning up toxic hotspots will ensure that future generations of Americans can enjoy them for years to come.”   

The Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2008 focuses on Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes. Forty-three Areas of Concern have been identified in the Great Lakes, and six are located in New York waters.  These sites do not meet the water quality goals established by the United States and Canada in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, mainly because of contaminated sediments from historic industrial activity. This contamination results in several detrimental consequences including fish advisories, degradation of fish and wildlife populations, taste and odor problems with drinking water, beach closures and bird and animal deformities or reproductive problems.

The Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2008 would authorize $54 million annually for clean-up of the Areas of Concern. The legislation gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greater flexibility to manage funds by allowing the EPA to distribute funds directly to contractors and would provide relief to states from burdensome requirements. Under this bill, eligible projects would be expanded to include habitat restoration. Many Areas of Concern cannot be delisted until habitat restoration work is done. Also, the bill would give the EPA the discretion to provide Legacy Act monies to demonstration and pilot projects. 

The Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 contributed significantly to the effort to clean up Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes. Almost 800,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments have been removed since the program was created in 2002. This material has been safely removed from riverbeds so that it no longer poses a threat to human health or the wildlife. 

The New York Areas of Concern are listed below:

·                  Buffalo River, New York

·                  Eighteen Mile Creek, New York

·                  Niagara River, New York

·                  Oswego River/Harbor, New York

·                  Rochester Embayment, New York

·                  St. Lawrence River at Massena, New York

Senator Clinton has long fought to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Last week, Senator Clinton introduced legislation to ratify the Great Lakes Compact. The legislation represents a bipartisan agreement (http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=301172) among the Great Lakes states to protect the Great Lakes through better water management, conservation and public involvement. Recently, Senator Clinton joined a bipartisan coalition of her colleagues in urging the Senate leadership to support funding for several key programs to protect and preserve the Great Lakes (http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=294926), and urged Senate leadership to reject the President’s proposed cuts and to instead increase funding to Great Lakes specific programs in the budget resolution (http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=294377). 

Last year, Senator Clinton helped reintroduce the Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act (http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=270285&&0). This measure is aimed at implementing the restoration and protection strategies outlined in the "Great Lakes Regional Collaboration" strategy released in December 2005. The legislation would also reduce the threat of invasive species, restore waterfront areas and clean up contaminated sediment. Senator Clinton also called on President Bush to provide adequate federal resources for environmental restoration in the Great Lakes Region by ensuring greater coordination between federal agencies and partners on the state, tribal, and local level (http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=280134).

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