Great Lakes Task Force

The Great Lakes are one of the greatest natural resources for Michigan and the country.  Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes and has 3,228 miles of coastline.  Senator Levin knows the value of the Great Lakes to Michigan and to our country, and as co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, he fights to protect this tremendous natural resource.  

The Senate Great Lakes Task Force is a bipartisan organization that works to enhance the economic and environmental health of the Great Lakes.  Founded in the mid-1980s, the House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces work together to advocate for policies and programs that enhance the Great Lakes.   The House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces are part of the bipartisan Northeast-Midwest Coalition, which has worked for over 30 years to advance the economic competitiveness, environmental quality and energy interests of this 18-state region.

Members of the Great Lakes Task Force have worked together effectively to build support for key regional programs supporting the Great Lakes. Some of these initiatives include passage of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact which will ensure the protection of Great Lakes water supplies, invasive species prevention and control by authorizing the electric dispersal barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and pushing for strong ballast water requirements, creation of the Great Lakes Legacy program to remove contaminated sediment, and pushing for the creation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The Great Lakes Task Force has  worked to ensure sufficient funding for Great Lakes projects and programs such as constructing and operating the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal Dispersal Barrier, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Great Lakes Legacy program, controlling sea lamprey, and ensuring sufficient fishery data through the U.S. Geological Survey large vessel research program.

For more information on Senator Levin's work on the Great Lakes, visit the Great Lakes issue page.