By BRUCE WALKER
THE CENTER SQUARE REGIONAL EDITOR
(The Center Square) — The Biden administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have announced a $1 billion cleanup fund for 22 of 25 Great Lakes “Areas of Concern,” or AOCs.
President Joe Biden announced the cleanup funding during a press event Thursday in Lorain, Ohio. According to Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the president will “deliver remarks on how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law delivers for the American people by investing in clean-up and restoration efforts in the Great Lakes region and surrounding waterways.”
Ms. Psaki noted the $1 billion of expenditures will “deliver significant environmental, economic, health, and recreational benefits for communities throughout the region, including helping people in the community access clean water.”
An EPA list of 14 AOCs in the Great Lakes Region include The Clinton River, Mich.; The Cuyahoga River, Ohio; The Detroit River, Mich.; Lower Green Bay/Fox River, Wisc.; Grand Calumet River, Indiana; The Kalamazoo River, Mich.; Maumee, Ohio; Milwaukee Estuary, Wisc.; Niagara River, N.Y.; Rouge River, Mich.; Saginaw River and Bay, Mich.; St. Lawrence River, N.Y; St. Louis River, Minnesota/Wisconsin; Torch Lake, Mich.
“The Great Lakes are a vital economic engine and an irreplaceable environmental wonder, supplying drinking water for more than 40 million people, supporting more than 1.3 million jobs, and sustaining life for thousands of species,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Through the investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will make unprecedented progress in our efforts to restore and protect the waters and the communities of the Great Lakes basin.”
