From the
NY Times.
An executive order by President Bush brought the group together in the latest and most broad-based effort to address the lakes' condition.
The plan, which also contemplates reducing agricultural runoff, protecting 550,000 acres of wetlands and controlling foreign species that are disrupting the aquatic food chain, could cost up to $20 billion in federal, state and local money over five years, environmental groups said.
Bush does something smart?
Nearly the entire problem is sewage being pumped into the lakes:
The costliest item in the report was repairing the wastewater treatment plants. In recent years sewage contamination has led to more frequent closings of some of the 650 beaches along the lakes' 5,500 miles of shoreline. Meanwhile, the amount of money in the federal agency's revolving fund to restore wastewater infrastructure nationwide decreased to $1.1 billion from $1.35 billion in the last fiscal year.
So the financing is a problem. Here is the quote:
Tom Kiernan, president of the National Parks Conservation Association, said in one call: "The Great Lakes are seriously ill. This draft plan is a very good first step in restoring the Great Lakes to health."
The question, Mr. Kiernan said, was whether state governments and Washington would give financial support for the recommendations.
Why can't the EPA ensure this happens???