WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - About 100 Midwest environmental activists are urging Congress Tuesday to approve more money to clean up the Great Lakes. President Obama has asked for $300 billion in his next federal budget. And Tuesday, environmentalists are asking lawmakers to increase that total to $475 million – the same amount they approved a year ago.
EPA administrator Lisa Jackson recently unveiled a $2.2 billion cleanup strategy for the Great Lakes, to be done as the money becomes available. It would try to stop the spread of the Asian carp and other invasive species, fight beach pollution, and clean up 4 major toxic hot spots along the Great Lakes. Those locations have not been disclosed yet. Tuesday’s lobbying effort is spearheaded by the Great Lakes coalition of Healing Our Waters. Among other things, they’re seeking an effective plan to fight the Asian carp, and to eventually separate the link between the Great Lakes and the carp-infested Mississippi River.
