EDITORIAL: Don’t derail Great Lakes cleanup funds

March 08--After decades of pollution from heavy industries followed by decades of pretty much just ignoring the many messes left behind, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was an aggressive and grand idea -- and one that worked, turning the tide in favor of a healthier Lake Superior, St. Louis River and Great Lakes system.

First made a priority under President George W. Bush and then funded adequately and appropriately under President Barack Obama, the initiative restored fish and wildlife habitats; removed mercury and other contaminants from river bottoms and lake bottoms; made water swimmable, fishable and even drinkable again; and otherwise turned environmental disasters into cleanup successes.

But the work was far from done, so the cheering in December was appropriately loud -- from D.C. to Duluth -- when $300 million per year through 2021 was approved by the House and Senate and then signed into law by Obama, the amount in line with past appropriations. With so much trepidation and uncertainty surrounding the coming Donald Trump presidency, this much, at least, seemed thankfully assured: that the worthwhile commitment to cleaning up and restoring the Great Lakes would continue for at least another five years.

Except now, not so fast.

Last week, the Detroit Free Press reported that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was on a list of potential Trump administration budget cuts. The $300 million a year could become just $10 million, a whopping 97 percent slash.

"If the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is targeted for such a drastic reduction -- and it is by far the largest dollar cut on (the) partial list from the (Association of Clean Air Agencies) -- it would decimate a program that has helped pay to restore wetlands and improve water quality across the Upper Midwest," the Free Press reported.

The good news is this is far from a done deal. A long legislative process is to come. The EPA is expected to appeal. And even if reduced funding makes it into a final budget plan, Congress often rewrites appropriations, sometimes quite drastically.

"There is a check and balance," U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., said in a telephone town hall, the Detroit newspaper reported.

The gut punch to the worthwhile Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was actually a one-two. It came right after news broke that a plan to keep Asian carp from swimming or jumping out of the Illinois River system and into the Great Lakes had been put on indefinite hold by the Trump administration. All in all, not a good couple of days for our big lakes, the holders of one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water.

"Abundant, clean water, including Lake Superior, is one of Minnesota's most precious natural assets," Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner and Great Lakes Commission Vice Chairman John Linc Stine said in a statement released by the commission to news outlets, including the News Tribune Opinion page. "Protecting and promoting clean, safe water in the Great Lakes is critical for the health and enjoyment of future generations."

Reclaiming the Great Lakes was a widely embraced, even bipartisan, priority. It demands to continue to be. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was making good progress. That simply cannot be stifled now.

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