Obama proposes $5B trust fund for Great Lakes cleanup
September 18, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Source: Canadian Press
Senator Barack Obama will propose a $5-billion trust fund for Great Lakes cleanup and restoration if elected president, his campaign said Tuesday.
The fund, to be phased in over 10 years, would be the centrepiece of a plan that also includes designating a co-ordinator to oversee Greats Lakes programs and a stepped-up fight against invasive species.
… The trust fund would be paid for by rolling back tax breaks for oil companies, Obama’s campaign said. It would support a variety of projects including sewage system repairs, cleanup of polluted sediments and restoration of wetlands and wildlife habitat.
The Great Lakes co-ordinator, based in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would help develop a priority list for federal, state and local initiatives.
Obama’s program also pledges a “zero toxics” policy for the lakes, which make up nearly one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. It calls for measuring pollution already entering the lakes, determining the sources and reducing future deposits.
Another priority would be strengthening federal standards against mercury, a leading Great Lakes pollutant, the campaign said.
The plan also promises a more aggressive effort to prevent additional exotic species from reaching the lakes, particularly the Asian carp, which has infested the Mississippi River and is moving toward Lake Michigan.
It says Obama would work with the eight Great Lakes states to stop freighters from bringing exotics to the region in their ballast water.
Full story, quotes, and McCain camp reply at Canadian Press >>
