Polluters have mounted a public pressure campaign, even enlisting some members of Congress, to lobby EPA to weaken the law even more. For the sake of our lakes and streams and the wildlife and people who depend on them, the law needs to be strengthened, not watered down.
If we don't spend a little money now, we're going to spend a lot of money later (on pollution-related costs), which would be completely unnecessary.
Just as bridges and roads crumble without adequate investment, so are the Great lakes deteriorating.
We don't have the luxury of waiting one more shipping season to regulate these (overseas) vessels.
This restoration plan comes just in time. The Great Lakes are sick. Their immune system is damaged. If we quickly take the actions in this plan we can heal the lakes.
EPA's proposal is a good first step, but it still leaves too many loopholes for polluters. For example, it allows polluters to dump more pollution into already contaminated streams. And it doesn't even cover some types of pollution.
Thanks to leaders in Congress, this bill would put into action the historic blueprint that Great Lakes citizens and government officials developed together last December. The bill?s introduction is an essential step in the long-term and ongoing effort to restore the lakes.
It started off as a very small idea, and now we have over 260 people coming. It's basically a get-off-the-couch and get-out-of-the-house night.
It may be the most important bill in Congress to protect the Great Lakes from ecological collapse. On average, once every eight months a new invasive species invades the Great Lakes. This is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
This is just a critical period for the Great Lakes.
