U.S. Plan Targets Revitalization of Great Lakes

The U.S. government has unveiled a five-year, $475-million plan to restore the Great Lakes, including the cleanup of polluted water and beaches, wetlands restoration, and a “zero tolerance” policy on invasive species such as Asian carp. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency and 15 other federal agencies, establishes specific goals for ecosystem recovery in several critical areas. The plan sets a goal to collect or prevent the release of 45 million pounds of electronic waste, 45 million discarded pills, and 4.5 million pounds of household hazardous waste throughout the Great Lakes Basin by 2014. The plan also calls for cleaning up 9.4 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment, reducing algal blooms, and cutting PCB concentrations in trout and walleyed pike by 5 percent annually. The plan aims to reduce harmful runoff from farms, cities and suburbs into Great Lakes watersheds, and eliminate new invasive species such as Asian carp, a nonnative fish that rapidly reproduces and wreaks havoc in marine ecosystems. Leaders in the Great Lakes states hope the strategy will boost a regional economy reliant on shipping, fishing, and tourism.