Groups rally support for Great Lakes cleanup

8/19/2009
ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT Environmental advocates and business leaders are urging Congress to fund President Barack Obama's initiative to restore the Great Lakes.

Representatives from the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, a collection of groups lobbying for the cleanup, gathered Wednesday in Detroit along with other environmental, business and government leaders.

They say the restoration effort will provide a huge economic boost. The Brookings Institution estimates the Great Lakes region will gain $2 in economic benefit for every $1 investment to restore the Great Lakes.

Obama requested $475 million in his 2010 budget for the lakes project. A bill to provide full funding has cleared the House, while the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $400 million.