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Advocacy Update: Great Lakes Policy Wins

Restoration, Invasive Species, Lake Erie

April 2, 2018

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Great Lakes policy! Thanks to you and thousands of our other Great Lakes advocates who have signed petitions, written letters, and made calls, we’ve had several exciting policy wins.

Budget Wins

Just over a week ago, the President signed a huge spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress. The bill funds the federal government through the remainder of this fiscal year. A few Great Lakes highlights:

Ohio Lists Lake Erie as Impaired

On Thursday, March 22, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency listed the open waters of western Lake Erie as “impaired” under the Clean Water Act. This brings new tools to the fight against harmful algal blooms in the lake. Advocates, along with thousands of Ohio residents, have called for this designation for several years. And we even took the issue to court last year.

Listing western Lake Erie as impaired is the right thing to do. For Ohio to reach its aggressive pollution reduction goals, the state will need to adopt specific, accountable measures that address phosphorus, the root of the harmful algal bloom problem.

Thank you! You’ve got a lot to be proud of and you’ve helped set a strong foundation for even more Great Lakes victories in the future.

And, thank you to the strong bipartisan Great Lakes coalition in Congress for listening and protecting the lakes.

Keep It Up

There is always more to do! Head to our action center to keep up the momentum.

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