Everyone needs clean water. Ensuring we all have access to clean water requires that our decisions are driven by sound science, good governance, investments, and strong partnerships. Across the Great Lakes region, states, Tribes, cities, universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations work together with federal agencies to restore and protect the lakes. These efforts have produced real results, from cleaning up toxic hotspots and restoring habitats to reducing pollution and addressing invasive species. This progress depends on a reliable federal funding system that invests our public dollars and is trustworthy, predictable, transparent, and grounded in science.
A proposed change to the rules governing federal grants could threaten that foundation by making it possible for federal agencies to make funding decisions based on the changing politics of each administration rather than established, evidence and merit-based processes. It would reduce the role of scientific peer review, impose new burdens on grant recipients, and make it easier to change or terminate grants after they have been awarded based on political priorities rather than evidence.
Scientific expertise and evidence should guide decisions about public resources and health. When political considerations take priority over scientific review, or when changes in administration disrupt long-term research, our ability to make sound, effective decisions suffers. For the Great Lakes, the consequences could be significant.
Federal research and grants help us understand how to reduce pollution that threatens our drinking water, control invasive species that destroy our Great Lakes ecosystems, protect communities from flooding, and replace lead water service lines. Decisions about which communities receive funding and what scientific research moves forward should not be guided by politics. New barriers and uncertainty would also make it harder for smaller organizations, local partners, universities, and research institutions to participate in urgently needed restoration and conduct the long-term research needed to understand and address threats to the lakes.
We should make it easier, not harder, for partners to work together to solve shared challenges. The Great Lakes show what is possible when these partners combine science, collaboration, and long-term federal support. That is why the Alliance for the Great Lakes joined Healing Our Waters and other Great Lakes organizations in urging the Office of Management and Budget to withdraw the proposed changes to federal financial assistance rules. Protecting the Great Lakes requires all of us. It also requires scientific expertise and a strong, reliable federal partner.
Read the full letter signed by Great Lakes organizations opposing the proposed changes at this link.