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1 1 (December 9, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejrx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Sen vce Informing Ih Iegisatrve d bat sinh o1914 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) December 9, 2022 The Great Lakes ecosystem, the largest system of fresh surface water in the world, is an international resource altered by human activities and climate variability. Some alterations have degraded water quality, diminished habitat, led to smaller native fish and wildlife populations, increased invasive (i.e., non-native) species populations, and changed the ecosystem. In response, the federal governments of the United States and Canada, eight U.S. states, and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes basin are implementing multiple restoration efforts. Activities under these efforts range from mitigating harmful effects of toxic substances in lake waters to restoring fish habitat. While efforts to address environmental degradation in the Great Lakes have been underway for decades, in the early 2000s some stakeholders expressed interest in a shared strategy to improve their effectiveness. In 2004, President George W. Bush's Executive Order 13340 created the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force (Task Force) to coordinate restoration efforts. In 2005, federal and nonfederal stakeholders created the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy to outline a framework for restoration. Building upon these efforts, the Obama Administration proposed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) as part of its FY2010 Budget Request, including additional federal funding to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Congress first appropriated funds for GLRI in FY2010 and the Administration released its first action plan to guide the initiative that year. This In Focus provides background on GLRI, including its purpose, governance and implementation, funding, and potential issues for Congress. Purpose of GLRI In 2015, Congress codified GLRI in statute through amendments to the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1268(c)(7)) to carry out programs and projects for Great Lakes protection and restoration. GLRI aims to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem by supporting activities to address specific focus areas. GLRI priority focus areas include toxic substances and areas of concern; invasive species; nonpoint source pollution impacts on nearshore health; habitats and species; and accountability, monitoring, evaluation, communication, and partnership activities. Notable GLRI provisions include a prohibition against using funds for any water infrastructure activity other than green infrastructure that improves the habitat and ecosystem of the Great Lakes and a requirement that federal agencies maintain their base level of funding for Great Lakes activities without regard to GLRI funding. Most GLRI projects take place within the Great Lakes Drainage Basin (Figure 1). Figure I. Great Lakes Drainage Basin Lrb Source: International Joint Commission. G overnance an d Imoplementation When Congress codified GLRI, it directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lead federal agency implementation and administration of GLRI, including the development of a strategy to guide restoration, referred to as the Action Plan. The EPA Administrator and Task Force are required to update the Action Plan at least every five years. The first two Action Plans were released in 2010 and 2014. Action Plan III was released in 2019 and covers planned activities for FY2020 through FY2024. The action plans provide objectives, commitments, measures of progress, and annual targets for each GLRI focus area. Fundi g Congress authorized annual appropriations of $300 million for GLRI from FY2016 to FY2021. Congress reauthorized appropriations for the program in 2021, increasing the appropriations level to $375 million in FY2022, with subsequent increases of $25 million each year to a maximum of $475 million in FY2026. When Congress codified GLRI in statute, Congress authorized EPA to distribute appropriated funds to other federal agencies for them to undertake GLRI restoration activities and projects under the existing authorities of those agencies. Congress appropriated a total of approximately $4.17 billion to EPA for GLRI from FY2010 to FY2022 (Table 1). In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) provided supplemental appropriations of $200 million per year to EPA for GLRI for FY2022 through FY2026.

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