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Draft Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan Available for Public Input

Release Date: 05/30/2014
Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon, 312-353-6218, cannon.phillippa@epa.gov (Media only)

(May 30, 2014) The federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force today released a draft Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan for public input.

“Protecting communities around the Great Lakes and restoring this important ecosystem is a national and binational imperative,” said Task Force Chair and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Today we’re asking for input on our draft plan so it can be as effective as possible.”

The federal agencies provided extensive public input opportunities throughout 2013 to inform the development of the draft that is being released today. The new Plan recognizes that states, tribes, municipalities, public interest organizations, businesses, academia and other interests have a strong role to play in protecting the Great Lakes. The new Plan covers FY 2015-2019. The document will guide actions to:

· Clean up Areas of Concern and reduce toxic contamination.
· Prevent and control invasive species.
· Reduce polluted runoff that impacts nearshore health.
· Restore habitat and native species.
· Address cross-cutting issues such as science-based adaptive management and climate change.