July 10th, 2019

This summer Governor Whitmer joined international and multi-state coalitions to protect our Great Lakes from PFAS, invasive species, and to address failing infrastructure.  MI approved a resolution to increase PFAs strategy and coordination with other Midwest states; signed a memorandum of understanding on regional cooperation and enforcement around aquatic and invasive species; and on July 10, 2019, Governor Whitmer joined the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers in entering a Basin-wide coalition to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin by taking action at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Illinois. 

On July 29, 2019, Governor Whitmer joined a coalition of Great Lakes governors from Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to announce a Great Lakes 2020 Presidential Agenda, and encouraged all presidential candidates to adopt this strategic plan which combats the critical factors that are currently threatening our water and public health.  The Great Lakes 2020 Presidential Agenda outlines six items that address the need to protect and preserve the ecology, economy, and the health of the Great Lakes and the region’s inland waterways. 

Those platforms include:

  • Triple the federal investment into the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds to address our region’s $179 billion backlog in water infrastructure 
  • Ramp up funding for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to $475 million per year
  • Commit federal funding and resources to helping states in meeting their goals of reducing nutrient pollution in the Western Lake Erie basin by 40 percent by 2025
  • Push for increased federal action of both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Defense to address PFAS contamination.

 

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