Title
Resolution Opposing President Donald J. Trump’s Proposed Reductions to Funding Provided to the Environmental Protection Agency for Great Lakes Pollution Cleanup and Protection
Body
WHEREAS, the Great Lakes comprise the largest freshwater system on Earth, holding 84% of all surface freshwater in North America; and
WHEREAS, the Great Lakes basin includes eight states having an impact on more than 35 million people in the United States and Canada; and
WHEREAS, a study conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that more than 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to the Great Lakes, generating $62 billion in wages every year; and
WHEREAS, the sustainability and health of this source of drinking water for more than 35 million people faces many serious manmade threats, including polluted urban and agricultural runoff, sewer overflows, hazardous chemicals, climate change, and the spread of invasive species like Asian carp and exotic mussels; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency launched the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative with broad public support in 2010 to fund pollution monitoring and variety of strategies and projects to restore and protect the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, President Donald J. Trump’s 2018 budget proposal calls for cutting the federal allocation to the Environmental Protection Agency by 31% and eliminating the funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative; and
WHEREAS, a bipartisan Congressional coalition of 63 members recognizing the measurable results being made through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative are calling for funding to be restored to $300 million in fiscal year 2018; and
WHEREAS, the international reach of the Great Lakes requires strong federal leadership to help establish and coordinate the many governmental, scientific, and public and private partnerships necessary to remedy the challenges facing this critical source of drinking water, employment, and recreation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage Commission, that the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District opposes the proposed reductions in the funding provided to the Environmental Protection Agency for Great Lakes protection and directs its staff to actively support the restoration of funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
FURTHER RESOLVED, by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage Commission, that the Executive Director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District shall send copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, all members of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation, the heads of appropriate federal agencies, all members of the Wisconsin State Legislature, the Governor of Wisconsin, the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and all mayors and village presidents in MMSD’s sewer service area.