February 9, 2015
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
Many stakeholders recognize the Great Lakes ecosystem as
Governance and Implementation
an international natural resource that has been altered by
human activities and climate variability. These alterations
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead
have led to degraded water quality, diminished habitat,
federal agency implementing and administering GLRI. The
smaller native fish and wildlife populations, and a changed
EPA has the authority to distribute appropriated funds to
ecosystem. In response, the federal governments of the
several federal agencies that then undertake restoration
United States and Canada and the U.S. state and Canadian
activities and projects. These agencies include the U.S.
provincial governments in the Great Lakes basin are
Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
implementing several restoration activities. These activities
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and
range from mitigating the harmful effects of toxic
Natural Resources Conservation Service. The EPA also
substances in lake waters to restoring fish habitat.
administers grant programs to fund nonfederal projects and
activities related to restoration. An interagency Great Lakes
Most laws and past efforts addressed specific issues in the
Task Force oversees implementation of GLRI, and it
Great Lakes; few addressed issues at the ecosystem level.
created a strategy to guide restoration. The strategy
Consequently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office
(referred to as the Action Plan) initially provided a
(GAO) and others expressed the need for the federal
framework for restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem under
government to initiate and implement a comprehensive
GLRI from 2010 through 2014. The task force promulgated
approach for restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem. In 2010,
a new Action Plan in 2014, and this new plan provides
the Obama Administration proposed and implemented the
guidance for restoration from FY2015 to FY2019. For each
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which aims to
focus area under GLRI, the Action Plan provides a problem
restore the Great Lakes ecosystem under a single initiative.
statement, a set of goals, interim objectives, progress
Specifically, GLRI aims to restore and maintain the
measures, final targets, and principal activities for restoring
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Great
the ecosystem. Restoration activities are conducted under
Lakes basin ecosystem by directing activities to address
existing federal authorities.
five focus areas: (1) toxic substances and areas of concern
(areas in the Great Lakes that are environmentally
Funding
degraded); (2) invasive species; (3) nearshore health and
nonpoint source pollution; (4) habitat and wildlife
GLRI has received approximately $1.96 billion in
protection and restoration; and (5) accountability,
appropriated funds since FY2010. As of August 2014, it
monitoring, evaluation, communication, and partnerships.
had spent $1.23 billion on 2,215 projects in the Great Lakes
ecosystem. (See Table 1.)
Figure 1. Great Lakes Basin
Table 1. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding
($ in millions)
Fiscal Year
Appropriations
FY2010 $475.0
FY2011 $300.0
FY2012 $299.5
FY2013 $298.8
FY2014 $288.9
FY2015 $300.0
FY2016 Request
$250.0
Sources: FY2010-FY2015 appropriations bil s and explanatory
statements and the FY2016 President’s budget request.
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District.
Note: The boundaries of the Great Lakes basin are shaded.
The EPA received the majority of the funding to implement
restoration projects through August 2014. Table 2 provides
a breakdown of received funding by agency.
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Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
Table 2. GLRI Projects and Funding for Agencies
Action Plan broadly discusses an overall vision but only
($ in millions, as of August 2014)
provides specific goals and targets for restoration between
FY2015 and FY2019. Furthermore, the Action Plan does
Agency Projects
Funding
not indicate how long it will take to restore the Great Lakes
ecosystem or how much it ultimately will cost. Some
Agency for Toxic Substances and
8 $11.3
scientists might respond to this concern by noting the
Disease Registry
challenges of fully contemplating a restored Great Lakes
Bureau of Indian Affairs
134
$16.7
ecosystem because of its size and complexity. Stakeholders
also might point to the Great Lakes Water Quality
Federal Highway Administration
9
$5.7
Agreement as a guiding document for ultimately restoring
Maritime Administration
5
$11.6
the Great Lakes. This agreement is between the United
States and Canada and contains general objectives for
Environmental Protection Agency
667
$538.7
restoring the water quality of the Great Lakes.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
133 $90.2
How Effective Is GLRI in Restoring the
Administration
Great Lakes?
National Park Service
41
$21.9
Implementation of GLRI began in 2010, without stated
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
340
$141.0
long-term goals; it is unclear how much progress has been
U.S. Coast Guard
36
$12.6
made toward finishing the restoration effort. GLRI aims to
track progress of restoration within the time frame of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
490
$172.4
Action Plan. GLRI has established an accountability system
U.S. Geological Survey
104
$62.8
that lists and describes projects and their funding. The most
recent Action Plan includes a set of milestones for the five-
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
18 $4.6
year period it covers. However, these milestones do not
Service
appear to be indicators of ecosystem health; rather, they are
U.S. Forest Service
50
$37.1
goals for implementing projects (e.g., the number of people
provided information about toxic substances). Some experts
Natural Resources
179 $99.2
might question how the completion or progress of these
Conservation Service
projects relates to the overall restoration of the ecosystem
Source: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 2015.
or ecosystem processes. In response to this issue, the Action
Plan proposes an adaptive management program. Adaptive
Potential Issues for Congress
management is testing and managing a restoration initiative
to Consider
so that it achieves its objectives in the most efficient
manner possible.
Since the implementation of GLRI in 2010, activities for
Great Lakes restoration have increased. Some questions that
Coordination of Efforts
have emerged in regard to GLRI include how long
restoration will take, how much restoration ultimately will
Some experts question the coordination among federal and
cost, how effective GLRI is in restoring the Great Lakes,
state restoration efforts. In the past, the GAO asserted that
and whether coordination among restoration activities is
restoration efforts in the Great Lakes suffered from
adequate.
inadequate coordination. Federal coordination with
nonfederal entities might be significant due to the number
Proposed legislation introduced in the 114th Congress partly
of entities involved in restoration, including efforts from
addresses some of these questions. H.R. 223 would
eight states. Some policymakers might contend that absent
establish a governance and management structure for
a formal coordination role for nonfederal entities,
restoration activities in the Great Lakes, authorize GLRI
restoration projects might overlap. Further, some
and appropriations for its implementation ($300 million
stakeholders argue that greater coordination among federal
annually from FY2016 to FY2020), specify the scope and
and nonfederal stakeholders might create opportunities to
function of GLRI, and authorize the coordinating role of the
leverage resources to accomplish common restoration
Great Lakes Interagency Task Force. A similar bill passed
projects. The GLRI aims to build on existing federal, state,
the U.S. House of Representatives in the 113th Congress but
and local activities, yet it is unclear how this might happen.
was not voted on in the Senate.
Nonfederal representatives lack a formal role to coordinate
with federal actions in a governance entity. A Great Lakes
Vision of a Restored Great Lakes Ecosystem
Advisory Board contains nonfederal members and convenes
to discuss restoration efforts; however, the board’s charter
The scope and scale of GLRI have led some experts to
does not specify that coordination is a priority.
question the initiative’s direction and duration. GLRI does
not specify what a restored ecosystem might look like,
Pervaze A. Sheikh, psheikh@crs.loc.gov, 7-6070
estimate how long restoration activities will need to be

conducted, or predict how much restoration might cost. The
IF10128
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