Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

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Updated July 3, 2017
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
Many stakeholders recognize the Great Lakes ecosystem as
Governance and Implementation
an international resource that has been altered by human
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead
activities and climate variability. These alterations have led
federal agency implementing and administering GLRI. In
to degraded water quality, diminished habitat, smaller
recent years, Congress has provided EPA authority, via
native fish and wildlife populations, and a changed
language in annual Interior, Environment, and Related
ecosystem. In response, the federal governments of the
Agencies appropriations bills, to distribute appropriated
United States and Canada, eight U.S. states, and two
funds to several federal agencies to undertake GLRI
Canadian provincial governments in the Great Lakes basin
restoration activities and projects (see Table 2 for agencies
are implementing multiple restoration efforts. Activities
receiving funding to date). EPA also administers a grant
under these efforts range from mitigating the harmful
program to fund nonfederal projects and activities related to
effects of toxic substances in lake waters to restoring fish
Great Lakes restoration. An interagency Great Lakes Task
habitat.
Force oversees implementation of GLRI and created the
strategy to guide restoration, referred to as the Action Plan.
Most laws and past efforts addressed specific issues in the
The first Action Plan provided a framework for restoring
Great Lakes; few addressed issues at the ecosystem level.
the Great Lakes ecosystem. The task force is required to
Consequently, stakeholders expressed the need for the
release new Action Plans to provide guidance for
federal government to initiate and implement a
restoration every five years. The GLRI Action Plan II,
comprehensive approach for restoring the Great Lakes
published in 2014, is the second Action Plan and
ecosystem. In 2010, the Obama Administration proposed
summarizes actions to be implemented from FY2015 to
and Congress began funding the Great Lakes Restoration
FY2019. For each focus area under GLRI, the Action Plan
Initiative (GLRI), which aims to restore the Great Lakes
provides a problem statement, a set of goals, interim
ecosystem under a single initiative. Specifically, GLRI aims
objectives, progress measures, final targets, and principal
to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and
activities for restoring the ecosystem. Restoration activities
biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem by
are conducted under existing federal authorities.
directing activities to address five focus areas: (1) toxic
substances and areas of concern (areas in the Great Lakes
Funding
that are environmentally degraded); (2) invasive species;
GLRI received approximately $2.26 billion in appropriated
(3) nearshore health and nonpoint source pollution; (4)
funds from FY2010 to FY2016; as of February 2017, $1.76
habitat and wildlife protection and restoration; and (5)
billion had been spent on 3,455 projects. (See Table 1.)
accountability, monitoring, evaluation, communication, and
partnerships. Most GLRI projects take place within the
Table 1. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative,
Great Lakes Drainage Basin (see Figure 1).
Annual Discretionary Federal Appropriations
Figure 1. Great Lakes Drainage Basin
Appropriations
Fiscal Year
($ in millions)
FY2010
$475.0
FY2011
$300.0
FY2012
$299.5
FY2013
$298.8
FY2014
$288.9
FY2015
$300.0
FY2016
$300.0
FY2017
$250.0
FY2018 Request
$0.0
Sources: FY2010-FY2017 appropriations bills and explanatory
statements, and FY2018 President’s budget request.
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District.
Note: The Great Lakes Basin consists of the lakes and area in green.
EPA received the majority of the funding to implement
restoration projects. EPA’s proposed budget for FY2018
eliminated agency funding for the GLRI program.
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Additionally, the budget recommended the rescission of
Appropriations Committee hearing, some Members
$50 million of the GLRI’s current FY2017 funding. Table
expressed concern about the effect eliminating funding on
2 provides a breakdown of received funding by agency.
restoration.
Table 2. GLRI Projects and Funding by Agency
Although P.L. 114-322 provided direction on the scope and
($ in millions, as of February 2017)
scale of GLRI, some stakeholders continue to question the
initiative’s direction and duration. Unlike some other
Agency
Projects
Funding
restoration initiatives, GLRI does not follow a detailed or
prescriptive plan or feasibility study. Action Plan II broadly
Agency for Toxic Substances and
10
$11.6
discusses an overall vision for restoration and specifies
Disease Registry
goals and targets for restoration. However, Action Plan II
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
does not estimate how long it will take to restore the Great
34
$8.1
Service
Lakes ecosystem or how much the restoration will cost.
Some scientists have noted that it is challenging to
Bureau of Indian Affairs
255
$30.5
contemplate the cost and duration for restoring the Great
Centers for Disease Control and
Lakes ecosystem because of its size and complexity. Some
4
$2.8
Prevention
contend that the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is
guiding restoration of the Great Lakes.
Environmental Protection Agency
921
$720.7
Federal Highway Administration
12
$6.7
Restoration Progress to Date
GLRI began without stated long-term goals; it is unclear
Maritime Administration
8
$16.6
how much progress has been made toward the overall
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
restoration of the Great Lakes. GLRI aims to track
224
$171.4
Administration
restoration progress through annual reports to Congress and
indicators. GLRI has established an accountability system
National Park Service
78
$31.9
that lists and describes projects and their funding. The
Natural Resources
Action Plan includes a set of milestones for the five-year
248
$139.6
Conservation Service
period it covers; it also attempts to situate progress to date
on a number of measures. Among the GLRI’s more notable
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
550
$191.2
accomplishments to date have been cleanup actions for
delisting of five Great Lakes Areas of Concern (areas with a
U.S. Coast Guard
53
$15.5
significant impairment of beneficial uses designated by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
814
$356.3
United States and Canada), doubling of the acreage enrolled
in agricultural conservation programs, and funding of over
U.S. Geological Survey
152
$100.7
3,000 restoration projects. Although the milestones track
U.S. Forest Service
92
$60.0
implementation of projects, some observers might question
how the completion or progress of these projects relates to
Source: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 2017.
the overall restoration of the ecosystem or ecosystem
Authorization of GLRI
processes.
Although GLRI dates to 2010, it was not authorized outside
Coordination of Efforts
of annual appropriations legislation until 2016, under Title
Some stakeholders question the coordination and
IV of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation
duplication among federal and state restoration efforts. In a
Act (P.L. 114-322). The bill authorized the scope and
2015 report, the Government Accountability Office asserted
function of GLRI, as well as a process and criteria for
that restoration efforts in the Great Lakes suffered from
approving projects. Notable provisions were a prohibition
inadequate coordination. The effort required to improve
for GLRI funds to be used for any water infrastructure
coordination may be significant due to the number of
activity other than green infrastructure that improves the
entities involved in restoration. Further, some stakeholders
habitat and ecosystem of the Great Lakes and a requirement
argue that greater coordination among federal and
that federal agencies maintain their base level of funding
nonfederal stakeholders might create opportunities to
for Great Lakes activities without regard to the GLRI
leverage resources to accomplish common restoration
funding. The law authorized appropriations of $300 million
projects. The GLRI aims to build on existing federal, state,
annually from FY2017 to FY2021.
and local activities. Nonfederal representatives lack a
Potential Issues for Congress
formal role to coordinate with federal actions in a
governance entity. A Great Lakes Advisory Board contains
Since the implementation of GLRI in 2010, questions about
nonfederal members and convenes to discuss restoration
GLRI have emerged, including how much funding it will
efforts; however, the board has limited authorities for
receive, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.
participating in project selection and coordination.
Some stakeholders are concerned that GLRI might receive
significantly less or no funding for FY2018. The Trump
Pervaze A. Sheikh, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Administration proposed to eliminate funding for GLRI for
FY2018, stating that “this change returns the responsibility
IF10128
for funding local environmental efforts and programs to
state and local entities.” In a June 2017 House
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Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

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