Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I rise to join with Senator Durbin to introduce the Great Lakes Water Protection Act. This bipartisan legislation would set a date certain to end sewage dumping in the Great Lakes, America's largest source of surface fresh water. The Great Lakes are home to more than 3,500 species of plants and animals and are the source of drinking water for more than 30 million Americans. It is time that we put a stop to the poisoning of our water supply. Cities along the Great Lakes must become environmental stewards of our country's most precious freshwater ecosystem and take action to reverse the trend of discharging sewage into the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Water Protection Act gives cities until 2033 to build the necessary infrastructure to prevent sewage dumping in the Great Lakes. Those who violate the EPA's sewage dumping regulations after this deadline will be subject to fines up to $100,000 for every day they are in violation. These fines would be directed into a Great Lakes Clean-Up Fund within the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to be used for wastewater treatment options, with a special focus on greener solutions such as habitat protection and wetland restoration. Many cities along the Great Lakes Basin lack the critical infrastructure needed to divert sewage overflows during times of heavy rainfall. Some reports estimate that as much as 24 billion gallons of combined sewage and storm water runoff are dumped into the Great Lakes every year.…”