WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) voted today to renew a federal program that provides annual funding for Great Lakes clean up efforts.  Stupak is a cosponsor of H.R. 6460, the Great Lakes Legacy Reauthorization Act of 2008, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives 371-20 and now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate.

“Since coming to Congress, I have made it my mission to protect and promote the nation’s most precious resource: the Great Lakes,” Stupak said.  “The Great Lakes Legacy Act has provided for the remediation of Tannery Bay in Sault Ste. Marie and with proper funding could be used to clean-up toxic contaminants in the other areas of concern that have been identified.”

The Great Lakes tributaries and harbors identified as having pollution problems are known as “areas of concern” (AOCs).  There are 43 AOCs on the Great Lakes – 26 in the United States, 12 in Canada and five shared between the two countries.  Six of the AOCs are located wholly or partially in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District: Saginaw River and Bay AOC, Menominee River AOC, Manistique River AOC, Deer Lake AOC, Torch Lake AOC and St. Mary’s River AOC.

Tannery Bay in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is part of the St. Mary’s River AOC, which connects Lakes Superior and Huron through the Soo Locks.  Tannery Bay suffered from pollution from a number of by-products left behind by the Northwestern Leather Co., which operated in the area from 1900 to 1958.  In September 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed cleanup of Tannery Bay with the help of the Great Lakes Legacy Act program.  In total, the cleanup removed 880,000 pounds of chromium and more than 70 pounds of mercury from the bay and wetland on Tannery Point.  Of the total spent on the $8 million project, $4.8 million was provided through the Great Lakes Legacy Act.

“Since I was first elected to Congress in 1992, I worked to clean up the pollution at Tannery Bay,” Stupak said.  “While I am pleased we were able to clean up this area, there are several other sites in the Great Lakes that need the Great Lakes Legacy Act.”

The Great Lakes Legacy Reauthorization Act of 2008 renews the program for five years and triples the authorized funding levels for Great Lakes remediation to $150 million per year.

“Michigan stands to benefit tremendously from the Great Lakes Legacy Act,” Stupak said.  “While Congress has provided funding for the program since 2004, I look forward to working with the next administration to make Great Lakes clean-up a real priority.”

Michigan’s 1^st Congressional District, which Stupak represents, has more shoreline – 1,613 miles – than any other congressional district in the continental United States and is nation’s only congressional district to border three of the five Great Lakes.

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