WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) voted Friday in support of the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, which includes $6.36 million for Northern Michigan projects.  H.R. 2996 also included an historic $475 million commitment to restoring the Great Lakes.  The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 254 to 173 and now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate.

“The Fiscal Year 2010 Interior and Environment bill makes a significant investment in Northern Michigan, both in terms of individual projects and its regional investment in the Great Lakes,” Stupak said.

H.R. 2996 includes $667 million, $507 million above 2009, to protect the nation’s great water bodies including the Great Lakes, Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay.  Of that total, $475 million is dedicated to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which will involve the coordination and collaboration of 16 federal agencies, the states of the Great Lakes region, local governments, and citizen groups in an effort to restore the world’s largest body of fresh water.

“The Great Lakes are a national treasure and Michigan’s greatest resource,” Stupak said.  “Our economy, health and way of life depend on protecting both the quality and quantity of Great Lakes water.  I have spent my entire career in Congress fighting to protect the Great Lakes.  Michigan, as the only state entirely within the Great Lakes basin, has a lot to gain from this $475 million federal commitment to restoring the Great Lakes.  Although we know much more funding will be needed, this is an encouraging and important start.”

Northern Michigan Projects

The bill includes $2 million for improvement and maintenance of the U.S. Forest Service’s Watersmeet Administrative Site in the Ottawa National Forest.

H.R. 2996 includes $1,380,000 for the National Park Service to complete exhibit planning and design of the Keweenaw National Historic Park Union Building.  This project follows a comprehensive exterior rehabilitation project completed in 2005.  This restored facility will serve as a comprehensive interpretive exhibit about the mining community – the people of the Copper Country and their relationships with mine management. Universally accessible exhibits will be designed and installed to address this principal park theme.

The bill also includes $1,500,000 for the U.S. Forest Service to acquire additional land for the Ottawa National Forest to further conservation efforts at Prickett Lake.  Prickett Lake is immediately adjacent to the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness, which was designated by Congress in 1987 and is approximately 14,000 acres in size.

The bill includes $1 million for the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (CPBR). CPBR is a non-profit corporation whose membership includes 43 leading U.S. research universities including Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University.  The research produces technological innovations for higher quality crops and cropping practices, improved biomass energy production, objective information on the relationship between genetically engineered plants and the environment, prevention/remediation of hazardous wastes, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

H.R. 2996 contains $480,000 for improvement and maintenance of the Clear Lake Environmental Education Center in the Hiawatha National Forest.