Congress passes environmental legislation for Great Lakes

WASHINGTON – Congress gave final approval yesterday to a bill increasing the federal government's attention to delicate inlets, including one of Ohio's few remaining untouched coastal wetlands.

The measure was one of the final pieces of Great Lakes legislation on Congress's agenda this year.

Still to be completed was the Water Resources Development Act, authorizing a wide array of federal programs. This includes dredging to deal with low water levels and local projects such as a study of the Cuyahoga River's navigation channel.

With only days remaining before legislative business ends for the year, there was little chance of other Great Lakes bills coming up for a vote.

Overall, the year in Congress was not a good one for advocates pushing for Great Lakes programs, said Emily Green, a Great Lakes expert with the Sierra Club.

Congress refused to give the Clinton administration a $50 million Great Lakes cleanup program announced with great fanfare in January. Also, riders added during the appropriations process will make it more difficult for the government to dredge contaminated sediments, she said.

That is not to say that Congress ignored the nation's largest source of fresh water:

- A Great Lakes Basin soil erosion program had been slated for elimination under President Clinton's budget, but instead Congress boosted its appropriation to $725,000, up from $600,000.

-Research into invasive plants – a big Great Lakes problem – is in line for $4 million, despite an administration-recommended cut to $3 million.