County Board Adopts Supervisor Sartori’s Great Lakes Resolution

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to restore all funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which the President has proposed to cut by $300 million.

Supervisor Sartori released the following statement on the adoption of his resolution:

“We have a responsibility to protect and properly manage the Great Lakes, which are vital to our shared ecosystem and central to our economic prosperity.

“Here in Milwaukee County, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has made invaluable contributions to efforts improve water quality along Milwaukee’s lakefront and our local rivers, greatly improving the quality of life of our residents and boosting our economic recovery.

“Losing the financial support provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative could undo the recent progress we have made, and at a time when we need to accelerate our efforts to improve water quality, not slow them down.

“Just this year, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative awarded $1.4 million to Milwaukee County, including $350,000 to improve water quality and beach health at South Shore Park, which has been named among the 10 worst beaches in the country.

“Protecting the health of our Great Lakes is not just important to Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin, it is important to the economic health and quality of life of all Americans.

“Cutting all funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as the President has proposed, threatens a resource that supports one and a half million jobs and $62 billion in wages every year.

“I urge Congress and the President to invest in the Great Lakes like our future depends on it, because it does.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.