DETROIT _ It's official now: The Trump Administration's budget priorities do not include the Great Lakes.
The administration's budget proposal, released Tuesday by the White House's Office of Management and Budget, zeroes out the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which since 2010 has provided more than $2.2 billion for programs to improve and protect the lakes.
"State and local groups are engaged and capable of taking on management of clean-up and restoration of these water bodies," the Budget Office's written narrative accompanying the budget states.
The budget plan also calls for a 45 percent reduction over 2017 funding levels in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency categorical grants to states, the funding used by states _ including Michigan _ to fund regulation of federal environmental laws such as the Clean Air and Clean Water acts.
"States may be able to adjust to reduced funding levels by reducing or eliminating additional activities not required under Federal law, prioritizing programs, and seeking other funding sources, including fees," the Budget Office's written narrative says.
Word of Trump's plans to nix Great Lakes funding has already garnered strong push-back from Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Great Lakes states.
National Wildlife Federation spokesman Jordan Lubetkin blasted the budget proposal.
"It would bring Great Lakes restoration to a halt," he said. "It would undermine efforts to clean up toxic pollution, to halt invasive species like Asian carp, and to prevent harmful algal blooms that on Lake Erie left 500,000 people without a drinking water supply" in August 2014.
"It's a loser for the environment; a loser for the economy; a loser for the waters that 30 million people rely upon for their water supply."
In a written statement to members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January, then EPA Administrator nominee Scott Pruitt said: "If confirmed, I will continue EPA's support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was formally authorized by Congress in December 2016."
Pruitt, in a statement Tuesday, indicated the EPA isn't walking away from the Great Lakes.
"I recognize that the Great Lakes are an important part of the United States fresh water supply, and I am committed to improving environmental conditions and human health for Americans that live and work in the Great Lakes Region," he said. "As I lead this agency, I will continue to engage in meaningful discussions about how shared environmental goals related to this region can best be achieved."
