EPA ready to award money for Great Lakes restoration

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI –

About 100 Great Lakes restoration projects in Michigan are in the final stages to receive millions of dollars in federal funds.

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$60 million from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative have been sited for the Michigan-based projects.

Ken DeBeaussaert is director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. He used the governor's weekly radio address to talk about the EPA grants.

"The Great Lakes will benefit in many ways from this funding," he says. "For example, thousands of acres of Great Lakes shoreline can be improved and restored, by removing invasive plants and hardened banks."

DeBeaussaert also says restoration efforts would help the state's economy by making the lakes more attractive for fishermen, boaters, and tourists.

The restoration groups are in the final stages before being awarded the money later this year.