Big News: Great Lakes cities spend $15 billion on restoration - where's Washington?

A New York Times article this morning has a story on a new report, detailing the amount of money Great Lakes cities and local governments are spending to protect and restore the Great Lakes - more than 15 billion dollars annually.

The report points out that the federal government's role pales in comparison - approximately $350 million annually, according to Jordan Lubkin, communications director for the Healing Our Waters coaltion.

Given that the Great Lakes comprise one-fifth of the world's fresh water and are critical to the region's economy both in terms of jobs and quality of life, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, which released the report, believes that the federal government can and should do much more.

Great Lakes municiple leaders believe that the federal government needs to step up to the plate and help local governments maintain adequate sewage facilities, fight toxic pollution and ward off invasive species, among other problems.

"Municipalities in both the U.S. and Canada are spending billions of dollars on stewardship, protection, cleanup, to reduce and prevent pollution, and to buy and protect shorelines. Local government is pulling its weight and more. But federal funding has not kept pace," said James Ulich, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.