Great Lakes advocates to ask Congress for water protections

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A coalition of Great Lakes advocates is urging Congress to provide funds for cleaning up the region’s waters and strengthening its water infrastructure.

Groups representing businesses, industry, environmentalists, cities, states and tribes will make their annual lobbying visit to Washington, D.C., this week. They’ll visit lawmakers who represent the region’s eight states to urge support for a list of funding priorities.

Among them is full funding of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which usually gets about $300 million a year. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would provide only $10 million for the next fiscal year.

The coalition also will push for more upgrades of drinking water and sewage treatment systems, farm conservation programs that prevent fertilizer runoff and infrastructure to protect against invasive species and enhance Great Lakes navigation.