STATEMENT OF THOMAS V. SKINNER
REGION
V ADMINISTRATOR
NATIONAL
PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE GREAT LAKES
U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Good Morning, Senator. I am Tom Skinner, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Region V Administrator and the National Program
Manager for the Great Lakes. I am pleased
to be here today to discuss our efforts to restore and protect the Great Lakes,
the largest freshwater system on earth.
INTRODUCTION
I want to first take this
opportunity to highlight mechanisms that EPA has developed to carry out Great
Lakes priority setting and planning.
Over the past few years, we have built a sound structure for achieving a
collective vision of comprehensive ecosystem management for the Great Lakes.
We have a good understanding of the
major environmental problems facing the Great Lakes today. In recognition of these problems, the FY
2004 President’s Budget increased EPA’s Great Lakes funding by $15 million,
nearly doubling FY 2003 levels. These
additional funds will support the contaminated sediment projects newly
authorized by the Great Lakes Legacy Act.
Efforts to develop the Great Lakes
Strategy 2002, combined with information from the State of the Lakes Ecosystem
reports have provided much valuable information and experience. EPA continues to gather more information on
the condition of the Great Lakes, as part of the Agency’s scientific research
program. For example, we are working to
develop integrated methods of detecting and predicting the spread of new
invasive species introduced into the Great Lakes. We are also developing more rapid methods for measuring beach
water quality (to get results in 1-2 hours, rather than the current 24 to 48
hours) and improving our protocols for monitoring, our goal being to better
understand the relationship between water quality and its health impacts on
beach goers.
What we do know is that:
<Invasive species in the Great Lakes, now in excess of
160, are causing serious economic and ecosystem health impacts. It is virtually certain more invasives will
enter the system in future years.
<Toxic contamination has triggered more than 1,500
current fish advisories in the Great Lakes Basin. Cleaning up contaminated sediments and addressing inputs of toxic
chemicals to the Lakes are key to solving this problem.
<Record numbers of beach closings have occurred in the
Great Lakes in recent years due to nonpoint source runoff and sewage problems.
<A “dead zone” of water lacking oxygen has appeared in
Lake Erie, impacting aquatic life, and indicating the health of the lake may be
compromised.
The Great Lakes
Strategy 2002, working along with Lakewide Management Plans and Remedial Action
Plans, identifies these problems and form a complementary framework for current
and future efforts to address them. A
suite of goals and measures in the Strategy are guiding governmental partners
towards solving these problems. Some of
the most important goals are:
<By 2005, clean-up and de-list 3 Areas of Concern,
with a cumulative total of 10 by 2010.
<By 2007, reduce concentrations of PCBs in lake trout
and walleye by 25%.
<By 2007, establish 300,000 acres of buffer strips in
agricultural lands using non-regulatory federal and state programs.
<By 2010, 90% of Great Lakes beaches will be open 95%
of the season.
<By 2010, restore or enhance 100,000 acres of wetlands
in the Basin.
<By 2010, substantially reduce the further
introduction of invasive species, both aquatic and terrestrial, to the Great
Lakes Basin Ecosystem.
<Accelerate the pace of sediment remediation, leading
to the clean-up of all designated sites by 2025.
Some of the
challenges in restoring the Great Lakes are:
<The sheer geographic size of the system, and the
range of problems present in the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes also require binational cooperation to achieve results.
<Coordination with numerous partners and jurisdictions
-- Eight Great Lakes States, over ten Federal agencies and over 30 Indian
Tribes are responsible for carrying out environmental and natural resource
management programs to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Many other key organizations such as the
Council of Great Lakes Governors, the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes
Fishery Commission, and the International Joint Commission (IJC) also have
extremely important roles.
<Public involvement -- the very nature and value of
the Great Lakes as a natural resource means many non-governmental partners and
individuals from all sectors of society are interested in the Lakes’ health.
<Potential for duplication of efforts. There are currently a number of plans and
planning efforts for the Great Lakes that address different geographic
scales. It is important to coordinate
to ensure efforts do not cause unnecessary confusion, wasted resources, or lead
to “reinventing the wheel.”
It will be
important as we move forward to continue to work with the Council of Great
Lakes Governors to ensure that the Governors’ priorities are emphasized and
that duplication of effort is avoided.
The Great Lakes Strategy 2002, Lakewide Management Plans, and Remedial
Action Plans, can serve as the starting point for this work.
In closing, I would like to thank you
for the opportunity to speak today. I
look forward to playing a key role working with our partners to continue
progress on Great Lakes restoration efforts.