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EPA official details Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects and funding in Ohio
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Summary
Todd Niedesheim, deputy director of EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office, summarized GLRI results to the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee: nearly 9,000 projects and more than $4.5 billion funded since 2010, with almost 500 projects in Ohio totaling nearly $1 billion and major sediment and dam‑removal projects underway.
An EPA official told the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that federal investments through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) have supported thousands of projects and delivered measurable environmental and economic benefits across the basin.
Todd Niedesheim, deputy director of the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, said the GLRI began in 2010 and has funded "almost 9,000 projects" totaling more than "$4,500,000,000." He told the committee that nearly 500 projects have been implemented in Ohio, accounting for almost $1 billion in funds dedicated to in‑state work.
Niedesheim outlined major projects and outcomes: the Ashtabula River was delisted as an Area of Concern in 2021; the Cuyahoga Gorge dam sediment remediation is one of the largest Great Lakes Legacy Act projects at an estimated "$130,000,000," currently funded in part by about "$100,000,000" of federal GLRI dollars alongside cash and in‑kind contributions from nonfederal partners. He said remaining sediment‑remediation work in the Maumee AOC may cost "over $100,000,000" combined from federal and nonfederal sources and that GLRI funds are helping to reduce nutrient loads and support on‑the‑ground conservation practices.
Niedesheim also described invasive‑species and habitat restoration work, long‑term monitoring programs and localized grant support: in the last three years GLRI awarded 27 grants to Ohio state agencies totaling over "$28,000,000" and, when including other entities, about "$48,000,000." He said GLRI efforts have supported habitat conservation, reduced phosphorus loading and contributed to economic activity in communities where restoration work has taken place.
Committee members thanked the presenter and the chair closed the meeting.
