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Senate EPW hearing urges reauthorization of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Summary
Witnesses at a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing urged reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), citing on‑the‑ground projects—wetland restoration, invasive‑carp protections and public engagement—that they say have reduced nutrient loads and improved habitat. Senators and witnesses called for continued funding stability and greater transparency in federal allocations.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard testimony urging reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, with witnesses describing projects that they said have reduced nutrient runoff, protected fisheries and bolstered coastal habitat.
Senator Husted, the committee’s Great Lakes member, introduced the hearing as an opportunity to explain why GLRI matters to states that border the lakes and to urge congressional action on S.528, the GLRI Act of 2025, whose supporters say would reauthorize the program before its current authorization expires at the end of September. "I will continue to fight for its reauthorization," Husted said, casting the initiative as a federal commitment to the lakes, the water and regional economies.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz described three GLRI‑supported efforts in Ohio. She said the state and federal partnership rebuilt two islands in the Maumee River to slow flow and filter phosphorus, a project she put…
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