Clinton River Projects Get Support

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has announced the award of new funding for major Great Lakes Restoration Initiative projects in the Clinton River Area of Concern totaling nearly $20 million.

Senior Advisor to the EPA Administrator Cameron Davis was joined by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, Clinton River Public Advisory Council Chair Lynne Seymour and representatives of the grantees.

They announced the projects at the Harbor Club South Apartments near the Clinton River Spillway, which connects the two congressional districts.

“The Great Lakes are an economic engine for Michigan, driving industries including tourism, agriculture and commercial shipping, and supporting more than half a million jobs,” Sen. Peters said. “Investments made possible by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative are essential to revitalizing the Great Lakes and the communities that rely on them.”

The following projects and grants will be funded:

• Clinton River Corridor Project – City of Sterling Heights ($4,500,000);
• Partridge Creek Commons, McBride Drain and Clinton River Spillway Projects – Macomb County ($6,300,000);
• Clinton River Spillway Project – Macomb County ($2,500,000);
• Wolcott Mill Metropark Wetland Project – Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority ($335,374);
• Galloway Wetland Project – City of Auburn Hills ($140,000);
• Sylvan Glen Project – City of Troy ($375,000);
• Harley Ensign/Clinton River Mouth Project – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Agreement ($2,694,201);
• Shelby Township Stream Bank Stabilization Project – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Agreement ($914,412);
• The Galloway Creek Fish Passage Project – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Agreement ($2,202,000).

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched in 2010 to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world.

Since then, three Great Lakes Areas of Concern in the U.S. or shared with Canada have been cleaned up and taken off the bi-national list of Areas of Concern: the Presque Isle Bay AOC (on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania), the Deer Lake AOC (on Lake Superior in Michigan) and the White Lake AOC (on Lake Michigan in Michigan).

Twenty seven Areas of Concern remain on the list.