KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition says it was stunned when its members read a budget proposal reportedly from President Trump that would slash funding to restore the Great Lakes by 97 percent.
Chad Lord, who is with the group, said the action was inconsistent with what Trump staffers said last year.
“We had heard from the president’s campaign about how they were going to support our Great Lakes restoration efforts,” Lord said. “We saw in a written response from the new EPA administrator (Scott Pruitt) that he too was going to support the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.”
The proposal reduces funding from $300 million to just $10 million.
“A $10 million budget would end our ability to see progress,” Lord said.
Lord said the reduction would affect restoration work favorable to the fishing industry. It would also halt efforts to stop invasive Asian carp from swimming into Lake Michigan.
