The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Shoreline Cities grants totaling more than $430,000 to four cities in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan to fund green infrastructure projects that will improve water quality in Lake Michigan.
Highland Park and Wilmette, Illinois; Michigan City, Indiana; and Muskegon, Michigan, are among 11 cities across the Great Lakes Basin which will receive funding totaling over $1.8 million through the current round of GLRI Shoreline Cities grants.
EPA Region 5 Administrator/Great Lakes National Program Manager Susan Hedman made the announcement at an event in Ohio.
“These cities along Lake Michigan will use EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Shoreline Cities grants for green infrastructure projects to protect the lake,” said Hedman. “Green infrastructure captures and filters rain where it falls – to reduce flooding and to prevent stormwater from washing contaminants into our waterways.”
“This federal funding isn’t only an investment in the health and beauty of Lake Michigan, it is also an investment in the streets, homes, and businesses on Chicago’s North Shore,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin.
“When extreme weather causes flooding, our cities and our waterways suffer, leaving taxpayers and the environment to pay the price. That is why I have joined with Congressman Mike Quigley to push for a federal study on how we can expand mitigation efforts – like the green infrastructure projects funded through the EPA’s Shorelines Cities grants – and gain a better understanding of flooding in our cities,” he added.