Lorain, OH — President Joe Biden will visit Ohio today to discuss the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and his administration’s investments in Ohio’s environment. During the visit, the President will also announce $1 billion in spending from last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law will go toward Great Lakes clean-up and restoration efforts in polluted areas, including Ohio’s Black, Cuyahoga, and Maumee rivers.
“We thank President Biden and his administration for their strong investment to restore healthy waterways throughout the Great Lakes, making historic strides to delist Ohio’s remaining areas of concern by 2030,” said Trish Demeter, Director of the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) Action Fund. “We have a lot of work left to do to fully restore and protect Lake Erie. Today’s funding announcement will accelerate important clean up efforts, while also supporting critical efforts to reduce agricultural runoff, restore vital habitat, protect millions of Ohioans’ drinking water, and equitably invest in underserved communities.”
The President will speak near the Black River in Lorain, along the shores of Lake Erie. Significant investments, including Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants, have been made to clean up the Black River Area of Concern following decades of pollution and habitat destruction. Still, more work remains to address the persistent water quality challenges facing Lake Erie, including toxic algal blooms each summer. Lake Erie is one of the state's most important sources of freshwater, providing drinking water for 3 million Ohioans.
Additionally, Ohio has an estimated $27 billion need for water infrastructure upgrades, including drinking water delivery systems, over the next 20 years. Before the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the federal government’s share of funding for water infrastructure upgrades had fallen from 63 percent in the 1970s to approximately 9 percent. This means that water infrastructure upgrades over the past several decades have fallen on the shoulders of community members.
The bipartisan infrastructure law will provide Ohio with more than $241 million for water infrastructure investments in 2022. Of these funds for Ohio, $71 million will be specifically earmarked for lead service line replacement. Ohio is estimated to have 650,000 lead service lines still in place, putting us second in the nation for this legacy of lead. Receiving one’s drinking water from a lead service line is comparable to drinking water through a lead straw. It’s a significant health risk that the bipartisan infrastructure law directly addresses.
“This funding is a historic step toward solving Ohio’s water clean up, restoration, and infrastructure needs, but more resources are needed to entirely eliminate these problems for all who call Ohio home,” said Demeter. “We thank Ohio’s congressional leaders for passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and call on them to work together to pass the Build Back Better Act. The Build Back Better Act would create the largest investment in climate action in our nation’s history. Together, these two pieces of legislation will help ensure Ohioans have access to clean water and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis on our communities.”
To mark the President’s visit, the OEC Action Fund’s national partner the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched a digital ad campaign targeted at the Greater Cleveland area urging the Biden Administration and Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act. OEC Action Fund and LCV will also engage supporters in a digital day of action, calling on lawmakers to pass the transformative climate legislation.
“The Build Back Better Act may be Congress’s last best chance to pass bold climate action by investing in clean energy, high-quality union jobs, and environmental justice—we must pass this legislation,” said Demeter.
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The OEC Action Fund, a 501c4 organization, seeks to protect and enhance the environment, economic viability, and health of all Ohio communities by expanding access to public lands, advancing critical environmental priorities, holding policy makers accountable, and electing environmental champions.
Media Inquiries: ebacha<at>theoec.org