Press Release 082908

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, August 29, 2008 CONTACT Kristy Meyer 614-487-7506 (OEC) 614-638-8948 (cell) [email protected]

U.S. Senators Voinovich and Brown, Cleveland Mayor Jackson, and State Lawmakers Call for Huge Federal Investment to Restore Lake Erie, Great Lakes Cleveland Welcomes Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives Boat Tour to Highlight the Need for Great Lakes Restoration COLUMBUS, OHIO – The fastest sailboat on the Great Lakes arrived in Cleveland this week as part of a 13-city tour carrying a message for the presidential candidates and Congress to restore the Great Lakes. U.S. Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown, being represented by Beth Thames, Deputy State Director, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, and area state lawmakers joined local businesses, environmental-conservation groups and citizens at a breakfast reception held at the Great Lakes Science Center today to outline a “backto-school lesson plan” for cleaning up and restoring the Great Lakes. The plan calls on presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to commit $20 billion over five years to restore the Great Lakes as outlined in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy—a comprehensive clean-up plan endorsed by citizens, industry, mayors, governors and the region’s congressional delegation. Included in this “lesson plan” is a call to quickly pass the following legislation in Congress: •

Ballast water management legislation to slam the door on destructive invasive species

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Great Lakes Legacy Act to clean up toxic pollution in 26 remaining Areas of Concern Clean Water Restoration Act to protect an estimated 115,000 miles of streams and numerous isolated wetlands that could go unprotected in Ohio as a result of recent federal court cases Great Lakes Compact to prohibit the exportation of Great Lakes water out of the region and to ensure the sustainable use of water within the region

“We are drawing attention to how important Lake Erie is to Cleveland’s economy and way of life,” Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “Yet every day, Lake Erie faces serious threats, which is why we are calling on national leaders to act now to restore the lakes, before the problems get worse and the solutions more costly.” The waters of Lake Erie are critical to Cleveland’s future economy and Clevelanders’ way of life. Lake Erie provides drinking water for millions of citizens residing in the greater Cleveland area. It also is an ecnomic engine for the region, providing the third-largest port on the Great Lakes. The Cuyahoga – Cleveland Port Authority supports 11,000 jobs that generate $572 million in personal incomes. A recent report by the Brookings Institutition found that restoring the Great Lakes would generate between $80 billion and $100 billion in short- and long-term economic gains to the region and would generate more than $2.1 billion in economic revenue for the City of Cleveland. “The Great Lakes drive economic development,” said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. “By investing in our Great Lakes, we can create new jobs, provide more clean drinking water, and stop the spread of invasive species.” “We have come a long way since the days of the “Burning River,” but our Great Lakes are still plagued by the invasion of non-native species and sewage overflows that foul our waterways and beaches,” said U.S. Senator George Voinovich. “As co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, I am hopeful that the presidential candidates will join our fight to protect our drinking water, economy, health and way of life and support full funding for Great Lakes restoration at $20 billion over five years. I also call on the candidates to support the Executive Order to put in place an orchestral leader to oversee the restoration efforts in the Great Lakes.” "The Greater Cleveland Partnership has identified the health of the Great Lakes and water policy as one of our top priorities and we have communicated this message to both Senator McCain and Obama,” said Carol Caruso, Senior Vice President of Advocacy, Greater Cleveland Partnership “This event will reinforce the message that the Great Lakes must be part of our national agenda and support must start at the top." The Earth Voyager sailboat, 60 feet long and nearly 100 feet tall, arrived today in Cleveland. More than 100 local citizens attended a breakfast reption at the Great Lakes Science Center to see the boat and to learn more about the problems facing the lakes, including sewage overflows, toxic pollution, invasive species and habitat destruction. “Restoring the Great Lakes will be a big boon for all Ohio,” said Kristy Meyer, Agricultural & Clean Water Programs Managing Director for the Ohio Environmental Council. “We know what the problems are and we know how to fix them. But every day we wait, the problems get worse and the solutions get more costly. Raising

awareness about the urgent need for restoration is critical to the economic health of Cleveland and all of Ohio’s North Coast.” “The boat tour underscores how important the Great Lakes are to millions of people and the urgent need to restore them,” said Jeff Skelding, national campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, the boat tour’s sponsor. “To those seeking the presidency, we ask: ‘Will you use your leadership as president to fund the restoration of the largest freshwater resource in North America?” Organized by the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, the Earth Voyager 13-city summer tour launched in Buffalo, N.Y., on June 6 and will reach its final port in Rochester, N.Y. on September 6. The magnificent Earth Voyager is raising awareness about the urgent need to restore Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. -30Sources: Brookings Institution http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2008/0324_greatlakes_supplement_austin.aspx

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS:

 Garrette Silverman, Senator George Voinovich, 202-224-7784, [email protected]

 Meghan Dubyak, Senator Sherrod Brown, 202-224-3978, [email protected]

 Andrea Taylor, Mayor Frank G. Jackson, 216-857-7998, [email protected]  Nora Ferrell, Valerie Denney Communications, 773-510-4819 (cell) [email protected]

 Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation, 734-887-7109, [email protected]  Hugh McMullen, Valerie Denney Communications, 312-408-2580 x 15, [email protected]

 Carol Caruso, Greater Cleveland Partnership, 216-592-2471, [email protected]