How do you all feel about the potential massive EPA budget cut for remediating the Great Lakes? (Republic: 2015, costs)

[OyCrumbler]

Lake Erie cleanup work threatened by Trump budget proposals to slash $290 million from EPA | cleveland.com

That's a massive budget cut for a continuing program that's made massive improvements to Lake Erie which is probably most susceptible to pollution due to how shallow it is relative to other Great Lakes. This seems like it could be catastrophic.

[WRnative]

Thanks for the posting the link to this article. I had forgotten to do so.

Trump claims he is interested in jobs, but toxic algal blooms are threatening a $12 billion tourism and sports fishing industry in Lake Erie's western basin, and raising the costs of processing Lake Erie drinking water.

Tourism officials compare Lake Erie algae problem to Gulf oil spill, say industry is ailing | cleveland.com

Trumpies, including our Republican politicians, should be ashamed of this guy's environmental and budget priorities.

[OyCrumbler]

I think what strikes me as odd is how small that budget is in the face of the overall federal budget and the revenue that the Great Lakes generate as well as the general cost of remediation after the fact for critical things such as clean drinking water is. It seems like a fiscally irresponsible policy.

[216facts]

It's going to be a sad 4 years, as we sacrifice our water quality and air quality for (supposedly) jobs. He's derailing all long term safeguards for the environment and the economy. At his current rate of mouth-crapping, he won't last 4 years.

[bjimmy24]

What did the money get used for? Specifically I mean. Just wondering about actual projects and what the results of those projects were.

I have no opinion on this yet. I just think I can't trust knee jerk reactions to the negative to any cuts of any kind (in general this is a common reaction for almost anything, I've noticed). There are more than a few places I think we should cut if not flat out eliminate. So, convince me this is NOT one of them!

[OyCrumbler]

Here are some of the 2015 and 2016 RFAs: https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-fund...eat-lakes-rfas

There's been about two decades of them, but it's generally remediation of pollutants within the lakebad or riverbed of tributary rivers, sewage and run-off treatment, better/faster water quality monitoring, developing better fish ecosystem and pollutant models, and combatting invasive species.

The program isn't funded very much compared to the vast region that it overlooks, but has generally been pretty good with the limited funding it does get. There was actually a time when some parts of the lake and its tributaries were far worse than they are now.

While I'm all for taking a closer look at the budget, have you considered what exactly a 54,000 million increase (as opposed to a 290 million cut) in the defense budget is itemized and earmarked for? It's about two orders of magnitude greater so it's probably driving you up the wall trying to track down the incredible number of programs and subprograms that's supposed to fund.

I'm sure you remember the quickly scuttled internal audit the Pentagon tried to do last year that found there was an estimated 125,000 million in bureaucratic waste within the department of defense. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes Initiative, with a 300 million budget that must be spent in a public and competitive procurement process is getting a 290 million (97%) reduction.

The numbers next to each other in millions:
300 million was the current Great Lakes Initiative budget
290 million is the reduction proposed
10 million is the proposed new budget for the Great Lakes Initiative
8,000 million was the total of the EPA's budget in 2016
54,000 million increase in the defense budget proposed, but was not really requested
125,000 million estimated amount of bureaucratic waste within the DOD currently as cited in the internal department of defense study from last year
1,100,000 million was 2016's defense budget
1,154,000 million is the proposed new defense budget

Lake Erie counties within Ohio alone has a 11,500 million estimated annual revenue from tourism and it is one of five great lakes while the great lakes initiative covers those five lakes plus a large number of tributary rivers, lakes, and general watersheds. Meanwhile tourism is just one component of what Lake Erie and its tributaries help with--there are things like commercial fishing, commercial shipping, and perhaps as an afterthought, drinking water.

None of this seems to add up to sensible government prioritization of the budget

[OyCrumbler]

In case you need context and math, it's literally pennies on the dollar for what the EPA monitors and tries to improve in comparison to the industries that will be negatively affected by the cut. It's fractions of pennies (rounding errors, basically) on the dollar for what we are prioritizing for an unnecessary expanse of defense. It looks pretty crazy and given that almost all Great Lake states have been for decades net contributors of federal revenue versus federal spending, it seems particularly egregious to be cutting programs for bullcrap like the aftermath of the Iraq War, that greatly expanded defense spending, the Great Lakes states have collectively voted against. It's not rational and wasteful at the same time. These are two pretty negative attributes.

[Yac]

I'm sure you all have an opinion on Trump, and that's fine. Thing is, this thread isn't about him, is it ? We have a politics forum where you can love/hate him all you want, get pats on your back and some hate for it too, a fun activity all around. But here ? Please stay on topic. Which isn't "let's post anything vaguely related because it's about Trump and I love/hate him", in case anyone is still confused
Yac.

[WRnative]

So writes the legendary D'Arcy Egan, the now retired but long-time outdoor writer for the Plain Dealer:

<<In proposing what seems to be the most environmentally unfriendly federal budget ever, Trump is sending to Congress a Draconian plan neglecting Lake Erie and the Great Lakes in very punitive ways. Programs created almost a half-century ago to successfully cleanse Ohio's rivers, streams and Lake Erie - and more recently, the important Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - are being sliced, diced and even eliminated....

The most shocking is the proposed elimination of $300 million to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. A sorely needed program, the GRLI battles problems ranging from the slimy algal blooms of Lake Erie to the threat of an Asian carp invasion from the Illinois River, where the invasive creatures dominate the river fishery.>>

Lake Erie fishery, environment would be devastated by President Trump's Machiavellian budget cuts: D'Arcy Egan (Opinion) | cleveland.com

[ohioaninsc]

Pay attention to how every Ohio Congressman and Senator votes on this terrible budget...if they vote for this cut, it shows they are intentionally hurting their own state and constituents...