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The Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative report suggests that towns and cities on both sides of the border spend about US$15 billion a year on water quality management and ecosystem protection. Of that, it‘s estimated that Canadian municipalities spend $4.3 billion annually on infrastructure commitments such as management of storm water and waste water, water quality monitoring and residue management. The report is based on a 2006 poll of municipalities within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system. A joint statement released by the cities initiative board, which includes Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson, states that “this investment highlights the fact that local governments are on the front lines when it comes to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. “Providing fresh drinking water, world class beaches, effective wastewater infrastructure, and vibrant parks requires a significant financial commitment. This survey proves that local governments are willing to rise to the challenge and do their part to ensure a high quality of life and economic well-being for more than 40 million people,” the board says. For the City of Thunder Bay, that means spending millions a year on water/sewer/storm infrastructure improvements, operation and maintenance to protect the pristine waters of Lake Superior. Transportation and works general manager Darrell Matson said the city‘s $75-million pollution prevention and control plan is a case in point. A major legacy of the award-winning plan is the new $61-million secondary sewage treatment plant, he said, noting the federal government has committed $25 million to the project. Current spending on environmental programs accounts for $4.7 million capital and $12.6 million operating expenses in the city budget. Toronto Mayor David Miller, founding Canadian chairman of the cities initiative, told The Canadian Press that “municipalities are carrying almost the entire burden, and of course it‘s not possible to do what needs to be done if it‘s just the cities carrying the load.” Miller said the federal government has committed $40 million over five years to address areas of concern in the Great Lakes, but does not make guaranteed annual infrastructure commitments for things like management of storm water and waste water, water quality monitoring and residue management. “Compared to what municipalities invest, it‘s literally almost nothing,” Miller said, adding municipalities are being left to fend for themselves when it comes to things like the distribution and management of drinking water, and the cleanup and maintenance of public beaches. Miller said he hopes Canada‘s federal officials will take note of the report‘s findings and step forward with more funding. “The Great Lakes region is the world‘s third-largest economy,” he said. “It‘s integrated internationally, and from the Canadian perspective, the health of the Great Lakes is inextricably linked to the social and environmental success of Ontario and Quebec and Canada.” Also brought to light in the report is the need for better accounting of how much other orders of government spend on the resource. “While we know funding for various efforts has been decreasing over the years,” Peterson suggested that “there doesn‘t seem to be an understanding of the aggregate that is currently being spent on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence by all orders of government, including on the Canadian side. “Ideally, Canada would undertake an effort to understand what more needs to be done in Canada to further the protection of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence,” she said. Meanwhile, the report is expected to build support in the United States for federal legislation to implement the 2005 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes – the product of a year-long initiative among federal, state and local governments, tribes and others, and established by a presidential executive order. Among the strategy‘s foremost recommendations to protect and restore the Great Lakes is increased federal investment in storm and wastewater treatment, to supplement the substantial local investment documented in the report. Top of Page |
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September 2, 2010, 8:22 am |