Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5990 - Assessments of Contaminated Sediments in the Great Lakes

(House)
(Nowak (D) NY)

The Administration supports efforts to clean up the Great Lakes and has been aggressively implementing the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act.

However, the Administration opposes enactment of H.R. 5990. The bill is based on Federal pilot projects that have not been completed or sufficiently reviewed by the appropriate Federal agencies, Congress, or the scientific community. H.R. 5990 is premature and would mandate activities that are not appropriate Federal responsibilities. Information from these projects is insufficient to predict whether sediment clean up would actually improve or degrade the quality of the lakes. Finally, the earmarking of funds would needlessly limit agency flexibility to address program management needs in the most efficient and cost effective manner.