Great Lakes restoration plan criticized

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A restoration plan from the U.S. federal government to protect the Great Lakes from pollution is not tough enough to make a major difference, experts said.

Henry Henderson of the Natural Resources Defense Council said while the federal program will spend as much as $475 million, those funds will do little if the plan does not enforce current regulations or produce more stringent rules, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sunday.

"There is a deficiency in governance here that goes beyond funding," Henderson said.

Former National Wildlife Federation attorney Noah Hall said before funds are spent to clean up the world's largest freshwater system, the program should include regulations intended to limit Great Lakes pollution.

"This was not meant to be a list of new regulatory actions or legal requirements that should be imposed on local governments and industry to protect the Great Lakes from further harm," Hall said.

The Journal Sentinel said the Great Lakes are facing threats from increased development of shorelines as well as pollution from shoreline businesses and area farmlands.