Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino named to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Board of Directors

 

CHICAGO – The cities of Detroit (MI), Zion (IL) and Saint-Anicet (QC), have joined the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino were named to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Board of Directors.

“We look forward to working with these cities to ensure that the voice of local government is always part of the decision-making process for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence,” said Mike Vandersteen, Chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.  “We are also pleased to have Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino join our Board of Directors.”

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a binational coalition of close to 100 U.S. and Canadian mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The Cities Initiative and local officials integrate environmental, economic and social agendas and sustain a resource that represents approximately 80 percent of North America’s surface freshwater supply, provides drinking water for 40 million people and is the foundation upon which a strong regional economy is based.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is calling on U.S. and Canadian elected officials to include water resource priorities in any upcoming economic stimulus programs.  In addition to economic stimulus, funding will help safeguard coastal resources and mitigate future damage from erosion, flooding and severe storm events, outdated wastewater infrastructure, exposure to toxic pollutants in the water, agricultural and urban runoff that feeds harmful algal blooms and chronically contaminated beaches.

“Investing in water infrastructure is one of the most cost-effective ways to stimulate economic activity,” said Mayor Michael Vandersteen, Chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. “Every job added in the water and wastewater industry is projected to create an additional 3.68 jobs in the national economy, and every million dollars in federal funding will generate $2.95 million in economic activity.”