Report: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative boosted area's economy

SANDUSKY — A new report on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative asserts the federal program created thousands of jobs and helped the area's economy.The program began in 2010. From 2010 to 2017, Congress spent more than $2.5 billion to pay for more than 3,600 projects.Funding from the initiative for Sandusky projects includes $125,000 to turn the Jackson Street parking lot downtown into a "green" permeable lot to reduce runoff; $430,000 for a project by the city and the state to restore Sandusky Bay wetlands, and $175,000 to renovate Lions Park.Almost $2 million has been spent in the Sandusky Bay watershed to reduce runoff and restore wildlife habitat.The new report, "Assessing the Investment: The Economic Impact of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative" states every dollar spent by the program will produce $3.35 in economic activity in the Great Lakes region through 2036.The projects to clean up the lake have boosted tourism, improved the quality of life for residents and raised housing values in the Great Lakes region, according to the study.The University of Michigan's Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics led the research, assisted by economists from outside the region. The report is available at glc.org/work/blue-economy/GLRI-economic-impact.The report includes case studies at eight locations in the Great Lakes area, including Ashtabula, Ohio. In Ashtabula, pleasure boat registrations increased 42 percent, business development ramped up along the waterfront and tourism activity increased, the report says.The Trump administration tried to shut down the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in Congress has kept it going at the funding level of $300 million a year sought by environmental groups.U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, one of the lawmakers who fought to continue funding the program, said the new study vindicates those efforts."The Great Lakes are an invaluable resource to Ohio, and this study proves that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been a successful public-private partnership that helps protect our environment and strengthen our economy," Portman said.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.A small wave makes it to shore at Vermilion's Main Street on June 9, 2018.