On Wednesday, July 16 at 2 pm, the Senate's Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife will hold a hearing to review pending legislation important to the continued restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem. In May, ten Great Lakes Senators, including Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Sens. Carl Levin (MI) and Mark Kirk (IL), wrote to the Committee Chair and Ranking Member, requesting the hearing. The bill, the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act (GLEEPA) (S. 1232), is co-sponsored by the Co-Chairs, along with eight other Great Lakes Task Force and delegation members. GLEEPA authorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, currently only an Administration initiative, and a Great Lakes Advisory Board to advise its implementation. The Act also reauthorizes the Great Lakes Legacy Act and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, an Obama Administration initiative, first received funding in FY2010 and has provided the vehicle for over $1.6 billion in federal investment into Great Lakes restoration efforts, including nutrient reduction, invasive species control, and habitat restoration. The hearing will also consider a bill, Great Lakes Protection Act (S. 571), introduced by Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Sens. Kirk and Levin, and co-sponsored by Great Lakes Task Force Members Sens. Richard Durbin (IL) and Debbie Stabenow (MI). S. 571 works to completely eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows into the Great Lakes by 2033 and establishes a Great Lakes Cleanup Fund, capitalized by penalty funds associated with discharge violations, to be used for wastewater treatment options in the region. Both bills have counterparts in the House (H.R. 2773; H.R. 1185).