HR0602 LRB095 12729 CMK 38075 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are the World's single largest
3 source of fresh surface water and contain about 90% of the
4 water supply for the United States; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Fresh water is limited in quantity and highly
6 susceptible to contamination; and
 
7     WHEREAS, An estimated 24,000,000,000 gallons of sewage are
8 dumped into the Great Lakes each year due to city sewer
9 overflow; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Water pollution contributes to elevated levels of
11 E. coli bacteria and can result in contaminated drinking water
12 and unsafe beach conditions; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency
14 estimates that each year between 1,800,000 and 2,500,000
15 Americans become sick from drinking polluted water; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Measures exist to eliminate sewage dumping into
17 the Lakes and the City of Chicago has already taken steps to
18 reduce the amount of sewage reaching Lake Michigan by creating
19 a system of tunnels to direct sewer overflow to large storage
20 reservoirs; and
 

 

 

HR0602 - 2 - LRB095 12729 CMK 38075 r

1     WHEREAS, The Great Lakes Water Protection Act, introduced
2 in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 2907, would
3 increase fines for sewage dumping, use penalty revenues to fund
4 habitat and wetland projects, and increase public disclosure of
5 dumping incidents; therefore, be it
 
6     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
8 urge the U.S. Congress to support and pass the Great Lakes
9 Water Protection Act in an effort to clean up the Great Lakes;
10 and be it further
 
11     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
12 delivered to the President pro tempore of the United States
13 Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
14 Representatives, and to each member of the Illinois
15 congressional delegation.