HR0602 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0602 LRB095 12729 CMK 38075 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are the World's single largest source of fresh surface water and contain about 90% of the water supply for the United States; and

WHEREAS, Fresh water is limited in quantity and highly susceptible to contamination; and

WHEREAS, An estimated 24,000,000,000 gallons of sewage are dumped into the Great Lakes each year due to city sewer overflow; and

WHEREAS, Water pollution contributes to elevated levels of E. coli bacteria and can result in contaminated drinking water and unsafe beach conditions; and

WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that each year between 1,800,000 and 2,500,000 Americans become sick from drinking polluted water; and

WHEREAS, Measures exist to eliminate sewage dumping into the Lakes and the City of Chicago has already taken steps to reduce the amount of sewage reaching Lake Michigan by creating a system of tunnels to direct sewer overflow to large storage reservoirs; and

WHEREAS, The Great Lakes Water Protection Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 2907, would increase fines for sewage dumping, use penalty revenues to fund habitat and wetland projects, and increase public disclosure of dumping incidents; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the U.S. Congress to support and pass the Great Lakes Water Protection Act in an effort to clean up the Great Lakes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.