New Analysis: Restoring Great Lakes Will Bring Major Lakeside Cities Each $200 Million to $13.3 Billion in Economic Gains

Passage of federal, state, and local legislation to fund restoration needed to realize potential gains

Ann Arbor, MI (April 16, 2008)—A new analysis finds that major Great Lakes cities will see economic gains between $200 million to $13.3 billion if the Great Lakes are restored. This report is a supplement to The Brookings Institution’s “Healthy Waters, Strong Economy” report released in November 2007 that found that Great Lakes restoration would bring the region approximately $80 to $100 billion in both short-term and long-term economic gains. This analysis shows that a significant portion of those gains would go directly to major population centers on the shores of the Lakes.

The cost-benefit analysis breaks down the economic benefit to Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Duluth, Erie, Gary and Milwaukee if the Great Lakes are restored.

“This new report confirms that our region’s cities and millions of people living on or near the Great Lakes will benefit from Great Lakes restoration,” said Robert Litan, a Brookings Senior Fellow and vice president for research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, who led the team of researchers who conducted the study. “Cleaning up our nation’s largest source of fresh water will bring billions to the region by way of increased economic development, tourism, fishing and recreation. This analysis provides yet another compelling case for Congress to act now to pass federal funding of Great Lakes restoration.”

Estimated economic gains in Great Lakes cities are:

Buffalo, New York $600 million to $1.1 billion
Chicago, Illinois $7.4 to $13.3 billion
Cleveland, Ohio $2.1 to $3.7 billion
Detroit, Michigan $3.7 to $7 billion
Duluth, Minnesota $200 to $300 million
Erie, Pennsylvania $400 to $500 million
Gary, Indiana $200 to $300 million
Milwaukee, Wisconsin $1.5 to $2.3 billion

“This analysis underscores the importance of Great Lakes restoration to our region,” said co-author John C. Austin, non-resident Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution. “But we need to get started on cleaning up the lakes today. The longer we wait, the higher the price tag will be and the smaller the return on our investment. The health of the Great Lakes is critical to the prosperity of our region.”

This analysis, using property values as a measurement tool, focuses on eight specific coastal cities, but the November 2007 report showed that Great Lakes restoration will positively impact tourism, business, and other aspects of the economy across the region.

“This is a conservative estimate for eight specific cities with the largest populations on the Great Lakes shores,” says Austin. “We know that these economic gains will be felt by everyone in the region, including people outside of the cities we targeted. We expect to see positive economic impacts in other Great Lakes cities as well.”

This analysis and the prior comprehensive report analyzed the cost of restoring the lakes and the economic benefit to the region of implementing the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) Strategy, a comprehensive restoration plan that was crafted by civic, business, environmental, government and Tribal representatives after President Bush signed an executive order in 2004.

The GLRC Strategy will be implemented through federal legislation moving through Congress, which includes sewage infrastructure bills, The Great Lakes Legacy Act, carp barrier funding and other funding to stop invasive species, and the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act.
Funding of these restoration programs and others is critical to make the economic gains cited in the Brookings report possible.

Restoration activities that need federal, state, and local funding include:

• Modernizing wastewater treatment systems to reduce sewage and other contamination that will mean fewer beach closings and improved water quality
• Stopping invasive species and increasing the fish populations in the Great Lakes to avoid the dislocation of sport-fishery workers and assets
• Restoring and protecting wildlife habitat for birds and waterfowl for naturalists and hunters to enjoy
• Removing contaminated sediment in areas of high concern to reclaim communities and increase property values

To identify economic benefits for each specific city, researchers look at how property values in each city will increase once the problems facing the lakes are addressed and the region begins to see increased economic development, tourism, fishing and other benefits due to restoration. Property values become a tool to measure all of the economic activity that will take place once the lakes are clean.

“We have made a strong pitch for federal investment in our region, which shows a significant return,” said George Kuper, president and chief executive officer of the Council of Great Lakes Industries. “This supplemental study helps bring home the message that there is economic benefit to investing in Great Lakes restoration.”

“Millions of people depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, recreation and way of life,” said Andy Buchsbaum, co-chair of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “This analysis shows us that restoring the Great Lakes isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. Cleaner lakes mean a healthier regional economy and a healthier place to call home. The time to act is now.”

Funding for the report was provided by the Joyce Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Consumers Energy Foundation and Dow Chemical Foundation. The views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring foundations.

For a copy of the report, click here:
Place-Specific Benefits of Great Lakes Restoration

For more information, visit:
http://www.brookings.edu/projects/great-lakes.aspx
http://www.healthylakes.org/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2008

CONTACT:
Michelle Daniels, Brookings Institution, 202-797-6270, mdaniels@brookings.edu
Evelyn Strader, Council of Great Lakes Industries, 248-340-7062, StraderCo@aol.com
Nora Ferrell, Valerie Denney Communications, 312-408-2580 x 24, nora@vdcom.com
Hugh McMullen, Valerie Denney Communications, 312-408-2580 x 15, hugh@vdcom.com
Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation, 734-887-7109, lubetkin@nwf.org

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For more than 90 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter—for the nation and the world.

Council of Great Lakes Industries is a non-profit organization representing the common interests of U.S. and Canadian industrial organizations from the manufacturing, utilities, transportation, communications, financial services and trade sectors that have investments in the Great Lakes Basin. The Council works to ensure that industry is a substantive partner in the Great Lakes region’s public policy development process.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, co-led by the National Wildlife Federation and the National Parks Conservation Association, consists of more than 90 zoos, aquariums, museums, and hunting, fishing, and environmental organizations representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Cities Initiative is a binational coalition of mayors and other local officials that works actively with federal, state, and provincial governments to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes.

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• Posted by Chris Grubb on April 16th, 2008
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