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President Clinton and Vice President Gore:
Protecting Our Environment and Public Health
Over the past seven years, President Clinton and Vice President
Gore have significantly strengthened protections for the environment
and public health, and won new resources to help states and communities
protect their water, land and coasts. Here are some of the ways the
state of Ohio has benefited:
Accelerating Toxic Cleanups. The Clinton-Gore Administration has greatly
accelerated the cleanup of contaminated sites, protecting communities
and revitalizing local economies by returning land to productive use.
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Superfund -- Nationwide, the Administration has completed
525 Superfund cleanups since 1993, more than three times the number
completed in the previous twelve years. In Ohio, 16 Superfund cleanups
have been completed since 1993.
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Brownfields – Administration initiatives have steered
more than $110 million to more than 300 communities to assess, clean
up and redevelop brownfields – abandoned, contaminated sites, usually
in distressed urban neighborhoods. Ohio has received 17 grants totaling
$3.7 million.
Strengthening Water Quality Protections. Through a variety
of programs, the Administration has provided significant new resources
to states and communities to safeguard public health by improving drinking
water and to protect rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. These include:
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Clean Water State Revolving Fund – This fund supports
low-interest loans to help communities build and upgrade sewage treatment
plants and other wastewater systems. Since 1993, the Environmental
Protection Agency has provided $10.7 billion to states for these loans.
Ohio has received $626.8 million.
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Drinking Water State Revolving Fund – This fund, proposed
by President Clinton and enacted in 1996, supports low-interest loans
to help communities build and upgrade their water treatment systems.
Since 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency has provided nearly
$3.5 billion to states for these loans. Ohio has received $114.6 million.
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Polluted Runoff Grants – These grants help states and
communities develop programs to combat the largest remaining threat
to water quality – polluted runoff from sources such as farms and
city streets. Since 1993, EPA has provided grants totaling nearly
$900 million. Ohio has received $28.2 million.
Rural Water Grants -- These grants and loans provide special
assistance to small rural communities to upgrade their drinking water
systems. Since 1993, the Department of Agriculture has provided nearly
$9 billion in loans and grants. Ohio has received $324.8 million.
Protecting Local Lands. The Administration has won significant
new resources to help states, communities, and landowners protect farms
and other local green spaces that support wildlife, recreation, and
water quality.
Land and Water Conservation Fund Since 1993, the Department
of the Interior has provided states and communities with $81.5 million
through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire and protect
threatened lands. Ohio has received $2.5 million.
Conservation Reserve Program – This
Department of Agriculture program provides payments to farmers who
remove environmentally sensitive lands from production and improve
them by restoring wildlife habitat, planting windbreaks, or creating
streamside buffers. Since 1993, farmers in Ohio have received funds
to protect 215,543 acres.
Protecting Our Coasts and Estuaries.
Grants from the National Coastal Zone Management Program help states
develop and implement plans for the protection and sustainable management
of coastal resources. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System
provides grants to states to help protect and restore estuaries, where
ocean and fresh water mix. Through these two programs, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has provided $466 million to
states since 1993. Ohio has received $6.6 million.
April 2000
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