Trump Scraps Great Lakes Protections: What Now?

Photo by Great Lakes Dock & Materials via Michigan Sea Grant
Aerial view of barge carrying quarried limestone, Photo by Great Lakes Dock & Materials via Michigan Sea Grant
Photo by Great Lakes Dock & Materials via Michigan Sea Grant
Aerial view of barge carrying quarried limestone, Photo by Great Lakes Dock & Materials via Michigan Sea Grant

Trump Scraps Great Lakes Protections: What Now?

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The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, killing 11 people, injuring 17, gushing millions of gallons of oil that harmed marine environments, wildlife, and costing millions of dollars in damages to local industries.

Soon after, then-President Barack Obama issued an executive order to protect marine environments, oceans and the Great Lakes.

Last week, President Trump scrapped those Obama-era protections, referring to them as “excessive bureaucracy.

Howard Learner is the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center based in Chicago, and he joins the Morning Shift to shed light on what scrapping the previous administration’s protections means for the Great Lakes and those who depend on it.

GUEST: Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center

LEARN MORE:

Obama policy on protecting oceans and Great Lakes scrapped by Trump (Sun Times, 6/21)

Trump scraps Obama policy on protecting oceans, Great Lakes (AP, 6/21)

Trump rescinds Obama order on Great Lakes protections (Great Lakes Today 6/22)

New Trump Executive Order will put Great Lakes under increased pressure (Great Lakes Now 3/28/17)