By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – A coalition of environmental groups is urging Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer to make a priority of protecting Great Lakes coastlines along New York's border.
Last June, state lawmakers unanimously passed the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act to help restore and protect the state's marine resources. Brian Smith, program coordinator in the Buffalo office of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, says the coalition is calling on Spitzer to build on that stewardship.
The environmental groups are asking Spitzer to use $10 million from the state's $500 million Environmental Protection Fund for Great Lakes protection and restoration.
Smith says environmentalists are also more optimistic that Spitzer will support passage of a five-cent deposit on non-carbonated beverages as well as a reallocation of revenue from unclaimed deposits for recycling programs. Right now, those deposits are retained by the bottling industry.
Environmental groups are also hoping Spitzer will provide funding to hire more staffers in the Department of Environment Conservation to make up for a decade of cuts.
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