About EPA
About the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
Susan Hedman, Program Manager
- Biography
- Schedule
- Phone: 312-886-3000
- Email: hedman.susan@epa.gov
Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the Administrator
Chris Korleski, Director
- Biography
- Phone: 312-353-4891
What We Do
The Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) coordinates U.S. efforts with Canada under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem, which includes Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. GLNPO brings together federal, state, tribal, local, and industry partners under the strategic framework of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to accomplish the objectives of GLRI action plan which in turn fulfills the aims of the GLWQA. We:
- remediate contaminated sediments under the Great Lakes Legacy Act;
- prevent pollution and work to reduce persistent toxic chemicals, as well as to identify emerging contaminants;
- identify, protect, and restore important habitats;
- monitor and report on environmental status and trends;
- provide assistance for community-based Remedial Action Plans for Areas of Concern and for Lakewide Management Plans;
- use our funding to assist Great Lakes partners through grants, interagency agreements, and contracts, and
- coordinate and communicate with a wide variety of partners to achieve environmental progress.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. A task force of 11 federal agencies developed an action plan to implement the initiative. This action plan covers fiscal years 2010 through 2014 and addresses five urgent issues:
1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern;
2. Combating invasive species;
3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off;
4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats; and
5. Tracking progress and working with strategic partners.
Other Programs and Projects Managed by GLNPO
- Areas of Concern (geographic areas within the Great Lakes Basin identified as severely degraded)
- Contaminated Sediments Program
- Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy
- Great Lakes Ecological Protection and Restoration
- Great Lakes Legacy Act
- Great Lakes Program Funding
- Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
- Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network
- Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs)
- Monitoring programs
- Pollution prevention and toxics reduction
- Research Vessel Lake Guardian
- Research Vessel Mudpuppy
- State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conferences (SOLEC) and reports