Legislation proposed in the U.S. Senate would continue a federal program that helps remove tons of trash from the Great Lakes and ocean coastal waters each year.
Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan is co-sponsoring the bill with seven other senators from both parties.
It would reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program, which targets solid waste ranging from plastic bits to fishing nets and even abandoned vessels that wash up on U.S. shores.
An estimated 11,000 tons of plastic debris gets into the Great Lakes annually.
The Marine Debris Program works with regional partners such as the Alliance for the Great Lakes, Partners for Clean Streams, and Sea Grant to remove trash from the lakes and educate the public about prevention of aquatic littering.
