Browse the Great Lakes Task Force Sub-series collection
Founded in 1987, the Great Lakes Task Force (GLTF) is a bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators from the states bordering the Great Lakes. Together with its counterpart in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate GLTF examines policy issues and proposes legislative initiatives impacting the environment and economy of the Great Lakes region. Both the House and the Senate task forces coordinate activities with the Northeast Midwest Institute, a private, non-profit and non-partisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. Senator Glenn co-chaired the Senate GLTF from its inception until his retirement from the Senate at the end of 1998. The eighteen cubic feet of records within the sub-series document the accomplishments of the task force from 1987 to 1998 in improving the environmental conditions of the Great Lakes while maintaining the economic vitality of the states surrounding them. The records also document Senator Glenn's leadership role in the enactment of legislation to prevent and control infestations of non-indigenous aquatic species, to clean up and reduce contaminated sediments, to restore fish and wildlife, to monitor air toxicants, and to research the effects on human health of eating contaminated fish. The records within the sub-series are divided into seven categories - conference files, correspondence files, legislative files, non-indigenous species files, reference files, subject files, and superfund files.
The conference files consist of one-half
cubic foot of materials pertaining to the conferences, workshops, and
roundtables on various Great Lakes issues attended by either Senator Glenn or
one of his staff members from 1989 to 1998. Water pollution in the Great Lakes
was the topic at most of these gatherings. Approximately one-half of the files
pertain to the Great Lakes Washington Roundtables on Pollution Prevention hosted
by the Northeast Midwest Institute during 1994 and 1995.
The one cubic foot of correspondence files date from 1987 to 1998 and are equally divided into constituent correspondence and general correspondence. Letters written by constituents concern a wide variety of Great Lakes issues and legislation. Paired with the letters are copies of Senator Glenn's replies as drafted by various staff members. The constituent letters are arranged chronologically, except for separate folders on legislation proposed in 1996 to reform the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (Jones Act), the issue of Lake Champlain as a Great Lake, and the Maritime Security Act of 1995. The chronologically arranged general correspondence contains both staff memoranda and Glenn's letters to or from various Senators, Congressmen, and federal and state officials. Topics within the correspondence vary, but most letters concern current legislation, ongoing projects, or meetings of the GLTF.
The legislative files consist of six cubic feet of records relating to Congressional legislation proposed or enacted from 1987 to 1998 directly affecting the Great Lakes region. Arranged by bill number or name within each separate congressional session from the 100th to the 105th Congress, the legislative files may include printed bills and acts, legislative drafts, amendments, and such committee materials as hearing testimony, markups, reports, prints, and conference files. The files also may contain Glenn's correspondence and notes, as well as staff memoranda, briefing books, and notes. A substantial amount of the records deal with the funding of various projects in the Great Lakes region within the yearly Senate, House, and conference appropriations bills. Significant legislation documented by the records includes the Clean Water Act of 1987 (and its subsequent amendments), the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, and various maritime reform bills proposed or enacted from 1993 to 1996.
Materials located in the three cubic feet of non-indigenous species files date from 1988 to 1998 and document the efforts of the Great Lakes Task Force to respond to the threat posed to the Great Lakes ecosystem by non-native species of wildlife. Chief among these efforts were two bills sponsored by Senator Glenn - the Non-Indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 and the National Invasive Species Act of 1996. Glenn's work on behalf of this legislation is well documented by the files, as is his efforts to obtain subsequent funding for the projects enacted by the provisions within the legislation. Other files pertain to the regulation and control of ballast water from ships using the Great Lakes and related bodies of water such as the St. Lawrence Seaway. Also included are case studies, hearings transcripts, reports, and reference materials on the damage done to the Great Lakes by non-indigenous species. The majority of these files pertain to the zebra mussel, the most notorious non-native species to invade the Great Lakes. The negative impact of the sea lamprey, the ruffe, and the spiny water flea also are well documented.
The one cubic foot of reference files contains general reference materials, dating from 1983 to 1998, on the ecology of the Great Lakes region. Most of these materials pertain to water pollution issues. Also included are some general newspaper clippings and press releases about the activities and accomplishments of the Great Lakes Task Force.
The subject files contain five and one-half cubic feet of
materials, dated 1980 to 1998, on general topics related to the Great Lakes
region. Arranged alphabetically by folder heading, the files contain a mix of
correspondence, memoranda, annual and other reports, agendas, newspaper
clippings, and background materials. Topics range from coastal zone management
and contaminated sediments to radioactive water and toxic air contaminants.
Included are files on such entities as the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the
Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, and
the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Other files cover projects, such as the
National Flood Insurance Program, the Great Water Program, and the Cleveland
artificial reefs project. A substantial amount of records pertain to the Great
Lakes Water Quality Initiative. Additional subject files cover the activities
of various federal agencies within the Great Lakes region, such as the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and
the dredging and erosion control projects of the Army Corps of Engineers. Also
included are extensive records pertaining to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
The one cubic foot of superfund files contains materials dating from 1980 to 1997 documenting efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up hazardous waste sites located within the Great Lakes region. Individual files may include correspondence and memoranda, hearing testimony, studies and reports, newspaper clippings, and other background materials. Included are files on legislation introduced during the 1990s to reauthorize superfund financing. Other files document the EPA's toxic waste cleanup sites and priorities listed by state. Also included are materials on environmental justice, or racial divide within environmental law.