Michigan and other Great Lakes states are receiving a total of $300 million for environmental restoration projects under a 2012 federal budget bill passed recently by Congress.

The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition is praising the bill, which is waiting to be signed into law by President Obama.

The bill would provide $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to clean up toxic pollution, restore wildlife habitat, stop invasive species and reduce polluted run-off from farms and cities, according to the coalition.

Also included in the budget is almost $1.5 billion to help communities across the U.S. address sewage overflows with low- and no-interest loans.

Of that, Michigan is to receive about $63 million.

The money for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2012 is virtually the same as in 2011.

2.

What are the best ways to keep Asian carp and other invasives out of the Great Lakes?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comments.

The Corps has released a paper that identifies various options for keeping aquatic invasives like the carp from entering the lakes via pathways like the Chicago Area Waterway System.

The Corps is examining controls for Asian carp and other invasives as part of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study.

The identified controls range from those currently in use, such as aquatic herbicides and introduced predatory fish species,  to controls that are in research and development.

The paper says possible controls include modifying flow conditions, including plugging the man-made Chicago shipping canal that connects to Lake Michigan.

Interested members of the public are being asked to review the list contained in the paper and provide comments or further information.

To comment, see glmris.anl.gov. The deadline is Feb. 17.