EPA appoints czar for Great Lakes clean up

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A Chicago-based environmentalist has been appointed to oversee President Obama's initiative to clean up the Great Lakes.

Cameron Davis, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, will head the restoration program, which is expected to cost more than $20 billion.

"I'm excited, and this is a real testament to the passion and work that so many citizens are doing to put the Great Lakes on the map," Davis said Thursday. He said he couldn't comment further until after beginning his job next month.

He was appointed by Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Davis will coordinate efforts of about a dozen federal agencies working on the Great Lakes project, which deals with issues such as invasive species, polluted harbors, sewage overflows and degraded wildlife habitat.

Obama promised during his campaign last year to create such a position and spend $5 billion over a decade toward implementing the restoration plan. His proposed 2010 budget seeks $475 million in new spending on the lakes.