Biden will announce $1 billion in infrastructure funding to clean up the Great Lakes

President Joe Biden on Thursday will announce $1 billion in funding from his administration's signature bipartisan infrastructure law for cleanup and restoration of the Great Lakes in remarks from Lorain, Ohio.

The bulk of funding is targeted to restore what the Environmental Protection Agency has identified as severely degraded "Areas of Concern." The administration projects that funding from the infrastructure law -- combined with funds from annual Great Lakes Restoration Initiative appropriations and other sources -- should allow restoration of at least 22 areas of concern across Wisconsin, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois by 2030, with infrastructure funding also benefiting three additional sites over the same period.

"The Great Lakes are a vital economic engine and an irreplaceable environmental wonder, supplying drinking water for more than 40 million people, supporting nearly 1.5 million jobs, and sustaining life for thousands of species," EPA Administrator Michael Regan wrote in a statement shared with CNN on Wednesday. "Through the investments from President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal, we will make unprecedented progress in our efforts to restore and protect the waters and the communities of the Great Lakes basin."