Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the Marquette Plan are among the nine recipients of a combined $43.8 million in federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-1st, in the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act.

The Senate is expected to pass the legislation shortly and the President to sign it into law.

“The work supported in this bill will have a profound impact on Northwest Indiana’s economy, job market, environment, and quality of life,” Visclosky said in a statement released on Thursday. “From job-creating construction projects such as the Little Calumet River Flood Control Project that reduces the costly risk of flooding for thousands of homes and businesses, to the Marquette Plan that opens up our Lake Michigan shoreline for public access and creates economic development opportunities nearby, to cutting edge research into renewable energy technologies that create new economic opportunities, these initiatives will have a lasting positive impact on the region. I am proud to support these projects that will make Northwest Indiana a better, more prosperous place for all of us to live.”

“The Marquette Plan, Visclosky’s initiative to open up Northwest Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline for public access to improve quality of life and create economic opportunities nearby, will receive $3 million to begin design and implementation efforts for ecosystem restoration and management of contaminants for ecological and economic purposes for sites along the Lake Michigan in Lake and Porter counties,” the statement said.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will utilize $800,000 for the shoreline erosion project at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to support additional sand placement along Lake Michigan,” the statement said. “Harbor structures outside of the Lakeshore interrupt the natural movement of sand within the park and accelerate the erosion of beaches and dunes. The funding will be used to combat the accelerated erosion by strategically placing additional sand on the beaches and dunes.”

VU will receive $500,000 for its solar furnace research program. “The funding will support an interdisciplinary program for undergraduate and faculty research on solar energy,” the statement said. “The program will utilize a solar furnace, a device that concentrates sunlight to produce heat, for research into ways to harness sunlight to produce materials that can be used as sources of energy.”

•$20 million for the Little Calumet River Flood Control and Recreation Project.

•$13.5 million for the construction of a confined dredged material disposal facility in East Chicago.

•$500,000 for the Grand Calumet River Project.

•$5.5 million for three advanced research programs at Purdue University Calumet

Posted 10/2/2009