President Barack Obama has named Cameron Davis, president of a Chicago-based environmentalist group, to oversee the administration's initiative to clean up the Great Lakes.

Davis is president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, one of the organizations that has lobbied for implementation of a restoration program expected to cost more than $20 billion.

The alliance announced the appointment Wednesday.

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. His proposed 2010 budget seeks $475 million in new spending on the lakes.