Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, published five times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.
Volume 15, Number 4 • Winter 2007
Regional Action Center
Water Resource Compact and
Agreement Progress Made
In an effort to prevent sending Great Lakes water to far off places
andmake surewe are usingwater responsibly, the Great Lakes and
St. Lawrence River BasinWater Resources Compact and companion
Agreement were developed between the eight Great Lakes
Governors and Premiers of Ontario and Quebec.
The Compact and Agreement provide guidelines for sound water
management and stopping far off diversions. For the Compact to
become legally binding, each of the eight Great Lakes state legislatures
must pass the Compact and gain approval from Congress.
On the Canadian side, the provinces have agreed to implement
similar laws to ensure the entire Great Lakes basin is protected.
What is happening and what can you do?
On June 1st, 2007 the Ontario Legislature passed the Safeguarding
and Sustaining Ontario’s Water Act,which implements the historic
Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin SustainableWater Resources
Agreement. It also enables the province to start charging
commercial and industrial users for the water they take and use.
For more information, contact John Jackson from Great Lakes
United at (519) 744-7503 or jjackson@glu.org.
The Quebec National Assembly approved the Agreement on
November 30, 2006. The Ministry of Environment has forwarded
the Agreement on to drafters to develop the appropriate articles of
law, which should take about four to five months. For more
information, contact Marc Hudon from Nature Quebec at
hudo@videotron.ca.
In Michigan, a package of bills (HB5065-HB5073) has been
introduced into the house that will bring Michigan into
compliance with the eight-state Great Lakes Compact. The bills
are largely supported by the environmental community. For more
information, check out the “Great Lakes, Great Michigan” website
at: www.greatlakesgreatmichigan.org/index.htm or
contact: James Clift from Michigan Environmental Council at
jamesmec@voyaget.net or (517) 487-9539.
The New York Assembly has shown overwhelming support for the
Compact, but due to an administrative error they must pass it one
final time before it can go to Gov. Spitzer's desk. For more
information, contact Katherine Nadeau from Environmental
Advocates of New York at knadeau@eany.org or (518) 462-5526.
In Pennsylvania, State Rep. Pat Harkins and several sponsors have
introduced Great Lakes Compact (House Bill 1705) which has been
referred to the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. For
more information, contact Mark Gorman from Pennsylvania
Environmental Council at 814-332-2946 or mgorman@pecpa.org
Wide support for the compact in Ohio is being stalled by a handful
of lawmakers. See the preceding article on page 9 by Kristy
Meyers, Ohio Environmental Council for more details (Contact
Kristy at Kristy@TheOEC.org or (614) 487-7506).
The Compact was brought to three Indiana legislative study
committees over the summer. The Department of Natural
Resources is hoping for endorsement fromall three committees in
anticipation of a 2008 introduction, putting a significant number
of legislators in support of the Compact.You can help educate your
legislator during “Conservation Day at the Statehouse” on
Thursday, January 10, 2008 with members of the Indiana
Conservation Alliance. To register, contact Angela Hughes at (317)
951-8818. For more information on what is happening with the
Compact in Indiana, contact John Goss from Indiana Wildlife
Federation at (317) 875-9453 or goss@indianawildlife.org.
In September, the Wisconsin Legislative Study Committee on the
Great Lakes Compact was disbanded by its Chair, State Senator
Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn). Because of a handful of naysayers, it was
unable to reach agreement. To Governor Doyle’s credit, he is
moving forward and setting up a working group to develop
legislation. For more information, contact Melissa Malott
from Clean Wisconsin at mmalott@cleanwisconsin.org or
(608) 251-7020.
Minnesota was the first state to ratify the Compact on February
20, 2007.Way to go Minnesota! The Illinois Governor signed the
Compact on August 17th,making Illinois the second state to adopt
the Compact. Way to go Illinois!
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