New York Moves To Adopt Great Lakes Protection
Legislation to adopt the provisions of a strategic plan agreed to by the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces has been proposed by New York Governor George Pataki. The plan enhances the management and protection of the waters and natural resources of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin.
In December 2005, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin had reached agreement on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, a comprehensive management framework for achieving sustainable water use and resource protection.
The legislation proposed by Governor Pataki would formally enact the Compact in New York State law.
“The Great Lakes are a valuable resource for our nation, and because of its geographic location, New York has historically depended upon these waters for industry, transportation, trade, and recreation,” Governor Pataki said. “I am pleased that we have been able to forge collaborative agreements with the other Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces to protect these waters and ensure that they will remain a vital part of our livelihood now and into the future.”
The proposed legislation to codify the Compact will, when enacted by the Great Lakes states and consented to by the U.S. Congress:
* Ban any new or increased diversion of Great Lakes water out of the basin, with certain limited exceptions. The exceptions granted would primarily be for community water supply systems that straddle the Basin boundary.
* Establish a state water resources inventory for each member state within five years.
* Require any person/entity seeking to withdraw 100,000 gallons or more of water from the Great Lakes Basin within an average 30-day period to register this activity with the appropriate state.
* Each state and province will establish a program, including thresholds, to manage or regulate new or increased withdrawals, consumptive uses and diversions; establish water conservation and efficient use programs; and conduct periodic assessments of the cumulative impacts.
* Create the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, consisting of the governors of the member states. In collaboration with Ontario and Qubec, the Council would assist with the coordination of activities and programs of the states, including providing advice and consultation.
Henry Tepper, the Nature Conservancys New York State director said, “The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is an historic opportunity to protect the worlds largest fresh water ecosystem.”
“The outcome of the process is essential to millions of current and future New Yorkers who depend on the state’s magnificent waters and abundant water-dependent natural resources,” Tepper said. Congress has been reluctant to fund a $23 billion Great Lakes Restoration Plan agreed by the governors and premiers of states and provinces bordering on the Great Lakes.
The legislation to fund the Plan–the Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act–was introduced in April in both the House and the Senate. It contains a long list of needed restoration projects compiled over a year by 1,500 state, local, federal, and tribal leaders, as well as activists and industry representatives. The Plan and resulting projects list were written in response to the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy that President George W. Bush initiated with an executive order in May 2004.
Work to renew aging, poorly designed sewer systems that overflow accounts for more than half of the $20 billion of restoration work that the Plan identified as needed to restore health to the Great Lakes, the largest fresh-water system in the world. The system spans more than 750 miles of New York shoreline.
Not waiting for federal funding to protect the Great Lakes, the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces are moving ahead with the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.
New York State Senator Carl Marcellino, chair of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation, said, “Fresh water is a natural resource that must be protected. This compact goes a long way to ensure that the Great Lakes will have enough water to protect their precious ecosystems, and that future generations will have the water they need.”
Provided by the Environmental News Service.
