MI: Great Lakes Compact heads to Congress
8:51 AM
From Gongwer News Service Michigan
With Governor Jennifer Granholm's signatures Wednesday, Michigan became the last state to ratify the Great Lakes Compact and arguably became the first of the Great Lakes states to fully implement the proposal to limit withdrawals from the basin. With all eight states now on board, the language has to be adopted by Congress to make the plan enforceable.Read the full article
The 12-bill package not only enacts the compact, which puts limits on how water can be transported out of the Great Lakes Basin without approval of all eight governors, but it places limits on how much water can be drawn out of surface and ground waters of the state to avoid affecting other users and the ecosystems those waters feed. Property owners will be able to determine whether they need a state permit for a proposed well through a new online water withdrawal assessment tool.
Though the agreement did not put as strict of limits on water use as some environmental groups had sought, the compact signing was broadly seen as a triumph for the state's waters.
