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Great Lakes
Article:
Great Lakes conservation pact gets
approval
Conservationists urge faster action; a paper industry
representative calls it 'too broad'
By Ray Barrington
News-Chronicle, Green Bay WI
Published October 4th, 2004
A proposal to tighten controls on Great Lakes water by
the governors of the states and provinces in the area
received solid support Thursday at a state hearing in
Ashwaubenon.
The Department of Natural Resources took comments on
the proposed Annex 2001 draft agreement updating the protection
and management of the Great Lakes. The draft, released
in July by the Council of Great Lakes Governors, would:
- Minimize water loss by requiring users to implement
conservation plans and to pump treated wastewater back
into the basis.
- Require approval of new or increased water withdrawals.
An individual state would review diversions of less than
a million gallons a day or withdrawals with a loss of
more than 100,000 gallons a day. Review by all states
and provinces in the region would be required for larger
withdrawals.
Federal law requires any diversion of water to be agreed
upon by all eight states in the basin. The new compact
would keep the states and provinces in charge of the lakes
while changing some of the regulatory rules.
Chuck Ladine of the DNR said one of the key measures
in the agreement required full replacement of water used.
"That's a real deterrent to taking water out of
there," he said.
In a public comment period during the hearing, several
representatives of conservation groups generally supported
the measure.
"This should be put on the fast track," said
Wayne Schroeder, president of the Fox Valley Conservation
Alliance.
The one shared complaint from the environmentalists is
that the 10-year phase-in period for the new standards
was too long. Ladine said the time was needed to allow
states to change their laws and get appropriate enforcement
in place.
Several speakers also urged more of an effort from the
council to fight pollution in the lakes and stronger water
conservation measures.
There was one call for a loosening of some of the standards
in the draft. Ed Willis of the Wisconsin Paper Council,
the paper industry's trade group, said the scope of the
agreement was "too broad." He said there should
be lower restrictions on in-basin economic activity and
that reviews should be on a "programmatic basis."
Former DNR Secretary George Meyer, now executive director
of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, said he liked the
clauses that would require large users to improve the
basin with such moves as improving habitats or removing
invasive species such as zebra mussels.
"It's amazing eight states with such diverse interests
came together on this," he said.
Allouez resident John Trester, who also urged stronger
efforts against pollution, said it was important to keep
the Great Lakes under regional control and to keep the
water in the basin rather than selling it to other states.
"I have no sympathy for people who move to an area
where there are no resources and then complain they're
being cheated out of them," he said.
The hearing was one of about 30 in the eight-state area.
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