Why Does The GOP Want To Drain Lake Erie?

[Rick Rowlands]

"It is important to note that withdraw is not equivalent to consumption.  For example, the power sector is responsible for the largest amount of water withdraw in the state.  The vast majority of these withdraws are for cooling water which gets returned to the receiving stream from which it withdrawn."

http://www.ohioenvironmentallawblog.com/tags/water-withdraws/

Also keep in mind that the earth under Lake Erie is still rebounding from the last ice age and the floor of  Lake Erie rises a foot a century.

[sfc_oliver]

Who's wrong?

Q. How have Lake Erie water levels varied historically?

A. Lake levels were at or slightly above the long-term average in the late 1800s, generally well below the long-term average from 1890 to 1967, and generally above the long-term average from 1968 through 2000. For the period of record (1860-2000), the difference between the highest monthly average and the lowest monthly average is about 6 feet, and the difference between the highest yearly average and the lowest yearly average is about 5 feet. Long-term changes in lake level result from long-term changes in precipitation and evaporation. Likewise, seasonal changes in lake level occur in response to annual changes in precipitation and evaporation in the basin, with lake levels generally lower in the winter and higher in the summer. Dramatic short-term changes in lake level (several feet over a few hours) can occur due to strong winds associated with changing weather systems. During severe storm events, the difference in water level between Buffalo and Toledo can exceed 16 feet.

Q. Can we control Lake Erie water levels?

A. No. A common urban legend is that there are water-level-control structures located on the Niagara River designed to control Lake Erie water levels; however, no such controls exist. Only Lake Superior and Lake Ontario have water-level-control structures, and regulation of these lakes is governed by treaty with Canada.
http://www.ohiodnr.com/ContentApproval/GWPPMetaDataButtonScript3227/lake_erie/lakeefaq/tabid/3774/Default.aspx

And then again there was that 8 State Great Lakes Compact, which was signed into law, ratified by Gov Strickland which called for this new legislation.  But I guess since he isn't a Neocon that doesn't count........

[Rick Rowlands]

Another hit and run Dennis the Menace attack!

[sfc_oliver]

Water is actually the most destructive force in Nature.

[Towntalk]

How many thousands of gallons of water is Mother Nature stealing out of the Great Lakes per day? She doesn't pay a single thin dime for it and she certainly doesn't care where she dumps the excess?

Oooooooops. Mother Nature created the Great Lakes in the first place. Can't blame man for the Ice Age because what men there were at the time were still running around hunting with clubs and spears.

Come to think about it, old Mother Nature ain't such a nice gal after all considering the destruction she unleashes each year.

[Rick Rowlands]

Would not all of the steel plants along the Mahoning have been considered "withdrawing" water from the river?  Yes it was, and then there was a separate action called "discharge" taking place that put it all back! 

Some people would have you believe that these companies are going to have tanker trucks lined up all down I-71 carrying 5 million gallons of water per day to....  exactly where are they taking this water to? 

[sfc_oliver]

Water doesn't disappear. Lake Erie could be drained to a creek and it would refill itself in 2.6 years.

True story.

Look it up.

[iwasthere]

Doesn't Canada have something to say on this matter?

The U.S. does not own the lake, and given its importance to international shipping and trade, I suspect that the Canadians would be bloody well angry.

Ohio can pass all the bills it wants, but if those bills involve federal or international matters, the federal courts would strike them down all the way to the Supreme Court, and beyond.

governor kasich and the gop does not care who ownes what aslong as this group can make a fast buck

[Rick Rowlands]

Where would all this water go to?  Isn't a lot of this water going to be used in processes and then released back into a waterway? 

[Towntalk]

Doesn't Canada have something to say on this matter?

The U.S. does not own the lake, and given its importance to international shipping and trade, I suspect that the Canadians would be bloody well angry.

Ohio can pass all the bills it wants, but if those bills involve federal or international matters, the federal courts would strike them down all the way to the Supreme Court, and beyond.

[irishbobcat]

Those nutty Republicans in the state house are up to another job-killing, environmental disaster plan for Ohio.....

First they OK drilling for oil and gas in state parks, now they want to drain Lake Erie...... From Today's Toledo Blade.......
==========================================================================================================================
How's this for a winning strategy to create jobs and promote economic growth in Ohio?

Risk dangerously low water levels and quality in Lake Erie — the shallowest of the Great Lakes — and its tributaries. Jeopardize the $10 billion a year in revenue, the 250,000 jobs, and the tourism, boating, fishing, and recreational industries that the lake contributes to the Ohio economy.

Aggravate pollution — including toxic algae blooms — in Lake Erie and the rivers and streams that feed it. Threaten the supply of drinking water for 3 million Ohioans.

Shift costs for water and wastewater treatment from big businesses to smaller businesses and consumers. Defy the spirit, and probably the letter, of the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement by eight states, Congress, and Canada to protect the lakes from excessive withdrawals and manage them wisely for future generations.

Sound good? Want to sign up? Contact your nearest Republican state lawmaker.

A bill rammed through the state House last week on a party-line vote, and similarly fast-tracked for Senate passage this week, would allow businesses to withdraw as much as 5 million gallons of water a day from Lake Erie without even getting a state permit. No other Great Lakes state has such a high threshold for regulation of water use; under Ohio's current limit of 2 million gallons, more water already is withdrawn from Lake Erie than any of the other Great Lakes.

The measure also authorizes unregulated withdrawals of 2 million gallons a day from inland streams and rivers in the watershed, and 300,000 gallons from small, high-quality streams. It seems likely that corporate-friendly state regulators would not balk at business requests for even greater withdrawals.

The sponsor of the House bill, state Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R., Napoleon), insists it appropriately balances environmental protection with "the cost of doing business." Mr. Wachtmann, who owns a company that draws water from the Lake Erie watershed, calls opponents of his legislation "fear-mongering" alarmists who would rather watch manufacturing plants close than allow them "insignificant" withdrawals.

Actual environmentalists and scientists say the bill lacks overall water-conservation guidelines and seeks to isolate Lake Erie from broader management of the Great Lakes basin — a violation of the compact's regional emphasis. That approach, the Ohio Environmental Council argues, "leaves Ohio vulnerable to litigation by not upholding our binding contract with the other seven Great Lakes states ... a waste of precious and scarce taxpayer dollars."

There's a better alternative. A measure sponsored by state Rep. Dennis Murray (D., Sandusky) would regulate water withdrawals on the basis of science, not lobbyists' preferences or lawmakers' efforts to make up numbers as they go along. Other states, including Michigan, have done that.

But the legislative majority here isn't interested. House members also brushed aside proposed amendments to the GOP bill that would have created the nuisance of public review of the legislation's effects.

Former Republican Gov. Bob Taft, a leader in developing the Great Lakes Compact, says the water bill goes too far. Former GOP Sen. George Voinovich has asked the Senate to postpone its vote. But don't worry: If lake levels get low enough, it might become easier for oil and natural-gas operators to drill in Lake Erie — something else GOP lawmakers have shown they don't feel compelled to prevent.

The water-withdrawal bill seems likely to become law because, for now, Republicans have the votes to do pretty much whatever they want. That may not always be the case, if the Ohioans who hired the politicians responsible for this and other extremist legislation are paying attention.