Lake Erie water-use bill draws foes, even within GOP

[Towntalk]

Great Lakes Compact passes House handily
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/32494874.html

Dennis Kucinich warns that loophole in the Great Lakes compact could allow exploitation of water
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2010/sep/01/dennis-kucinich/dennis-kucinich-warns-loophole-great-lakes-compact/

[Towntalk]

The Great Lakes--St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is a legally binding interstate compact among the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The compact details how the states manage the use of the Great Lakes Basin's water supply and builds on the 1985 Great Lakes Charter and its 2001 Annex. The compact is the means by which the states implement the governors' commitments under the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement that also includes the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec.

GREAT LAKES—ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASIN WATER RESOURCES COMPACT

http://ohiodnr.com/portals/7/planing/greatlksgov/Compact_12_13_05_Final.pdf


Great Lakes Charter 1985
Principles for the Management of
Great Lakes Water Resources
4. The prior notice and consultation process will be formally initiated following the development of procedures by the Water Resources Management Committee and approval of those procedures by the Governors and Premiers. Any State or Province may voluntarily undertake additional notice and consultation procedures as it deems appropriate. However, the right of any individual State or Province to participate in the prior notice and consultation process, either before or after approval of formal procedures by the Governors and Premiers, is contingent upon its ability to provide accurate and comparable information on water withdrawals in excess of 100,000 gallons (380,000 litres) per day average in any 30-day period and its authority to manage and regulate water withdrawals involving a total diversion or consumptive use of Great Lakes Basin water resources in excess of 2,000,000 gallons (7,600,000 litres) per day average in any 30-day period.

[Towntalk]

Dennis: The following quotes frpm the article you posted confirm what I posted earlier:

"Sam Speck, a former Republican state legislator and director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from 1999 to 2006, said the legislation violates several sections of the Great Lakes Compact. The compact became federal law when signed by then-President George W. Bush in 2008."

"In a letter to Senate members, Speck cited sections of the compact approved in 2005 by Ohio, seven other states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec that the Ohio law would violate. . . "

[irishbobcat]

More on this BAD GOP bill!

Lake Erie water-use bill draws foes, even within GOP
Tuesday, July 5, 2011  03:07 AM
By Alan Johnson

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Legislation about to be signed by Gov. John Kasich regarding the amount of water that can be legally drained from Lake Erie was supposed to bring the state into compliance with the Great Lakes Compact.

But there is disagreement about whether it will achieve that goal.

Opponents say Ohio will be in violation of the Great Lakes Compact, a federal law, as soon as Kasich signs the bill. "Not only does the legislation violate the compact, but Ohio now will have the weakest thresholds for water withdrawals in the region. Lake Erie and all the other Great Lakes deserve better," said Marc Smith of the National Wildlife Federation.

Nonsense, said state Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, the sponsor of House Bill 231. He accused environmental advocates who spoke out against the legislation - as did former Govs. Bob Taft and George V. Voinovich - of "fearmongering" and spreading "misinformation."

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  "Environmental organizations have long wanted to use the compact as a tool to create rigid withdrawal programs that would apply not only to Lake Erie, but also to small, individual stream segments," Wachtmann wrote in a memo to Senate members before a 25-8 vote last week. "That is not the intent of the compact."

Kasich is expected to sign the bill in the next two weeks, a spokesman said.

Sam Speck, a former Republican state legislator and director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources from 1999 to 2006, said the legislation violates several sections of the Great Lakes Compact. The compact became federal law when signed by then-President George W. Bush in 2008.

In a letter to Senate members, Speck cited sections of the compact approved in 2005 by Ohio, seven other states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec that the Ohio law would violate. He said it:

• Fails to assess effects on watersheds of tributaries and streams and the cumulative effect on the lake and groundwater.

• Does not measure all "physical, chemical and biological impacts" on the lake.

• Includes no "scientifically measurable way" of gauging withdrawals and consumption.

• Permits the user, not the state, to determine what, if any, optional water-conservation measures to use.

• Does not use a scientific method in setting threshold levels that trigger a water-use permit.

• Undercuts the "reasonable use" criteria for handling water-withdrawal requests. In other words, a request is "reasonable" unless a court says it's not.

The bill would require permits only for operations that tap more than 5 million gallons of water a day from Lake Erie, more than 2 million from rivers or groundwater, or more than 300,000 from designated "high quality" streams. Ohio would have the most-generous water-use regulation of any state in the compact.

Scientists from Ohio State University, Kent State University and the Nature Conservancy testified that "uncontrolled withdrawals" could result in more harmful algal blooms, damage to the habitat of sport fish, and potential loss of recreational opportunities on Lake Erie.

Wachtmann said an advisory board that met for two years found "no scientific assessment tool" to gauge effects, individually or cumulatively. He said the legislation requires an assessment of the impact on the lake and watersheds every five years.

Further, Wachtmann said state law should trump the compact.