The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is now law in New York and the United States. The landmark legislation was signed into law by President Bush on October 3, 2008! CCE is now working to ensure that the Compact is implemented effectively in New York.
Great Lakes Water Quantity
While seemingly inexhaustible, the Great Lakes are truly a gift of the glaciers, as rainfall and snowmelt only naturally replenish about one percent of the water annually. Once water removal from the Great Lakes for any reason extends beyond one percent annually, lake levels will decrease. The existing strains on this fragile ecosystem, such as pollution, invasive species, and global warming, will only be exacerbated if the sheer quantity of water is jeopardized by Great Lakes water export.
An Increasingly Thirsty World
Predicted to be more valuable than oil, our abundant fresh water resources are the envy of many who suffer from already strained, polluted or disappearing water resources. Beginning in the 1980’s, there has been increased interest in shipping, piping and diverting Great Lakes water, including a private company proposing to ship Lake Superior water to Asia in tankers!
The Great Lakes- St Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact
The Compact is a valuable interstate agreement that builds on century-old interstate and international protections for the Great Lakes. The Compact specifies how each Great Lakes state will act to protect Great Lakes water quantity. Highlights of the Compact include:
- Sets environmental standards for managing new or increased water withdrawal proposals;
- Prohibits water diversions out of the basin, with limited exceptions;
- Establishes protection for all the waters of the Great Lakes Basin, including tributary streams, rivers, and groundwater;
- Requires states to establish water conservation measures;
- Ensures public participation opportunities; and
- Preserves the rights of states to enact stronger protections.
New York State Must Implement the Compact
While ratification of the Compact was a tremendous success for the region, it is only the beginning. The Compact is a framework document that leaves many of the details of implementation to the individual states. The Compact provides milestones and timelines for actions by the states, including a requirement that the states establish water conservation measures by December 8, 2010. New York has missed this deadline.
Water Withdrawal legislation (A. 5318-A – Sweeney / S. 3798 – Grisanti) is critical to meeting the water conservation requirement in the Compact. The bill directs the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to implement a withdrawal program, to create a water conservation and efficiency program, and requires inter-basin transfers of over one million gallons per day to be registered with the agency. On May 2, 2011, the NYS Assembly unanimously passed this important legislation! Now it is time for the Senate to act and pass the Water Withdrawal legislation!
How you can help:
Email your senator today and urge them to pass Water Withdrawal legislation (S. 3798). This legislation is critical for New York to implement the Compact and ensure that Great Lakes water is protected for future generations!
Email Tips:
- Include your name and address.
- Urge your senator to pass Water Withdrawal legislation (S. 3798) to implement the Great Lakes Compact.
- Thank them for their consideration, and ask for a response with their position.
Please pass along any response that your receive to the CCE Syracuse office, as it helps us track progress on the issue. Thank you!
Congressional Research Report for Congress on Great Lakes Water Withdrawals: Legal and Policy Issues, prepared June 30, 2008.
Special Feature: Water Conservation
More information on the New York State Great Lakes programs
Updated by bsmith 5/3/11