Two and half years after Great Lakes states agreed to cut down on water diversion and excessive withdrawals from the lakes, the National Wildlife Foundation has reported on how they’re doing. The highlights:
- Michigan and Wisconsin have the most notable success, passing legislation to cover all aspects of the compact and administering the program.
The Great Lakes compact. Image: Indiana Department of Natural Resources
- New York and Ohio only recently enacted legislation to comply with the requirements of the Great Lakes Compact. They deferred to advisory boards for their recommendations.
- Illinois and Minnesota contend that their statutes and programs are sufficient to control water diversion and withdrawal. They adopted the compact without creating further requirements.
- Indiana and Pennsylvania created skeletal programs and allowed environmental agencies to fill in the flesh. They have no detailed programs or rules.
Here is an excerpt from the report.
Diversions:
The Good: Wisconsin’s review of the controversial proposal by the city of Waukesha to divert water from Lake Michigan has been thorough and responsive to public concern.
The Bad: The region’s guidelines for review of exceptions to the diversion ban lack a thorough public review process.
The Ugly: Illinois’ decision to divert water to Lake County is not consistent with the standard applied to communities outside the Great Lakes basin.
Water Conservation and Efficiency
The Good: Ohio made a promising start when an advisory board proposed a program with several innovative ideas.
The Bad: Many states chose the bare minimum required by the compact rather than go above and beyond to protect water resources.
The Ugly: All of the states failed to meet at least one of the conservation and efficiency requirements by the deadline of December 8, 2010.
Water Withdrawal Program
The Good: Michigan’s online screening tool for withdrawals, which has won three national awards, helps determine how much water can be withdrawn without harming fish.
The Bad: Michigan’s online tool doesn’t apply to large water consumers such as irrigation farms in a way that is consistent with its obligations under the compact.
The Ugly: Under legislation recently passed in Ohio, the state’s permitting program will have the dubious distinction of not only exempting more withdrawals from regulation than any other state, but also flouting several requirements in the compact.