Great Lakes Compact being fast tracked? (July 2008)

FULL TRANSCRIPT (provided due to audio problems with this clip):

It's a Tuesday morning and judging by the number of boaters out on the St. Lawrence, it's no secret this river and the rest of the Great Lakes Basin is of the utmost importance to surrounding areas. That's why many people were excited to hear the last of the eight bordering states signed off on the Great Lakes Compact.

"It's an opportunity for the states to come together in partnership with Canada to determine how they're going to manage that great resource for the long term benefit of the citizens of the Great Lakes," New York Sea Grant Recreation and Tourism Expert Dave White said.

President Bush is asking for the compact to be fast tracked to his desk. It's been submitted as a joint resolution to the Senate and House of Representatives, who are discussing it in committee meetings this week. But just how fast it goes through remains to be seen.

"I think the house is pretty well on track to get this done before the end of the legislative year. The Senate is in a reasonably good position as well, but there may be a bit more of rougher road in that house," Congressman John McHugh said.

"The Great Lakes Compact will ensure the water we have here will stay here. That water is critical to the regional ecosystem, but also important to the lifeline that is our local economies here," Save the River Executive Director Jennifer Caddick said.

The compact does that by focusing on controlling water diversion.

"When you talk about enhanced diversion and by diversion we mean physically removing water outside the drainage basin. It's water that's not going back in. That could certainly enhance over time and raise great concern for many of the communities that area along the Great Lakes that their livelihood is based on the fact that we have this great resource for either transportation, shipping, navigation and recreation," White said, while adding the Upper Great Lakes would also suffer from further drought conditions.

"The Great Lakes system holds over 90 percent of the United States' surface fresh water. Although that seems like a tremendously abundant resource, only one percent of that is refreshed every year. If we take a lot of water out of the Great Lakes and don't return it, it's gone forever," Caddick added.

Now once this resolution reaches the desk of President Bush, it's expected he will quickly sign off on it. On Monday, he issued a statement saying the compact would ensure sustainable use and responsible management of the water. He urged Congress to pass it as quickly as it can as well.

The Great Lakes Basin also includes most of the Finger Lakes. Senate and House committees are discussing the compact this week.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Great Lakes
• boating
• Great Lakes COmpact
• St. Lawrence
• Sea Grant
• tourism
• recreation
• Canada