GOVERNOR DOYLE VISITS WATER INSTITUTE,

PROMOTES GREAT LAKES COMPACT

Posted: February 27, 2008

Governor Jim Doyle voices his support for the Great Lakes Compact during a visit to the WATER Institute. (Photo: Steve Yeo)

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle visited the WATER Institute on February 22 to tour the facility and call upon state legislators to pass the Great Lakes Compact.

The visit came a day after the state Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources introduced a bill that would make the compact law, and just over a week after two representatives from the state Assembly announced a proposal to alter the compact.

"The Great Lakes present a great economic opportunity for the state of Wisconsin," Doyle told an audience of visitors and WATER Institute staff. "By signing the Great Lakes Compact, we will help Wisconsin businesses grow, and attract new businesses to our state."

"It's important we protect, preserve, and improve the Great Lakes in order to ensure a strong Wisconsin future," he said.

The compact, known formally as the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, is a binding agreement among the eight Great Lakes states that sets standards for the sustainable management of lake waters. Once ratified by Congress, the compact is formally backed by the federal government.

The compact prohibits new or increased diversions of water outside the Great Lakes basin—an area that includes the lakes and any land that drains into them—with some limited exceptions. Communities that straddle the basin boundary can divert water if they meet certain criteria including returning diverted water to the basin. Communities outside the basin but within a county that straddles the basin boundary can divert water if they meet similar criteria and obtain unanimous approval from the governors of the eight Great Lakes states.

The compact provides a consistent standard by which to review diversion proposals, as well as a roadmap for appealing decisions. By contrast, under existing federal law, any Great Lakes state governor can veto a diversion proposal for any reason. The compact also calls upon communities within the basin to implement water-conservation programs.

"The compact will be the first time ever we will have regional management of these Great Lakes," said Doyle.

The governor was joined by business leaders, including Richard Meeusen, president of Badger Meter, Inc. "Wisconsin should have passed the Great Lakes Compact a long time ago," Meeusen told the audience. "We should be leaders, not followers."

The compact becomes effective only after the Great Lakes states and Congress ratify it. So far, it has received broad bi-partisan support throughout the Great Lakes region. Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana have already passed it into law, while in New York, it awaits the governor's signature. Compact legislation has also passed in one chamber of both the Ohio and Pennsylvania legislatures. Only Wisconsin and Michigan have not yet fully or partially passed legislation.

John Stollenwerk, president of Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. also voiced support for the agreement, saying, "This compact should be signed. We only have one time in our lifetime to see this and to do it."

Governor Doyle was welcomed to the WATER Institute by UW-Milwaukee chancellor Carlos Santiago, who stressed the university's commitment to water sustainability. The university seeks to establish the country's first School of Freshwater Science, and to replace the WATER Institute's 55-year old research vessel, Neeskay.

Doyle also toured the labs of scientists Rick Goetz, Rebecca Klaper, and Sandra McLellan, where he was briefed on the WATER Institute's ongoing research in aquaculture and water contamination.

–Jennifer Yauck

Left: Doyle is joined in the WATER Institute's ship staging area by (left to right) Richard Meeusen, John Stollenwerk, and Carlos Santiago. Right: WATER Institute scientist Carmen Aguilar talks with Doyle. (Photos: Randy Metzger)