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With
governor's signature, Illinois becomes second Great Lakes state to
adopt historic agreement 
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[September 06, 2007]
SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich signed legislation Aug. 17 that will help
create unprecedented protections for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
River Basin.
House Bill 375, sponsored by state Rep. Harry Osterman,
D-Chicago, and state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, ratifies the
Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, a
joint effort between Illinois and seven other Great Lakes states to
protect and preserve Great Lakes waters. By signing the compact,
Illinois became just the second state to adopt this historic
agreement to limit how much water can be withdrawn from the Great
Lakes.
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 "Today, we have taken an important step to protect Lake Michigan and
the other Great Lakes for future generations," Blagojevich said. "I
commend members of the General Assembly for their leadership on this
issue of regional, national and global importance. I would also like
to thank Mayor Daley for the city of Chicago's support throughout
the compact development and approval process."In December 2005
the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin endorsed the interstate compact. At
the same time, the governors and the premiers of Ontario and Quebec
signed a companion good-faith agreement to provide protections
throughout the region. The agreement details how each of the states,
Ontario and Quebec will manage and protect the Great Lakes-St.
Lawrence River Basin and provides a framework for each state and
province to enact protective laws.
To become law, the interstate compact must be approved by each of
the state legislatures and the U.S. Congress must give its consent.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the compact into law earlier this
year, and bills are pending in Indiana, Michigan and New York.
Action is anticipated in coming months in the other states.
In Illinois, provisions of the compact were included in House
Bill 375.
"The Great Lakes are some of the nation's most valuable
resources," said Osterman, House sponsor of the legislation. "We
must do what we can in Illinois to protect them."
"I am glad the governor is taking this step to protect the Great
Lakes, which are important to people nationwide," said Cullerton,
Senate sponsor. "Not only do we spend recreational time on them;
they are also vital to the economy."
State Sen. Carol Ronen, D-Chicago, said: "The Great Lakes is one
of our greatest and most valuable natural resources. We can't wait
for a crisis to happen before we take the steps necessary to
conserve these waterways. There is no greater service that we can do
for future generations than to protect our Great Lakes and do so
immediately. I commend the sponsors for their dedication to getting
this done and the governor for making it the law."
"I applaud Governor Blagojevich and the state of Illinois for
this action," said Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, chairman of the Council
of Great Lakes Governors. "Now that our neighboring states of
Illinois and Minnesota have adopted the compact, it is time for
Wisconsin to take the necessary steps to protect our precious
resource -- the Great Lakes,"
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"The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of our region, and I commend
Governor Blagojevich for helping to protecting them," said Cameron
Davis, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, who worked
with the bill's sponsors to help pass this legislation. "With the
governor's signature today, it's now up to the remaining six Great
Lakes states to do their part to endorse uniform, binding compact
legislation so that we can conserve our region's waters for future
generations."
The agreements include the following provisions:
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Preserves the
rights of Great Lakes states to determine how Great Lakes waters
are used.
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Economic
development will be fostered through the sustainable use and
responsible management of basin waters.
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Illinois' right to
use Lake Michigan water in northeastern Illinois will continue
to be governed by the terms of the United States Supreme Court
decree in Wisconsin et al. v. Illinois et al. This decree limits
how much water Illinois can withdraw from the lake.
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Regional goals and
objectives for water conservation and efficiency will be
developed, and they will be reviewed every five years. Each
state will develop and implement a consistent water conservation
and efficiency program. For Lake Michigan water use,
conservation has been a component of Illinois' water management
program for 30 years.
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The collection of
technical data will be strengthened, and the states will share
comparable information, which will improve decision-making by
the governments.
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There is a strong
commitment to continued public involvement in the implementation
of the compact.
The complete text of the agreements and additional information is
available at
www.cglg.org.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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