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Great Lakes Water Management Initiative

Press Release

October 15, 1999

Contact:
Maggie Grant
(312) 407-0177

Great lakes governors reaffirm their commitment to the protection of the great lakes waters at the seventeenth annual council of the great lakes governors leadership summit

(CLEVELAND, OHIO) The Great Lakes Governors today issued a statement at their seventeenth Annual Leadership Summit outlining a set of principles that they have and will continue to use to guide them in developing, maintaining and strengthening their collective management of the Great Lakes ecosystem. They also pledged to develop a new agreement to more closely plan, manage and make decisions regarding the protection of the Great Lakes, develop a new common standard against which water projects will be reviewed, and secure funding to develop a better base of Great Lakes water use data.

"The management of the Great Lakes brought us together 17 years ago and continues to be the primary focus of our work at the Council of Great Lakes Governors. The waters and water-dependent resources of the Great Lakes Basin are precious public resources shared and held in trust by the Great Lakes states and provinces," said Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors. "As trustees of one-fifth of the world's fresh water, we the Great Lakes Governors, in cooperation with Ontario Premier Mike Harris and Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, have a shared duty to protect, conserve and manage the Great Lakes water and ecosystem."

For nearly fifteen years, the eight Great Lakes Governors and Premiers have effectively protected the Great Lakes waters by exercising their collective authority to manage the Great Lakes and its ecosystem. Due to the growth and success of the region, the Governors are now faced with a heightened demand placed on Great Lakes water.

"Though infrequent, requests for diversions have the potential to dramatically impact the Great Lakes ecosystem. Our water will only become more valuable so we should develop standards now to guide future decisions so these resources continue to thrive," said Ohio Governor Bob Taft. "Our states have managed the Great Lakes well and that stewardship shows. Only our continued effort and vigilance will protect that legacy for the next generation."

The Governors direct authority over the Great Lakes waters is through the Great Lakes Charter of 1985 and the U.S. Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (WRDA). Under the Charter, the Governors notify and consult with each other and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec on proposals for diversions and consumptive uses of waters within their Great Lakes Basin. Under the WRDA, no bulk export or diversions of Great Lakes waters from the basin can take place without the unanimous approval of all of the Great Lakes Governors.

"Over the last fifteen years, the Great Lakes Governors have abided by a set of principles when managing the waters of the Great Lakes. We live here, we work here and we are best equipped to effectively protect and defend this precious public resource. I will continue to exercise my authority along with my fellow Great Lakes Governors to address any attempts to export Great Lakes water," said Governor John Engler of Michigan. "Any review or change in that authority must lead to strengthening the abilities of those who govern the resource on a day-to-day basis."

The Council of Great Lakes Governors is a non-profit, non-partisan partnership of Governors of the Great Lakes states-Illinois (George H. Ryan), Indiana (Frank O'Bannon), Michigan (John Engler), Minnesota (Jesse Ventura), New York (George E. Pataki), Ohio (Bob Taft), Pennsylvania (Tom Ridge), and Wisconsin (Tommy G. Thompson). Through the Council, the Governors collectively tackle the environmental and economic challenges facing the citizens of the region.

Council's Statement on protecting the Great Lakes: managing diversions and bulk water exports.

Governors' Letter to the International Joint Commission.

 
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