June 30, 2005

Environmental Advocates Praises Improved Plan to Protect Great Lakes Water

(Albany, NY) – Environmental Advocates of New York today applauded the release today of two draft agreements designed to prevent destructive diversions of water from the Great Lakes and environmental damage caused by unregulated water use within the Great Lakes Basin. The eight U.S. governors and two Canadian premiers of the states and provinces bordering the Great Lakes unveiled the revised draft agreements after nearly a year of negotiations to incorporate the more than 10,000 public comments that were received following an initial set of draft proposals last summer.

The proposed documents are: The Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact – a binding agreement among the eight U.S. Great Lakes states; and The Great Lakes Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement – a good-faith agreement between the U.S. and Canada.

According to David Higby, Environmental Advocates’ Great Lakes Project Director, the proposals, when enacted, will represent a tremendous achievement for Great Lakes water protection.

Some highlights of the Interstate Compact are:

1. It provides basic, conservation-based, consistent standards for water use that will protect the Great Lakes.
2. It covers all waters, ground water, rivers, streams, inland lakes, and the Great Lakes themselves.
3. It is binding and enforceable, with great public process requirements.
4. It prohibits nearly all diversions out of the region.

“These protections were strong to begin with and have been made even better by the public input process,” said Higby, “the water resources of the Great Lakes and throughout New York will be better protected because of these agreements. Governor Pataki is to be commended for his leadership on this issue.”

After another 60-day public comment period, the Interstate Compact will go to the eight state legislatures for adoption; Congressional approval will also be required. New York has shown its commitment to the public nature of the process throughout with events that have included information meetings by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and legislative hearings. This round of public comment will also include four public hearings:

• Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - Center for Tomorrow, State University of New York at Buffalo North Campus, Amherst (not confirmed), New York 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, August 3, 2005 – Seneca County Administration Building, Board of Supervisors Meeting Room, 1 DiPronio Drive, Waterloo, New York, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
• Thursday, August 4, 2005 - Dulles State Office Building, First Floor Conference Room, Watertown, New York, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
• Monday, August 8, 2005 – City Hall, Council Chambers, 41 City Hall Place, Plattsburgh, New York, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.

The complete documents can be found at Environmental Advocates’ website: www.eany.org/issues/greatlakes

More background information is available at: www.greatlakesforever.org

And at the NYSDEC: www.dec.state.ny.us/website/greatlakes/index.html

And at the Council of Great Lakes Governors: www.cglg.org