Presque Isle Bay

Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary Cathleen Curran Myers said this week that with millions of people relying on the Great Lakes for energy, recreation, agriculture and commerce, preserving its water resources is important to northwest Pennsylvania's economy and quality of life.

"Properly managing the Great Lakes and its basin is of paramount importance to protecting the vital water resources that Lake Erie and the Genesee River provide to Pennsylvania," said Myers. "This water benefits our communities, local industrial businesses and the region's farmers. It also attracts visitors to the region for recreational opportunities like fishing and boating.

"We must be good stewards of these resources and do what we can to preserve it for the sake of our people, our economy, and our quality of life," Myers said at a joint meeting of the Great Lakes Regional Water Resources Committee and Pennsylvania's Great Lakes Compact stakeholders.

The meeting featured a discussion of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, which would update the way the lakes and waters within its basin are managed and protected, and give Pennsylvania a voice in the management of the basin's waters and water-dependent natural resources.

On December 13, 2005, the Great Lakes governors and premiers signed agreements at the Council of Great Lakes Governors' Leadership Summit to provide unprecedented protections for the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin.

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, a good-faith agreement among the Great Lakes States, Ontario and Québec will be implemented in Ontario and Québec through provincial laws, and in the states, through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

The compact, an agreement among the Great Lakes states that will be passed into law as an interstate compact with congressional consent, was the focus of the meeting.

Together, these agreements will forestall any future actions that could unsustainably draw down the Great Lakes. The agreement and compact will ban diverting Great Lakes water outside the basin, with possible exceptions for communities and counties that straddle the basin boundaries. The compact's intent is to help avert conflicts and water shortages in the future.

Legislation to enact the compact in Pennsylvania is currently before the General Assembly. To date, Minnesota and Illinois have adopted the compact, and bills await final approval in New York following adoption in both legislative chambers of the state. Michigan and Indiana are currently considering legislation to accept the compact.

9/14/2007