U.S. Water News Online
LANSING, Mich. -- Companies would have to show they could improve the Great Lakes before receiving permission to withdraw water under a proposal announced by Gov. John Engler.
Water could be removed only by showing that there would be an improvement to the water or other natural resources, Engler announced as part of his proposed changes to the Great Lakes Charter.
Legal experts say banning the exportation of water out of the Great Lakes Water Basin violates international trade law and treaties, Engler said in a written statement.
``We can't ban it, but we can set some severe restrictions,'' said John Truscott, a spokesman for Engler. ``It would be difficult to exceed the threshold we set. We are continuing to fight the diversion of water.''
While environmental advocates say the plan is a good first step, they say it needs more specific language about who's allowed to remove water.
Engler's plan fails to call for an overall conservation plan for saving Great Lakes waters and restoring damage already done to the lakes, Reg Gilbert, senior coordinator for Great Lakes United, said from his office in Buffalo, N.Y.
While removal of Great Lakes water isn't a current problem, Truscott said Engler's action is heading off future problems. For example, a current proposal in Canada would move water by tanker from Newfoundland to the Middle East.
Engler's proposed changes to the Great Lakes Charter are expected to be signed at the September meeting of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, Truscott said. He said the proposal has received initial support from governors of other Great Lakes states.
The charter needs congressional approval before it's legally binding, said Tim Eder, director of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office.
Eder said Engler's proposal could allow water to be exchanged for ill-defined improvements to the Great Lakes.
``We need to clarify benefits to the Great Lakes and put conservation first,'' Eder said.
He suggested requiring applicants to prove there is a real need to remove water, show there is no other alternative and that they have done everything they could to conserve water.
Great Lakes states must first inventory their uses of the Great Lakes' water before drafting a policy for people outside the basin, said Jim Goodheart, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.
``We can't expect others to conserve our basin if we don't do it first,'' Goodheart said.
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