Michigan asked to
cut water exports
Groups want pledge
from state lawmakers
By Tom Henry
Toledo Blade
Michigan environmental groups today are to reveal their plans for a
pledge campaign they have devised in hopes of getting a commitment
on Great Lakes water withdrawals from the state Legislature.
Legislators will be asked to return a signed pledge by July 12 to
support bringing Michigan into compliance with a 1985 gubernatorial
charter that calls for the eight Great Lakes states to curb
diversions and bulk water exports.
The
1985 agreement called upon all Great Lakes states to register
companies that use 100,000 gallons of water or more a day. It is a
nonbinding accord among the region's governors, their first effort
to stand together against unregulated withdrawals. But Michigan,
which is surrounded by Great Lakes water, was the only state that
never followed through by having the Legislature pass legislation to
what then-Gov. Jim Blanchard had signed.
"This
is something Michigan hasn't come on board with," Jeff Irwin,
Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, said.
"Michigan needs to be a regional leader."
Bringing the state into compliance with a 19-year-old agreement is
more than symbolic, said Noah Hall, water programs manager for the
National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office in Ann Arbor,
Mich.
It
should help facilitate passage of an updated version, called Annex
2001.
"The
other states are looking for that showing of good faith from
Michigan," Mr. Hall said.
Annex
2001 is an agreement in principle that Great Lakes governors made at
a summit in Niagara Falls, N.Y., three years ago to update the 1985
accord. They were advised to do so by a team of lawyers hired by the
Chicago-based Council of Great Lakes Governors, the latter of which
Gov. Bob Taft chairs.
The
legal team had told the governors that changes in international law,
prompted by the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement,
had left the region vulnerable to diversions and bulk water exports
of Great Lakes water because water could be viewed as a tradable
commodity like forestry products or natural gas.
The
issue came to light after an Ontario group obtained - and then
relinquished, under pressure from the U.S. and Canada - a permit to
ship Lake Superior water to Asia in 1998.
The
National Wildlife Federation claimed a recent poll showed 79 percent
of Michigan residents opposed massive diversions or exports of
water. But officials have said the greatest threat may come from
urban sprawl, as people leave cities in the Great Lakes basin for
suburbs that lie just outside of it.
The
intent of Annex 2001 is to strengthen the 1985 agreement by making
it binding, closing legal loopholes, and involving Canada's two
Great Lakes provinces - something which had been overlooked in the
earlier agreement. The governors and premiers have said they
ultimately want to establish regional control over the lakes, the
world's largest collection of fresh surface water.
The
final draft of the annex is due out in mid-July, Dick Bartz, Ohio
Department of Natural Resources water division chief, said.
In a
sweeping, eight-page speech about water in January, Michigan Gov.
Jennifer Granholm urged the state's Legislature to bring Michigan
into compliance with the 1985 agreement herself. She called the
state's failure to do so "an embarrassment."
Officials have said it's complicated matters in other ways for
Michigan, especially in regard to growing concerns about the
groundwater that replenishes the lakes.
Monroe
County landowners, for example, have had little recourse when their
private water wells have gone dry due to quarrying and other nearby
activities. That's because Michigan has no limits on groundwater
withdrawals.
The
issue gained a higher profile last year, when a judge relied on
common law to order Nestle Ice Mountain to cease its spring-fed
water withdrawals, due to alleged impacts on Mecosta County
groundwater supplies. Nestle has been allowed to resume operation
while the appeal is being heard.
Mr.
Irwin said the groundwater issue is related to the big picture of
Great Lakes diversions and exports.
"We
just really think the Legislature needs to get off their duffs and
draw a line as to what a large water withdrawal is," he said.
Contact
Tom Henry at:
thenry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6079. |
