President Bush Signs Great Lakes Compact Into Law

Oct 3: The Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) applauded President George Bush for signing a joint resolution of Congress (S.J. Res. 45), providing consent to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The President’s action marks the final step in the Compact’s approval process thus enabling these historic protections to become law. In December 2005, following a nearly five-year negotiation, the Governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reached agreement on the Compact.

CGLG said, "The Compact provides a comprehensive management framework for achieving sustainable water use and resource protection. The eight Great Lakes States reached a similar, good faith, agreement with Ontario and Québec in 2005, which the Provinces are using to amend their existing water programs for greater regional consistency." During 2007 and 2008, each of the eight Great Lakes State legislatures ratified the Compact. Legislative approval was completed by the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2008, and by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 23, 2008.

Access a release from CGLG (click here). Access legislative details for S.J.Res.45 (click here). Access the CGLG Compact website for extensive information (click here). Access various WIMS-Great Lakes Environment Blog post on the Compact (click here).