Water "Product" Diversion Debate Goes On

Nov 18: The on-going debate over possible water diversion loopholes involving the definition of "product" and the 5.7 gallon exemption under the recently enacted Great Lakes Compact continues. An article by environmental writer John Flesher, published in the Traverse City Record Eagle reports on the coalition of groups led by Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC) and their launch of a public education campaign in Traverse City on November 16, 2008 [See WIMS 11/5/08]. The drive is focused on plugging what the groups call a major loophole in the Great Lakes Compact that would allow waters of the Great Lakes to be diverted by private export and sale.

Jim Olson, water law attorney for MCWC said, “There is a giant loop-hole in the Great Lakes Compact diversion ban that just passed Congress. The ban doesn’t apply to water produced and put in a container. That means water placed in a container will be fair game for the engines of large corporations and their teams of lawyers under NAFTA and international trade law. Citizens, landowners, and businesses in Michigan need to know what’s happened so we can protect our water from future claims by outside interests.”

The article reports on others, including the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office and the staff for the Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) that crafted the compact, who believe the existing Compact language "provides ironclad protections" and indicate that the issue "was discussed at length" and experts were consulted when the Compact was drafted. Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI), one of the few legislators to vote against the Compact, is quoted as saying, "Anybody could run a semi-truck through these loopholes."

Access the Record Eagle article (click here). Access the Great Lakes Regional Body website for additional information (click here). Access agendas for both meetings (click here). Access the CGLG website (click here).