Congresswoman Sutton Speaks in Support of the Great Lakes Compact

This legislation gives Congressional consent to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

Before I continue, I would like to commend the distinguished Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Mr. James Oberstar, who sponsored the House version of this legislation and the senior Senator from Michigan, Carl Levin for their hard work in spearheading this effort. I would also like to thank the distinguished Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers for his support.

Today, Congress considers this legislation pursuant to our duty in Article I, section 10, clause 3 of the Constitution, the "compacts clause" - to review and approve agreements between States, or between States and foreign governments, to ensure that they are consistent with the broader national interest.

In the case before us, there is no question that the compact designed and agreed to by eight States is in our national interest. The Great Lakes Compact will help preserve and improve this important natural resource, our Great Lakes, for years to come.

The Great Lakes are one of our greatest treasures, an important natural asset, that we must never take for granted, and that we must always protect. With one-fifth of the world's fresh water, the Great Lakes attracted the earlier settlers to the region. And, today nearly 33 million people live and work within the basin, spanning eight States - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and my home state of Ohio.

The Great Lakes are not only a source of drinking water, but they are also essential for recreation, jobs, and the overall health of our economy. Lake Erie alone supports 240,000 jobs and $5.8 billion in wages. The Great Lakes are also highways, moving goods, people, and services throughout the region. In addition, the Great Lakes support multi-billion-dollar-a-year sport fishing and recreational boating industries and also support travel and tourism throughout the region.

However, The Great Lakes are vulnerable to depletion. Each year, rainfall and snowmelt replenish only about 1 percent of the water in the basin. Uncontrolled and careless diversions of water could thus be highly detrimental to the health of the Great Lakes.

This Compact will bring an end to destructive diversions of water from the basin. The purpose of this Compact is to formalize cooperation among the Great Lakes States to develop and implement regional goals and objectives for water conservation, while preserving the States' flexibility regarding their water management programs.

New or increased diversions of water from the basin will be banned, and community rights will be respected as long as appropriately rigorous standards are met. In addition, every five years, the regional goals and objectives for water conservation will be reviewed to deal with any new issues that arise.

As is routinely the case, Congress expressly reserves the right to alter, amend, or repeal this resolution in the future, and to strengthen the Compact if necessary. The people of the eight States have worked diligently to craft this Compact to preserve this vital resource, and it is urgent that we approve it now, to ensure that our Great Lakes are here for future generations."