Bipartisan Effort in Congress to Ratify Great Lakes Protections Underway

Washington, D.C. – Wisconsin's U.S. Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl are part of a bipartisan coalition of members of Congress pledging to ratify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (the Compact) at the federal level.  In a letter today, the bipartisan and bicameral coalition congratulated the Great Lakes governors for their leadership in protecting the Great Lakes after all the Great Lakes' state legislatures recently approved the Compact.  Federal approval by Congress of this interstate agreement is the final step needed in protecting Great Lakes waters from water withdrawals outside of the Great Lakes Basin.  A joint resolution to ratify the Compact is expected to be introduced in the House and Senate soon.

"I applaud all the Great Lakes states for this monumental agreement to protect the Great Lakes and I will work with my colleagues in Congress to ratify the Compact at the federal level," Feingold said.  "Wisconsin's economy and environment are closely tied to the health of the Great Lakes and this Compact is critical to preserving the Lakes' for future generations."

"Preserving the Great Lakes is essential to ensuring the economic vitality and environmental well being of Wisconsin and the greater region," Kohl said. "Congress must follow the lead of the Great Lakes states and ratify this historic agreement to protect one of our nation's most important assets."

Earlier this month, the Great Lakes Compact was passed by the last of the eight Great Lakes states' legislatures.  Wisconsin approved the Compact in May.  In addition to banning water withdrawal from the Basin, the Compact requires state-wide water conservation programs, mandates state 'water resources inventory' and regulations of withdrawals, and imposes reporting requirements on large withdrawals of water.  The Great Lakes, covering over 94,000 square miles, contain 95 percent of our country's fresh surface water, and about one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water supply.  Work on the Compact began in earnest after a controversial proposal was defeated in 1999 to ship Lake Superior water to Asia. 

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