Wisconsin Ag Connection - Doyle Set to Sign Great Lakes Compact

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Doyle Set to Sign Great Lakes Compact
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 05/27/2008

Wisconsin will soon be the fifth state to legally join the Great Lakes Compact, which many call an historic accord that will protect one of the world's most precious natural resources. Governor Jim Doyle is scheduled to sign the agreement on Tuesday, joining Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Minnesota as well as both Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Ontario. But all eight Great Lakes states must approve the policy and Congress must ratify it before it becomes law.

The Compact creates unprecedented protections for the Great Lakes and ensures their continued availability for regional economic growth. It will ban long-distance diversions and provide a framework for ensuring sustainable water use in the Great Lakes basin.

The new agreement maintains the one state veto provision of the Compact. It also addresses communities partially outside straddling counties, creates for the first time a statewide conservation program, introduces incentives for regional water planning, and develops legislative oversight of the Governor's vote on the regional rules implementing the Compact.

Experts say the Great Lakes generate $55 billion in tourism for the region and create nearly $377 million in personal income from wages and salaries.

Wisconsin's harbors handle approximately 44 tons of cargo that support 11,000 jobs and are worth more than $7 billion a year.

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