GLIN==> Diversion Doesn't Meet Great Lakes Compact Mandates

Alliance for the Great Lakes
National Wildlife Federation

For Immediate Release				Contact: Ed Glatfelter: 847-707-9171 (cell)
March 27, 2009						 Marc Smith: 734-255-5413 (cell)
   								

Diversion Doesn't Meet Great Lakes Compact Mandates 

MILWAUKEE -- A Wisconsin city’s proposal to divert Lake Michigan water outside the drainage basin’s natural boundary is incomplete, needing tougher water conservation measures before the state can approve a permit under the first test of the historic multi-state Great Lakes water compact.

New Berlin’s application to divert Lake Michigan water fails to include a meaningful water conservation program or a restoration component in return for use of Great Lakes water, the Alliance said in comments submitted jointly with the National Wildlife Federation today.

“Stronger water conservation measures should mean stronger chances for water,” said Alliance Water Conservation Program Director Edward Glatfelter who, as a former municipal water agency director in Lake County, Ill., advised the Great Lakes governors in developing the compact. “Weak water conservation measures should mean no chance.”

A decade in-the-making, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Compact was signed into law in October after winning overwhelming approval in the U.S. House and Senate. Prior to its arrival in Washington, D.C., the compact was approved by the governors and state legislatures of the eight Great Lakes states. 

“All of those who worked to draft and approve the compact, all of those who worked to pass implementing legislation in Wisconsin, and all of those anticipating the benefits of compact implementation deserve better,” state comments addressed to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The New Berlin application is the first test of the water management pact, which seeks to ban the diversion of Great Lakes water -- with limited exceptions -- and set responsible standards for water use and conservation within the basin.

New Berlin seeks to satisfy requirements that would allow it to divert Great Lakes water under one of the compact’s defined exceptions, which allows so-called “straddling communities” that lie both within and outside the basin to qualify for water if the water is returned.

That qualification also requires that applying communities incorporate water conservation measures to minimize the amount of water withdrawn. In addition, the governors intended for applicants to commit to improving a natural resource within the basin.

The New Berlin application falls short on both counts, according to the comment letter, which notes that “Water conservation is hardly mentioned in the application materials.”

Absent a meaningful water conservation plan and citing New Berlin’s stated plans to develop one only after completing the Lake Michigan withdrawal project, the comments say the New Berlin proposal fails to meet a further requirement that applicants show their need for water “cannot be reasonably avoided.”

“It is probable that some portion of the Lake Michigan diversion request might reasonably be avoided because the city has implemented few basic water conservation best practices,” the letter states.

The comments detail a number of water conservation practices New Berlin could commit to immediately, among them:  conducting annual water audits to determine the amount of unbilled water; an ongoing water meter testing and replacement program; and an ongoing leak detection program.

"Any proposal for a diversion needs to be in strict compliance with the recently passed Great Lakes Compact," said Marc Smith, state policy director with the National Wildlife Federation. "We intend to bird-dog this proposal from the city of New Berlin and any future diversion of Great Lakes water to make sure it is consistent with the compact requirements."

The Alliance and NWF praised the DNR for holding a March 12 public hearing on the New Berlin application, yet take issue with the DNR’s position that it constitutes “a complete application.” The groups further call for the agency to develop rules that provide critical definitions for what constitutes strong “water conservation” measures under Wisconsin’s implementing legislation for the compact.

“In the short time since the approval of the compact, the WDNR has not developed approved rules as called for (in the compact),” the letter states. Before considering the permit further, the groups call on the DNR to require that New Berlin:

* Submit plans for a meaningful water conservation program.
* Commit to restoring a resource within the Great Lakes that goes above and beyond correcting for any negative 
consequences that derive from withdrawing and returning the water.

The Alliance and NWF served as two of five leading civic organizations invited to advise the Great Lakes governors as part of the compact’s development. The Alliance also testified for the compact’s passage before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in July.

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Formed in 1970, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is the oldest independent citizens' organization in North America. Its mission is to conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife. More about the Alliance for the Great Lakes is online at www.greatlakes.org. 



Susan Campbell
Communications Manager
Alliance for the Great Lakes
414-540-0699
Visit http://www.greatlakes.org



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