Proposed changes could unravel Great Lakes compact, backers say TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- An interstate water compact designed to prevent thirsty regions from tapping the Great Lakes could be sunk if legislators seeking changes in Ohio and Wisconsin are successful, supporters of the deal said Friday.
Influential lawmakers in both states are proposing last-minute revisions that critics say might unravel the pact, crafted by governors of the eight Great Lakes states in grueling negotiations that lasted nearly five years.
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The pact, signed by the governors in 2005, needs approval from all eight legislatures and Congress to take effect. Supporters fear prospects will be less favorable if ratification is delayed until after the 2010 census, which will give Southern and Western states more seats in the U.S. House.
Minnesota and Illinois have endorsed the deal. Lawmakers in Indiana and New York have passed ratification bills, which await their governors' signatures. Bills have cleared the Pennsylvania House and await floor votes in the Michigan House and Senate, where they have strong support.
The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have approved separate but similar agreements.
The compact is being sharply debated in Ohio, where some fear it would erode landowners' water use rights, and in Wisconsin, where critics say it unfairly would prevent communities just outside the drainage basin from using the Great Lakes.
Tri-state water negotiations won't meet today's deadline MONTGOMERY - Alabama, Florida and Georgia will miss a deadline today for settling their decades-long fight over how to divide the region's water. The governors of the three states had agreed to a Feb. 15 deadline imposed by the Bush administration to reach a water sharing pact. But a flurry of talks, ending Wednesday night, failed to produce a treatise.
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Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne was briefed on the talks Wednesday night and said he would wait to get details on how close the parties are before deciding whether to set a new deadline. If they remain far apart, he said, he won't.
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The tri-state dispute centers on how much water is withheld in north Georgia reservoirs and how much is sent downstream to Florida and Alabama. The disagreement has simmered for years, but the animosity boiled over with new urgency after the record drought threatened water supplies.
Kempthorne in November met with Riley, Perdue and Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida in Washington D.C. The governors announced a temporary truce that would allow Georgia to hold back more water as they worked to get a long-term agreement in place
by Feb. 15.
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