Support For Great Lakes Compact Does Not Guarantee Water Policy Harmony

Editorial boards continue their push on behalf of the Great Lakes Compact as the momentum shifts from the states - - seven of eight Great Lakes states have adopted it, with Pennsylvania about to finally join the others - - to the US Congress.

The Buffalo News weighs in, here.

So far, so good, as both presumptive US presidential candidates are backing the Compact, and organized opposition does not appear on the horizon.

If I had to put down a bet, I'd say the Compact gets approved by the Congress and President in 2009 or 2010, and then the action will move to these arenas:

* States that have not passed Compact implementation rules and procedures will get busy doing so. Wisconsin has already passed its implementing language, so communities seeking diversions know what standards they have to meet and what data and commitments to conservation they need to provide in their applications.

According to the Compact, an out-of-basin community like Waukesha seeking a Great Lakes water diversion must receive approval from all the Great Lakes states.

* Activists in one or more states will push for tougher restrictions, or an outright ban, on bottled water exports, thus closing off an egregious loophole in the Compact.

Since the bottled water industry is powerful in Michigan, there could be retaliation from Michigan in the form of a diversion application denial if the applying community is in a state that moves against water bottling.

Just because the states have agreed on a Compact, and if and when it is approved by the Congress, there is no guarantee that the so-called water wars couldn't break out within the Great Lakes basin.