As I've mentioned on this blog repeatedly, the Great Lakes Compact now sailing through the US Congress still has major flaws.
Dave Dempsey explained them in his Congressional testimony, and here is a link to his statement.
More analysis here.
As the Compact stands now, unlimited volumes of water can be diverted from the Great Lakes basin in containers less than 5.7 gallons. And the Compact defines water as a product, weakening the traditional and long-standing legal protection water has been given under the Public Trust doctrine.
Expect pressures to increase for water export from the Great Lakes until these loopholes are changed.
Finally we are hearing the other side of this issue. The press is presenting this issue as if there were no opposition. The fact of the matter is, there are some serious concerns with the Great Lakes Compact. Specifically, the Compact has exceptions for bottled water and fails to incorporate the Public Trust doctrine. See http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0731-20.htm for more info. Also go to http://watermyth.blogspot.com/2008/07/great-lakes-waters-are-not-for-sale.html to take action on this issue.
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