Doyle set to sign Great Lakes Compact today
Governor Doyle is set to finally sign the Great Lakes Compact today.
That's the treaty that generally bans the diversion of water outside the lakes' basin. Cities that straddle the basin's border or lie within counties that straddle the border could apply for an exemption.
State lawmakers have been working on the compact since September 2006.
The governor plans separate ceremonies on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Milwaukee and Green Bay to approve the treaty.
But it won't go into effect until it's ratified by all Great Lakes governors and by Congress. Wisconsin will be the fifth Great Lakes state to sign off.
It's also been signed into law by the governors in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and New York. Quebec and Ontario have also approved it, but Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania have yet to give the final OK.
May 27, 2008 at 9:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
And the 1909 Treaty was with the British.
May 27, 2008 at 8:58 p.m.
Suggest removal
The reality is that this is still to be determined.
May 27, 2008 at 11:45 a.m.
Suggest removal
NVgrl, this is all under the authority of, and a codicil to, the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty with Canada. By act of Congress, once ratified by the Great Lakes states, this compact grants those states the powers stated. If Congress approves the compact, it will have the force of international law, i.e. "the supreme law of the land". To date, the Supreme Court has never found a treaty unconstitutional.
May 27, 2008 at 11:45 a.m.
Suggest removal
I think that once the other 3 states sign the compact, the right to divert the water to other states/provinces will have to be agreed upon by all the compact states/provinces.
Québec and Ontario in Canada have a say in this as well, because 4 of the 5 Great Lakes have boundaries with Canada.
May 27, 2008 at 10:53 a.m.
Suggest removal
A really questionable document. The states control the land under the lakes, but who, if anyone, owns the water? To be determined in the courts.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.