Passage in Wisconsin Isn’t Deal’s Last Hurdle

By Dan Egan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mar. 24–Even if the Wisconsin Legislature does eventually pass the Great Lakes compact, the fight over who is entitled to the water won’t be over.

Legislators in Ohio also are objecting to the one-governor veto, and they also have worries about how the agreement could affect groundwater rights.

If and when all eight states pass the compact, Congress also would need to approve the deal, though it was Congress itself that prodded the Great Lakes states to develop the compact in the first place.

The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have a parallel agreement governing Great Lakes diversions and water use, but it is separate from the compact because U.S. states cannot enter into such agreements with foreign governments without congressional approval.

Beyond the diversion issue, the compact also requires Great Lakes states to begin inventorying and regulating in-basin water withdrawals.

The deal has its critics, particularly among some in the Wisconsin business community who fear increased government regulation.

One opponent from outside the region is University of Colorado Law School professor Mark Squillace. He previously worked for former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, one of America’s most well-known environmentalists. Squillace said the deal is “far more complex and intrusive on state authority than it ought to be,” and he recommends instead giving each state a set amount of Great Lakes water to do with as it pleases.

The idea has been dismissed by compact advocates who contend that is essentially how western U.S. water is managed, and history has shown that has not necessarily been good for the West.

The fact that water management policies in other areas of the country have left some places parched is exactly why the compact has become so economically important to this region, one influential business leader said.

“Industry wants the compact,” said George Kuper, president of the Council of Great Lakes Industries, which represents such heavy hitters as Wisconsin Energy Corporation, the American Forest and Paper Association and U.S. Steel.

“We want to make sure we have access to resources because we did move here to use them,” Kuper said. “And we see the compact as securing that access.”

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