Great Lakes Compact Stalls in Ohio

Democrats and Republicans blame one another for the failure of a multi-state compact on protecting the U.S. Great Lakes to make it out of the Ohio Legislature.

Ohio House Democrats voted Thursday against a Republican demand for a constitutional amendment that would ensure the compact did not interfere with private property rights.

Maybe we are sending a message that one or two people shouldn’t be able to stand up and holler and scream to change the constitution, state House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, a Democrat, said in a floor speech.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer said the Republican state Senate President Bill Harris called the Democrats refusal to back the amendment mind boggling.

The newspaper said the proposed amendment focused largely on ground water and water flowing through private lands.

Democrats said the Republicans pushed the amendment through to a vote without adequate study.

Environmentalists Friday said they were hopeful that the differences would be ironed out and that the Great Lakes compact would eventually be approved.