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Great achievement

Congress adds its approval of a compact to protect a treasured resource

Published on Thursday, Sep 25, 2008

Adecade ago, Congress urged states along the Great Lakes to craft a shared management plan for this most precious natural resource. On Tuesday, the U.S. House approved the Great Lakes Compact, Betty Sutton leading the floor debate for the Democratic majority. The Senate passed the measure earlier in the year. President Bush has pledged to add his signature. Mission truly accomplished, in other words.

The many years pulling together the plan testify to the difficulty of the task, herding Ohio and seven other states. Among the virtues of the process was the willingness to hear many voices, necessitating the compromises required to move the matter forward.

In the end, the states acted on the principle of all for one. No state will be permitted to act on its own, say, contracting to divert waters from the lakes. That has been the fear, that a state would act carelessly, diminishing the lakes, colliding with the interests of others who see this resource as their own, too. Now the states will share responsibility in a concrete way.

Worth stressing is that such regional coordination works to protect the national interest. The Great Lakes account for 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh surface water. If Arizona cannot strike a separate diversion deal with Wisconsin, those in thirsty regions of the country should be alert to the larger value in managing soundly the lakes for economic and environmental purposes.

If anything, the compact should be a springboard to doing more to enhance the lakes, winning congressional approval of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, a $26 billion plan long stuck on Capitol Hill yet just the investment required (over time) to ensure the good health of the lakes. Let's hope passage doesn't require another decade.

Adecade ago, Congress urged states along the Great Lakes to craft a shared management plan for this most precious natural resource. On Tuesday, the U.S. House approved the Great Lakes Compact, Betty Sutton leading the floor debate for the Democratic majority. The Senate passed the measure earlier in the year. President Bush has pledged to add his signature. Mission truly accomplished, in other words.

Get the full article here.


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