Number
070649
Version
SUBSTITUTE 3
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. MURPHY, D’AMATO, BAUMAN, DUDZIK AND WITKOWSKI
Title
Substitute resolution relating to City policy concerning the sale of water to neighboring communities pending the Great Lakes Charter Annex Implementing Agreements are ratified.
Analysis
This resolution states it is the City of Milwaukee’s policy that no signing of final agreements relating to sale of water to neighboring communities outside the Great Lakes basin shall occur before the state of Wisconsin ratifies the interstate compact.
Lake Michigan water issues are collectively managed by the Council of Great Lakes Governors under the 2001 Great Lakes Charter Annex. The Council of Great Lakes Governors is represented by 10 jurisdictions - Wisconsin; Illinois; Indiana; Michigan; Minnesota; New York; Ohio; Pennsylvania; and Ontario and Quebec, Canada. To implement the 2001 Annex agreements, the governors and premiers of these jurisdictions signed the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and endorsed the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, collectively known as the Great Lakes Charter Annex Implementing Agreements.
The agreements are not binding on states or provinces, but rather provide a framework for each state and province to enact laws that will protect the Great Lakes’ St. Lawrence River Basin; and in the U.S., each of the 8 states will enact into law and enforce the agreements through an interstate compact, and the United States Congress will be asked to ratify the compact.
Body
Whereas, The Council of Great Lakes Governors, represented by 10 jurisdictions - Wisconsin; Illinois; Indiana; Michigan; Minnesota; New York; Ohio; Pennsylvania; and Ontario and Quebec, Canada - collectively manages Lake Michigan water issues under the 2001 Great Lakes Charter Annex; and
Whereas, Annex 2001 agreements were developed by representatives from the 10 jurisdictions’ environmental agencies to define how the Council of Great Lakes Governors manages water quantity issues, and addresses distribution of water from the Great Lakes and water diversions outside the Great Lakes basin; and
Whereas, To implement the Annex 2001 agreements, on December 13, 2005, the governors and premiers of these jurisdictions signed the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement and endorsed the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, collectively known as the Great Lakes Charter Annex Implementing Agreements; and
Whereas, The agreements recognize that the waters of the River Basin are a shared public treasure and that the states and provinces as stewards have a shared duty to protect, conserve, manage and maintain the integrity of the River Basin and its ecosystem, and set a common standard for decisions about proposed water uses; and
Whereas, The agreements are not binding on states or provinces, but rather provide a framework for each state and province to pass laws that will protect the Great Lakes’ St. Lawrence River Basin; and in the U.S., each of the 8 states will enact into law and enforce the agreements through an interstate compact, and the United States Congress will be asked to ratify the compact; and
Whereas, There have been discussions between the City of Milwaukee and neighboring jurisdictions relating to selling water to areas outside the Great Lakes basin, and City of Milwaukee policies relative to these discussions should be consistent with standards adopted by the Council of Great Lakes Governors that will ensure a uniform policy throughout the Great Lakes region; and
Whereas, Consistent and uniform standards will ensure the least amount of impact on the City’s environmental and economic health, and ensure that the Great Lakes region and its ecosystems are not irreparably damaged; and
Whereas, The City of Milwaukee’s current position concerning the sale of water to areas outside the Great Lakes basin should be to take no action until the state of Wisconsin enacts into law and enforces the agreements with an interstate compact; and
Whereas, Once the state of Wisconsin ratifies the compact, the City of Milwaukee may enter into agreements for the sale of water to neighboring communities outside the Great Lakes basin with confidence that its agreements are consistent with the health and economic vitality of the Great Lakes ecosystem, the intentions of the Council of Great Lakes Governors and the Great Lakes Charter Annex Implementing Agreements; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that it is the City of Milwaukee’s position that no signing of final agreements relating to sale of water to neighboring communities outside the Great Lakes basin shall occur before the state of Wisconsin ratifies the interstate compact; and, be it,
Further Resolved, That the City Clerk shall forward a certified copy of this resolution to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB07439-4
LCS
11/12/07