LANSING – Private property rights advocates in the Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly pressured Great Lakes states Wednesday to revise a proposed multi-state agreement that would limit major diversions of water from the basin.
Ohio Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) joined Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Michael Huebsch (R-West Salem) in announcing both chambers would move expeditiously to pass their own companion versions of legislation to ratify the Great Lakes Compact.
The move sets up a potential conflict, not only between the Ohio Senate and House, but also between Ohio and other states in the region that have passed legislation to enact the measure. Ohio Rep. Matt Dolan’s (R-Novelty) bill, which would ratify the original compact, is scheduled for a vote Tuesday in the state’s lower chamber.
However, with the introduction of alternative legislation by Ohio Sen. Tim Grendell (R-Chesterland), it appears unlikely the Senate will pass the House’s version. Proponents of that measure have argued that revising the compact would require all the Great Lakes states to adopt identical language, which could jeopardize the delicate compromise that took years to reach.
Harris dismissed proponents’ assertions, saying revisions to the compact are “not an insurmountable task” and notes only two states have ratified the compact. That has occurred in Illinois and Minnesota; Indiana and New York have passed bills that are awaiting their governors’ signatures, she said.
Michigan has legislation that would both adopt the compact and provide for its implementation in the state. While both Michigan legislative chambers appear to agree on adopting the compact as written, the conflict has arisen over the implementation, including use of a water withdrawal assessment tool being developed by the Department of Environmental Quality.
“This is a shortsighted move that places the special interests of a few over the water security needs of more than 40 million people and the economic vitality of the region,” said Molly Flanagan, water program manager for the National Wildlife Federation, which has been backing the package in the Michigan House. “This amounts to a hijacking of the Compact that jeopardizes the region’s ability to protect the Great Lakes.”
One of Grendell’s key objections to the House version is that it would define the water beneath landowners’ private property as “held in trust by the states.” The language is ambiguous and could compromise the rights of private property owners to use or tap into groundwater on their own land, he said.
His version of the compact includes an exception to the public trust language for “tributary groundwater and nonnavigable surface waters.” It also states: “the Waters of the Basin are subject to reasonable regulation by the Council.”
While Dolan added intent language that seeks to clarify the public trust issue, Ohio Senate Republicans say that is insufficient because the multi-state compact would trump any assertions made during a legal challenge.
Grendell has also criticized compact language that would allow any one of the participating members to unilaterally veto a state’s petition for intra-basin water transfers for economic development projects. For example, such a provision could allow one state to overrule a competing state’s attempt to attract new industry. The Senate version would change the language to require a majority vote to deny such transfers.
For her part, Ohio Sen. Sue Morano (D-Lorain) called on her chamber to quickly ratify the original version, expressing concern that the new proposal would derail the approval process. Language included in the multi-state measure explicitly states that private property rights would not be threatened by the agreement, she said. Moreover, it would enable Ohio to act unilaterally to protect the economic interests of the region.
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