CONGRESSWOMAN CANDICE MILLER
Great Lakes Compact
by Congresswoman Candice Miller

Very important legislation for the health and well-being of the Great Lakes will be considered by Congress in the coming weeks.

The Great Lakes Basin Compact, a bill that would prevent the diversion of water and regulate large-scale water use, will be introduced to the House of Representatives.

This agreement, which has been approved by all eight Great Lakes states, was passed in July by the U.S. Senate. If my fellow colleagues in Congress approve the Compact, it will be sent to the President for his signature and would become law.

Having the support of both houses of Congress, the president and presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama shows that my efforts over the past six years in the House of Representatives, when paired with the other members of the Great Lakes delegation, has shown to other legislators in Washington DC the importance of this body of water to this region economically, environmentally and aesthetically.

In southeast Michigan alone, the Great Lakes provide the drinking water for over 4 million people. Beyond drinking water, it is the important financial lifeblood for hundreds of businesses that range from small bait shops to major shippers, who use the waterways for low cost means of transportation. And finally, the lakes provide a unique lifestyle for those of us who live in Michigan and surrounding states. Taking our boats out for an evening cruise after a hard day at work, taking a stroll along a waterfront path or parents and their children casting a line while fishing off one of the many piers has become part of our lifestyle here in the region.

Having nearly a quarter of the world’s fresh surface water in our backyard requires us to be good stewards of such a national treasure and pass this legislation, which ensures that we determine the future of the Great Lakes before other parts of the country determine that future for us.

In addition to considering the Great Lakes Compact, Congress voted in favor of nearly 1 million Michigan boaters when the House and Senate passed the Clean Boating Act of 2008. I was a co-sponsor of the bill, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on July 29.

The new law suspends a proposed permit system that was drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency and would have imposed new requirements for discharges for recreational boaters that may have included items from bilge water to deck runoff.

The issue stems from a 2006 court ruling, which mandated that the EPA create a discharge permit system that restricts discharges from all types of vessels into the nation’s waterways. That ruling struck down a decades-long exemption from the Clean Water Act, which excluded recreational vessels from federal and state requirements governing incidental discharges.

Originally the court case centered on invasive species from commercial vessel ballast water, but the ruling was extended to include 91,000 commercial vessels and approximately 18 million recreational boats.

The action by Congress exempted recreational vessels including ski boats, canoes and personal watercraft from the permitting process.

The Clean Water Act was never intended to force recreational boats to comply with an extensive federal permitting process. The Clean Boating Act represents a compromise with Senate leaders, which will ensure that millions of recreational boat owners do not need to acquire an EPA permit before heading out on the water.

As a boater myself, I know we are among the greatest stewards of the environment and do not need new laws to stress the importance of protecting the environment when we use best practices every time we set sail.

The past months have been very busy in Washington DC as we have considered these bills, which affect us in Michigan. It is my hope that for next month’s column I am able to share good news with you about the Great Lakes Compact.

I also hope that you are able to enjoy the outdoor beauty of our great state a few more times before school starts and fall is upon us.

If you wish to contact Congresswoman Miller you may reach her in Washington, D.C. at 228 Cannon Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; Phone: 202-225-2106; Fax: 202-226-1169. You may also reach her in Michigan at Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Township, MI 48317; Phone: 586-997-5010; Fax: 586-997-5013.