For years, a report on “Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes” issued by IJC in 2000 has been one of the most popular items at IJC.org.
Until June 30, we’re asking people to revisit that topic, as part of a consultants’ 10-year review of progress that Great Lakes states and provinces have made in defending the lakes from diversions, bulk exports and large-scale withdrawals within the basin.
Before the comment period ends, there’s a special opportunity to hear from the report authors, Ralph Pentland, president of Ralph Pentland Enterprises Inc., and Alex Mayer, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan Technological University.
A public webinar and teleconference is planned for 10 a.m. on June 4. Following a short presentation, you’ll have a chance to comment and ask questions to the consultants and IJC commissioners.
In the meantime and afterward, you can read the report here, and comment online until June 30.
Some background: The IJC issued the original “Protection of the Waters” report at the request of the Canadian and U.S. governments, following a controversial proposal by a private company in 1998 to export Lake Superior water in tankers to Asia.
The original report made 12 major recommendations – largely directed at states and provinces – to conserve water and protect the lakes.
The consultants examined what’s happened since 2000, and say the findings are "for the most part a good news story."
You can read all or part of the draft report. An executive summary, brief historical perspective and findings and recommendations are included in the first 11 pages.
After the comment period ends, the IJC plans to consider all comments received and report its own findings and recommendations to two governments in September 2015.
“Moving forward, it is important to remember that there really is no ‘surplus’ water in the Great Lakes Basin,” the authors write in the report. “From an ecosystem perspective, it is all in use, even in periods of high supply.”
The message was echoed in a recent presentation by U.S. Commissioner Dereth Glance at this year’s International Association for Great Lakes Research conference in Burlington, Vermont.
The authors add: “There continue to be large voids between our knowledge regarding levels and flows, and the impact they have on the ecosystem of the basin.
“Due to prevailing uncertainties such as those posed by climate change and the sheer threat of the unexpected, the precautionary principle needs to be continually applied by basin jurisdictions to ensure, to the extent possible, adequate supplies for all socio-economic and ecosystem uses for the long term.”