|
 |
|
Candidate's Comments Show Need to Protect Great Lakes
|
|
| | by Dennis A. Shook |
| |
October 18, 2007
Will
rapidly growing places like Nevada, New Mexico and California try to
tap into Great Lakes water to sustain their thirst for development?
It hasn't happened yet, but some environmentalists in Wisconsin fear it could happen soon.
They're
pointing to comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Bill
Richardson last week as proof that some states already have designs on
Great Lakes water. And they hope that passing a Great Lakes compact
would provide enough regulation so that distant states couldn't draw
water out of the region.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun,
New Mexico Gov. Richardson said that, if elected president, he would
call for a national policy on water that would involve sharing Great
Lakes water with the booming but exceedingly parched Southwest, as well
as other western states.
"I believe the western states and the
eastern states have not been talking to each other when it comes to
proper use of our water resources," Richardson told the Sun in
an interview published Oct. 4. "I want a national water policy. We need
a dialogue between states to deal with issues like water conservation,
water reuse technology, water delivery and water production. States
like Wisconsin are awash in water."
While Richardson is having
difficulty gaining traction in the polls, he served in the cabinet of
President Bill Clinton and most observers consider him a likely cabinet
member if front-runner Hillary Clinton becomes the next president.
In other words, Richardson's opinion might hold some considerable water with the next leader of the nation.
A New Sense of Urgency
Richardson
has come under intense criticism from environmentalists throughout the
Midwest since making the comments. And his press secretary, Tom
Reynolds, has since said that Richardson "in no way proposes federal
transfers of water from one region of the nation to the other.
Richardson believes firmly in keeping water in its basin of origin and
of the rights of states to oversee water distribution."
But
concerns remain, and Richardson's comments did not pass unnoticed. Matt
Canter, Gov. Jim Doyle's spokesman, said the water compact must be
passed by the state Legislature soon, to protect the region's
resources. "Absolutely, given Richardson's comments, and those from
some others, we clearly need to pass the compact right now," Canter
said. "We need to be able to move forward to protect Great Lakes water."
He said the compact has been delayed because so much effort has been focused on the impasse over the state's biennial budget.
"One
of the byproducts of that (impasse) is we have not been able to move
forward on how to protect arguably the greatest treasure in this
state," Canter said. "As the nation looks to develop a new national
water policy, it is incumbent on states like Wisconsin to ensure the
protection of Great Lakes water."
But the budget isn't the only
source of delay. The special Legislative Council Committee, which was
set up to write legislation to make the compact binding in Wisconsin,
recently disbanded when members couldn't agree on terms.
However,
a different group of people is currently working with Doyle to push the
compact through the state Legislature. Members say their work has a new
sense of urgency because of Richardson's comments.
Jodi Habush
Sinykin, counsel for the Midwest Environmental Advocates, is on Doyle's
committee and says she frequently hears comments like Richardson's when
she travels to states in the South and Southwest for water conferences.
"We've
been hearing this scuttlebutt about them taking our water for a while,"
she said. "In Texas, they take it as a 'gimme' that they will get it."
Sinykin
said that Congress tends to respect regional compacts, which makes them
strong protection against a proposed national policy. She added that
having Canada involved in the compact also adds status to the pact,
which needs to be passed by eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian
provinces and then approved by Congress to become law.
Sinykin said she realizes that anything could still happen until the compact passes.
"What
Richardson is talking about is really a wake-up call and we will need
to look outside narrower concerns about the compact and look at
[Richardson's] effort," she said. "He could not have said it any more
clearly. This is something we need to look out for as a region or it
will be decided for us by someone else. Wisconsin should not be the
state that makes the rest of this region vulnerable to exploitation" by
failing to pass the compact.
She blamed the nation's Southwest
for its problems, saying it has "foolishly overdeveloped. But we have
to make more rational planning decisions."
Bill Mielke,
president of Ruekert & Mielke, a water consultant for many suburban
communities, and also a member of the special legislative committee,
said he was not as concerned about attempts to grab Great Lakes water.
Under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that has governed
Great Lakes usage for 30 years, Southwestern states can't take Great
Lakes water because it's against the WRDA, Mielke said.
"If
eight Great Lakes governors simply hold tight and agree that WRDA law
is correct, any access to the lakes physically becomes denied in any
event," he said.
Mielke, an engineer, acknowledged that a
pipeline network could be built that would allow for the water to be
drained from the lakes. But he said he doesn't foresee that happening,
no matter how many politically powerful people from the Southwest call
for that to happen.
"I don't know why anybody would approve of draining the Great Lakes," he said.
Sinykin
and other environmentalists favor the compact because they believe it
will have better standing in court than WRDA, although Sinykin said
that WRDA provisions have served the Great Lakes well since they were
passed 30 years ago.
| |
|  |
|
|
hello
October 20, 2007 | 07:58 AM
I
often wonder why environmentalists never challenge the dumping of raw
sewage by MMSD? If a business in the private sector dumped a fraction
of what MMSD does they would be up in arms.
Bobby
|
|
What??
October 20, 2007 | 10:08 AM
Where in the hell does this article mention ANY thing about dumping raw
sewage by MMSD. Where is MMSD even mentioned? Thats not the point of
this article. Your looking for an argument that doesn't excist Bob.
STICK TO THE ARTICLE AT HAND. Maybe next week thay will have an article
pertaining to MMSD and dumping sewage. What are your thoughts
pertaining to THIS article?
Just Wondering?
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|  |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Rodrigo Y Gabriela,
the guitar-based Mexican group that’s made a splash in world-music
circles, won’t be appearing tonight at the Rave as originally
scheduled. The show has been canceled. But live music fans shouldn’t
dispair too much, there are plenty of other options to check out
tonight:
His Name Is Alive, an ever-changing Michigan
group that explores the sweeter, more accessible side of experimental
rock, headline an 8 p.m. show at Shank Hall tonight. Their latest, Xmmer, which contrasts electronic and acoustic textures, has been greeted with nearly universal strong reviews.
Pat Monahan is best known for his work with the soft-rock/pop band Train, has launched a solo career. His first album, The Last of Seven, should be well within the comfort zone of his VH1 fanbase. Monahan headlines an 8 p.m. show at the Pabst Theater tonight.
Every week, DJ Kid Cut Up hosts Hip-Hop Tuesdays
at The Uptowner, spinning a mix of current chart-toppers, old-school
favorites and more obscure underground cuts—in other words, whatever he
wants. This “No Requests” mentality has made him one of the city’s most
popular (and prolific) DJs in just a few short years. He usually starts
spinning around 10 p.m. or so.
And there’s another weekly music night that deserves a nod from us: Every Tuesday at the Jazz Estate, the Erotic Adventures of the Static Chicken
convenes for one of the city’s best nights of free music. Borrowing
liberally from the confident, bass-driven swagger of funk, the gritty
undertones of the blues and the guitar bravado of ’70s jazz-rock
fusion, this instrumental collective explores the fringes of jazz
music. They take the stage at 10 p.m.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | “You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” —President Woodrow Wilson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1844: Sarah Bernhardt, French actress. |
| 1869: John Heisman, American college football coach for whom the Heisman Trophy is named. |
| 1925: Johnny Carson, American television personality who hosted the Tonight Show. |
| 1940: Pele, legendary Brazilian soccer player who scored 1,281 goals in 22 years |
| 1942: Michael Crichton, writer (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain). |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1707: The first Parliament of Great Britain meets. |
| 1783: Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War. |
| 1861: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases. |
| 1918:
President Wilson feels satisfied that the Germans are accepting his
armistice terms and agrees to transmit their request for an armistice
to the Allies. The Germans have agreed to suspend submarine warfare,
cease inhumane practices such as the use of poison gas, and withdraw
troops back into Germany. When the United States entered World War I, propagandist George Creel set out to stifle anti-war sentiment. |
| 1929: The first transcontinental air service begins from New York to Los Angeles. Air Mail's first day. |
|
|
|
 | English |
 | Spanish |
 | Italian |
 | French |
 | German | |
|
| | | |
Today In Milwaukee
