Great Lakes United weighs in that it's good:
Great Lakes United Praises Signing of the Annex Water AgreementsDecember 13, 2005 – Great Lakes United today praised the eight states and two provinces of the Great Lakes basin for signing two landmark agreements to protect the region’s waters from diversion and abuse...
One of the natural wonders of the world, the Great Lakes are a key source of jobs, drinking water, and quality of life for 42 million people. Bulk export of water from the lakes and abusive withdrawal of water for use within the Great Lakes basin threaten the region’s long-term future. The two “Annex” water agreements—one between the eight states and enforceable in U.S. federal courts, and one between the eight states and the two provinces—are the first viable plan to ensure the long-term protection and sound management of our Great Lakes water.
Great Lakes United said the agreements provide several key elements needed to do the job, including:
1) strongly discouraging all bulk water diversions and prohibiting large-scale, long-distance
2) covering ground, stream, and river as well as lake water
3) assuring that most proposals to withdraw water for local use will, for the first time in most jurisdictions, be scrutinized for potential harm to the basin environment, and
4) requiring the provinces and states to institute water conservation programs.
Others see more problems and a need to go far beyond the minimum threshold provided by the compact:
Sierra Club Applauds Agreement to Protect the Great Lakes and Calls on States to Adopt Stronger Implementing Legislation
“The Great Lakes are one of the natural wonders of the world and it is our responsibility to protect them,” said Jan O’Connell, Sierra Club Board of Directors and resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Now more than ever, we have a chance to guarantee the long-term protection of this vast, but vulnerable, public trust resource.”
Added Emily Green, Director of the Sierra Club’s Great Lakes Program: “We applaud the Great Lakes Governors and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec for their leadership in protecting the Great Lakes for the benefit of future generations. Their sustained commitment has given us a rare opportunity to ensure that our Great Lakes, one of the natural wonders of the world, will not be sold to the highest bidder.”
However, noting that the Great Lakes Compact allows each state to adopt additional statutory provisions to strengthen protections for our waters, the Sierra Club recommends that state legislators adopt implementing legislation that strengthens protections in five key areas:
1) Require the implementation of measurable water conservation programs, including water recycling and reuse, prior to any application for a diversion of Great Lakes water;
2) Require the implementation of water conservation measures for all withdrawals of water in amounts at or above 100,000 gallons per day;
3) Bar loopholes to the diversion prohibition based on the size of the container or bottle being used to transport the water out of the Great Lakes Basin;
4) Require the return of diverted Great Lakes waters, following appropriate treatment, to the point of its initial withdrawal from a Great Lakes water body; and
5) Establish the political boundaries for “straddling communities” and communities within “straddling counties” seeking prospective diversions as of the date of the legislation’s enactment.