Great Lakes--St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact Implementation

Background

On December 13, 2005, the Great Lakes Governors and Premiers signed agreements at the Council of Great Lakes Governors’ (CGLG) Leadership Summit that will provide unprecedented protections for the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin.

The agreements include the following:

1. The Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement (the Agreement), a good-faith agreement among the Great Lakes States, Ontario and Québec; that will be implemented in Ontario and Québec through Provincial laws, and in the States, through

2. The Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (the Compact), an agreement among the Great Lakes States that will be passed into law through an interstate compact.

State Legislative Activity to Enact the Compact

Active Bill
Passed One Chamber
Passed Two Chambers
Enacted into law

Illinois--Signed by Governor Blagojevich on August 17, 2007

Project Background, Organization and Road to Development

Great Lakes--St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact

Great Lakes--St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement

Development Rosters
i. Governors' and Premiers' Water Management Working Group
ii. Advisory Committee
iii. Resource Group
iv. Observers

Frequently Asked Questions

Selected Resolutions, Endorsements, Articles, and Letters of Support
Midwestern Legislative Conference Resolution

Background on Compacts (the following were created by the Council of State Governments--National Center for Interstate Compacts)
i. Compacts—Frequently Asked Questions
ii. Understanding Interstate Compacts
iii. Compacts v. Uniform Laws
iv. Congressional Consent and Other Legal Issues

Existing Great Lakes Laws, Agreements and other information
i. Great Lakes Water Management Chronology--Key Events
ii. Current Great Lakes Diversions
iii. International Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909
iv. Wisconsin et al. v. Illinois et al. (Lake Michigan Diversion) 1967 and 1980 Consent Decrees
iv. Water Resources Development Act of 1986, as amended in 2000
v. Great Lakes Charter of 1985
vi. Great Lakes Charter Annex of 2001

Guide to Resources

Key Contacts

Full Resource Kit (Warning! 3.04 MB file).

Projects