WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are one of the largest surface freshwater system in the world; and

WHEREAS, More than 35 million Americans receive the benefits of fresh drinking water, food, a place to work and live, recreational opportunities and transportation from the Great Lakes; and

WHEREAS, Our national economy depends on the Great Lakes with nearly 30% of our nation’s gross domestic product is produced by the Great Lakes States, which includes approximately 60% of all U.S. manufacturing; and

WHEREAS, There are threats to the Basin now, and they could increase in the future.  We are looking ahead and taking protective steps to avoid conflicts and shortages in the future; and

WHEREAS, According to Brock University Cartography and Fuller and Sheer’s The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book, only one percent of the Great Lakes water is renewable.  The remaining 99 percent is finite and, once gone, can never be replenished; and

WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, instead of a normal seasonal drop of 2 inches in November 2007, the lakes dropped 6 inches. For the Lake Michigan-Huron watershed, it was the driest November since 1908; and

WHEREAS, On December 13, 2005, the bi-partisan governors of the U.S. States that share the Great Lakes signed a cooperative agreement for the future protection of Great Lakes waters known as the Great Lake-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.  This compact creates a framework for the sustainable use and responsible management of Basin waters; and

WHEREAS, After the Compact is ratified by all of the Great Lakes States, Congress will be asked to provide its consent thereby turning this unprecedented set of protections into State and federal law; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Lieutenant Governors Association urges the state legislatures in the Great Lakes States to protect this valuable resource by ratifying the Great Lake-St.
Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Lieutenant Governors Association urges the presidential candidates from both parties to outline their plan and priority actions for Great Lakes restoration and protection that will be initiated in 2009 and beyond; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent by the NLGA to the President of the United States, Vice-President of the United States, the Speaker of the House, President of the U.S. Senate, the state legislatures of Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and that NLGA make all state elected officials aware of passage of the resolution through a notice in StateNews magazine, and that NLGA further post the full text of the resolution to its web page making the resolution available at all times for all NLGA members, state elected official, and other interested parties.

Sponsored by: 
Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton (D-WI), Lt. Governor Carol Molnau (R-MN)

Co – Sponsors: 
Lt. Governor John Cherry (D-MI)
Lt. Governor Becky Skillman (R-IN)
Lt. Governor Pat Quinn (D-IL)
Lt. Governor John Bohlinger (R-MT)
Lt. Governor David Paterson (D-NY)
Lt. Governor Brian Dubie (R-VT)
Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll (D-PA)

Lt. Governor Lee Fisher (D-OH)