Through the
Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body, the Great
Lakes Governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the Premiers of Ontario and
Québec are taking the lead in protecting the world’s largest
source of surface fresh water—the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River
Basin. We recognize that the Basin’s waters are one of the most
important natural resources in North America and that we must work
together to protect them.
The Great Lakes Governors and Premiers created the Regional Body on December 13, 2005, by signing the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement. The Agreement details how the Great Lakes States, Ontario and Québec will manage and protect the Basin and provide a framework for each State and Province to enact laws for its protection. The Governors and Premiers are working aggressively to put the Agreement into action.
NEWS
December 8, 2011-The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body (Regional Body) met on Thursday, December 8, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. EST. This meeting was held at the Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Place, Chicago, Illinois 60611. The meeting was open to the public and included an opportunity for public comments. An agenda, materials discussed and call-in information for those wishing to participate remotely were available below.
8 décembre 2011 Agenda (français)
Resolution #18--Adoption of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget (July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013)
Resolution #19--Modification of Water Use Reporting Protocols
November 23-Puruant to Section 4.2.2 of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, "each [State] shall annually assess its programs in meeting the [State's] goals and objectives, report to the Council and the Regional Body and make this annual assessement available to the public." The Provinces of Ontario and Quebec are also submitting such assessments on a voluntary basis.
The first set of assessments are now available and can be found at http://www.glslregionalbody.org/Resolutions.aspx#ProgramReports.
July 13, 2011--On July 8, the Québec Government led by Premier Jean Charest enacted historic regulations to protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. The recent adoption of the regulations represents a major milestone in Québec’s efforts to implement the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement (Agreement), which includes a ban on new or increased diversions of water from the Basin, with limited exceptions.
Québec’s action follows the National Assembly’s approval of the Agreement and passage of Bill 27, and allows Québec to put the Agreement into force. The Great Lakes States previously completed their required actions with enactment of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Compact. Following Ontario’s enactment of regulations expected in coming months, the Agreement will become fully effective and the various dates and deadlines for its provisions will begin.
