FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gov. Daniels signs Sen. Gard’s Great Lakes Compact legislation into law
STATEHOUSE — Gov. Mitch Daniels signed State Sen. Beverly Gard’s (R-Greenfield) Great Lakes Compact into law today – making Indiana the first state to pass the compact and the implementation measure – beating New York to the finish.
“Today Gov. Daniels signed the Great Lakes Compact which is a major step towards preventing drought-stricken states from pipelining fresh water from our region to their area,” Gard said. “I am encouraged by the support for this compact and the environment.”
Indiana’s compact is part of a multi-state agreement working its way through seven other state legislatures. The agreement would control who can use the water and how much.
Daniels said in spite of the time consuming process to implementation the Great Lakes Compact represented some important “firsts.”
“This is the first bill we will sign and it’s appropriate given the time and effort that’s been involved with this,” Daniels said. “As long as it has taken and as frustrating as it must have been, Indiana is the first state to complete this process.”
Seven other states that border the lakes — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York — and the premiers of the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario are working to pass the compact through their legislatures before it is sent to Congress for final approval.
“This measure puts a legal wall around our vital fresh water source and sets up guidelines for using the water in a responsible way,” Gard said. “Theories of pipelining Great Lakes water to the west or using tanks to transfer water to Asia are no longer a possibility if all the states sign on.”
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Sen. Beverly Gard serves District 28 in the Indiana Senate, which includes all of Henry and Hancock counties and a portion of Hamilton County. |
