Mike Levin: “I am pleased that the bill managers were able to accept my amendment to prohibit Army Corps consideration of permits…”

“I am pleased that the bill managers were able to accept my amendment to prohibit Army Corps consideration of permits that would result in the diversion of ground water from the Great Lakes Basin. As my Great Lakes colleagues know, the Army Corps recently stated its opinion that ground water is not covered by section 1109 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. This section states that, "No water shall be diverted from any portion of the Great Lakes within the United States, or from any tributary within the United State of any of the Great Lakes, for use outside the Great Lakes Basin unless such diversion is approved by the Governor of each of the Great Lakes States . . ." and places contraints on funds for any Federal agency study of the feasibility of such a diversion. As I have indicated to the Army Corps, a careful review of the act's legislative history, the Great Lakes Charter, the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, the Federal charter of the Great Lakes Commission and its predecessor, and subsequent congressional authorizations and appropriations referencing the waters of the Great Lakes Basin, shows that ground water recharging or discharging into the Great Lakes is clearly part of the Great Lakes Basin hydrologically speaking and is therefore not divertable without adherence to section 1109. In a nutshell, I disagree with the Corps' conclusion.”