The Water Buoys
Spent any time at Lake Ontario lately? It is truly a great local resource. Maybe you’ve heard about the drought in the Southern states where states are suing each other over who owns certain waterways and where state lines are actually drawn, thus increasing access to coveted water.
Water buoys our economy and our health, and our environment is dependent upon water in its various forms. The issue may not be splashy (pardon the pun) but to ignore the importance of protecting the Great Lakes would be foolish. Thankfully, Governor Spitzer, on March 4th (one of his last actions as governor), signed legislation authorizing New York to join the compact (from AP):
New York has become the fourth Great Lakes state to commit to an interstate treaty designed to keep arid states from pulling water out of the immense waters known as North America’s Fifth Coast, Lt. Gov. David Paterson said Friday.
The governors of eight states signed the Great Lakes Compact in 2005 after four years of talks, and New York’s legislature joined those in Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota in approving the treaty.
Here is the Compact as voted in New York (A07266) and sponsored by Robert A. Sweeney, (D-Long Island). Note the cooperation. Water buoys.
…You’ve got a war in your head
And it’s tearing you up inside…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gTTKcrbQog8
“…turn your back
on your soulless days…”
(Thanks, sconset)
The Albany Project blog The Albany Project blog reported on this on March 14, apparently based on a press release from then-Gov-designee Paterson, and here is the comment I posted there:
I notice it still hasn’t appeared in the D&C. Do you suppose they are philosophically opposed to clean fresh water?
Thanks. Do you have a link for the dredging by the US Army Corps of Engineers?
I found this great link to get a better understanding of our Great Lakes. Page 14 mentions dredging’s history:
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=4281&destination=ShowItem
Great resource, but if you relied on this (including the page you mention and what follows) you would conclude that they ceased all dredging around 1965. The more recent dredging was practically a covert operation. The Canadian government had no input into this, and folks in the upper Great Lakes are seeking “restitution” of sorts.
I noticed that in my research I don’t see any mention of dredging post-1965 on a quick scan of Google. Do you know of any published reports of this dredging?