[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GREAT LAKES NOT FOR SALE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, last spring, the Canadian Province of 
Ontario approved a permit that would have allowed the Nova Group, an 
Ontario-based company, to divert 3 billion liters of water from Lake 
Superior over the next 5 years and sell that water to unspecified Asian 
countries.
  In April, several of my colleagues, led by the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Stupak), and I introduced House Resolution 418 urging the 
President and the Senate to take the necessary action to prohibit the 
sale or diversion of Great Lakes water to foreign countries, 
businesses, corporations or individuals. Two weeks later, the Ministry 
of Environment of Canada announced the permit issued to the Nova Group 
would be canceled, but the door remained open to companies who wanted 
to buy and sell water out of the Great Lakes. We need to slam that door 
shut.
  Last week, on September 2, the Nova Group asked the Ontario 
Environmental Appeals Board to overturn the decision, withdrawing the 
permit, and allow that company to proceed with its bid to export 
billions of liters of fresh water to several Asian countries.
  The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) and I and others have asked 
Speaker Gingrich and Minority Leader Gephardt to have the House 
consider House Resolution 418 under suspension in the next couple of 
weeks.
  This proposed sale is particularly troubling, due to the existence of 
several treaties and agreements between the United States and Canada, 
which would restrict or prohibit this kind of water diversion. The 
Water Resources Development Act prohibits the diversion of water from 
the Great Lakes to other parts of the United States without the consent 
of each of the Governors of the Great Lakes States. I believe these 
States should continue to have authority regarding any plans to divert 
or sell this water internationally.
  This proposal would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to more 
extensive exports of Great Lakes water around the globe. The diversion 
of Great Lakes water could have a serious impact on the region's trade, 
the environment, the ecology, international treaties, drinking water, 
recreation, commercial activities, and shipping.
  The Great Lakes are clearly one of this Nation's most valuable 
resources, and should not be used as a tool for profit by foreign or 
American companies. Northeast Ohio depends on Lake Erie for sustaining 
numerous parts of our economy, including transportation, agriculture, 
fisheries, energy and trade, not to mention drinking water. All of the 
Great Lakes States, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, 
Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, all of us depend on the five Great 
Lakes for much of our commerce, for much of our economic development, 
for drinking water, for recreation, for fishing, for all kinds of 
activities.
  I urge the Governments of Canada and the United States to develop a 
new policy bilaterally that prohibits any sale or diversion of water 
from the Great Lakes and that we make this prohibition for generations 
to come. We cannot afford, Mr. Speaker, to put the Great Lakes up for 
sale.

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