[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H11682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE REGARDING SALE OR DIVERSION OF GREAT LAKES 
                                 WATER

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on International Relations be discharged from further consideration of 
the resolution (H. Res. 566) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that the President and the Senate should take the 
necessary actions to prevent the sale or diversion of Great Lakes water 
to foreign countries, businesses, corporations, and individuals until 
procedures are established to guarantee that any such sale is fully 
negotiated between and approved by the governments concerned, and ask 
for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution as follows:

                              H. Res. 566

       Whereas the water resources of the Great Lakes Basin are 
     precious public natural resources, shared and held in trust 
     by the Great Lakes States and the Canadian Provinces;
       Whereas the Great Lakes need to be carefully managed and 
     protected in order to meet current and future water needs 
     within the Great Lakes Basin and the Canadian Provinces;
       Whereas any new diversions of Great Lakes waters for use 
     outside of the Great Lakes Basin will have significant 
     adverse effects on the environment, economy, and welfare of 
     the Great Lakes region;
       Whereas the Province of Ontario, Canada, has authorized an 
     Ontario company to divert water from the Great Lakes for sale 
     to Asia;
       Whereas 4 of the Great Lakes contain international waters, 
     and are defined as ``boundary waters'' in the Boundary Waters 
     Treaty of 1909 between the United States and Canada, and 
     therefore any new diversion of Great Lakes water would affect 
     the relations between the Government of the United States and 
     the Government of Canada;
       Whereas as trustees of the Great Lakes Basin's natural 
     resources, the Great Lakes States and Provinces have a shared 
     duty to protect, conserve, and manage the renewable but 
     finite waters of the Great Lakes Basin for the use, benefit, 
     and enjoyment of all their citizens, and future generations; 
     and
       Whereas the most effective means of protecting, conserving, 
     and managing the water resources of the Great Lakes is 
     through the joint pursuit of unified and cooperative 
     principles, policies, and programs mutually agreed upon, 
     enacted, and adhered to by each and every Great Lakes State 
     and Province: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that the President and the Senate should act 
     to prevent the sale or diversion of Great Lakes water to 
     foreign countries, businesses, corporations, and individuals 
     until procedures are established to guarantee that any such 
     sale or diversion is fully negotiated and approved by 
     representatives of the United States Government and the 
     Government of Canada, in consultation with any Great Lakes 
     State or Province that could be impacted by such a sale or 
     diversion.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) is 
recognized for one hour.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to just note that this is a measure 
introduced by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak). The minority on 
our committee asked that committee consideration be waived so the 
resolution could be brought to the floor today. I am pleased to support 
the minority's request.
  This resolution has the bipartisan cosponsorship of Members from 
Great Lakes states responding to a unilateral move by a Canadian 
province to authorize a private company to sell Great Lakes water to 
Asia.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 566 is a resolution that is meant to 
send the message that we, the House of Representatives, are serious 
about protecting our Great Lakes and will not sit idly by and allow our 
Great Lakes water to be sold to foreign countries.
  This resolution was originally introduced last spring after the 
Province of Ontario in Canada approved a permit that allows the Nova 
Group, an Ontario-based company, to divert three billion liters of 
water from Lake Superior over the next five years and sell it to Asia.
  After considerable public outcry against this proposal, the Ministry 
of the Environment of Ontario announced that the permit issued to the 
Nova Group would be canceled.
  Recently, however, the Nova Group asked the Ontario environmental 
appeal board to overturn the decision withdrawing the permit and to 
allow it to proceed with its bid to export fresh water to several Asian 
countries. Hearings are scheduled on the permit for this fall.
  Allowing the diversion of billions of liters of water from the Great 
Lakes would create dangerous consequences for the Great Lakes region 
and the United States.
  This permit could open the door for additional water diversion 
opportunities, putting the waters of all the Great Lakes on the world 
market.
  This could lead to larger scale diversions of water in the future 
that could have adverse effects on the environment, economy, and 
welfare of the Great Lakes region.
  H. Res. 566 calls on the President and the Senate to prevent the sale 
or diversion of Great Lakes water to foreign countries until it is 
possible to fully negotiate this proposal and its implications.
  Mr. Speaker, we could literally be opening up Pandora's box with the 
sale of Great Lakes water to foreign countries. We cannot afford to 
turn our Great Lakes into a tradable commodity.
  We must pass this legislation and send the message to Canada that our 
Great Lakes are not for sale to foreign countries.
  I'd like to thank Chairman Gilman, Mr. Hamilton, Chairman Gallegly, 
and Mr. Ackerman for their help on this matter. I would especially like 
to thank Mr. LaTourette of Ohio and Mr. Bonior of Michigan for their 
leadership on this issue.
  I urge my colleagues to support this nonbinding resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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