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Governing Board Action: October 8, 2004

Today the NOACA Governing Board endorsed supporting a compact for the diversion of Great Lakes water and other water management issues. The compact, currently under negotiation by eight Great Lakes states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, would:

  • Give the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces the authority to approve new or increased withdrawals of Great Lakes water of greater than one million gallons daily, or increased consumptive uses of over five million gallons per day.
  • Establish a new standard for review of proposed withdrawal of water from the Great Lakes.
  • Require water users in the Great Lakes basin to practice conservation measures.
  • Establish an oversight council for managing these issues.
In addition, the Board resolution recommended a consensus approach for managing water diversion and protecting the Great Lakes, which provide 95% of the nation’s fresh surface water. The resolution generated much discussion from Board members, who agreed that this legislation should be closely monitored and that the Board be apprised of the compact’s development.

The Board also adopted a resolution of support for continuing the Clean Ohio Fund for Rounds 3 and 4. The Clean Ohio Fund, a four-year program approved by Ohio voters in 2000, supports green space protection and acquisition, farmland preservation, trail development and brownfield improvement. A total of $32 million in Clean Ohio Funds have been allocated to projects in Northeast Ohio, including:
  • Lake View Bluffs Development (Lake County)
  • Restoration of French Creek (Lorain County)
  • Mill Creek Waterfall Park Expansion and Conservation (City of Cleveland)
  • Abram Creek Wetland Protection (Cleveland Metroparks)
  • Rocky River Upland and Open Space (Cuyahoga County)
  • Silver Creek Natural Channel (Geauga County)
Another $6 million for green space acquisition projects have been earmarked for Round 3 funding. The Board recommends that Governor and Ohio General Assembly include funding for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Clean Ohio program in the next state biennial budget in order to implement these and other future projects in Northeast Ohio.