Rep. Wittenberg offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 226.

            A resolution to urge Governor Snyder to uphold Michigan's commitment to the principles of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and to veto the city of Waukesha's request to divert water from the Great Lakes.

            Whereas, The Great Lakes contain more than 18 percent of the world's, and more than 90 percent of North America's, fresh surface water and provide drinking water to nearly 6 million Michigan residents; and

            Whereas, Michigan and its economy are defined by the Great Lakes and depend on its abundance of freshwater for manufacturing, tourism, fishing, drinking water, agriculture, and numerous other uses. Maintaining a healthy Great Lakes system creates jobs and improves Michigan's quality of life. It increases tourism and recreational activity, enhances fisheries, reduces costs to municipalities, and raises property values in coastal areas; and

            Whereas, The 2008 Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is the first-ever shared management, wise-use regional water conservation strategy to protect the world-class resources of the Great Lakes. The compact provides enforceable legal and environmental standards, approved by all the Great Lakes states and the U.S. Congress, that both provide for regional water needs and protect the Great Lakes; and

            Whereas, The compact prohibits water diversions out of the Great Lakes basin, with only limited exceptions for communities bordering the basin. The ban on using Great Lakes water beyond the basin boundary was established, in part, to keep the drought-stricken areas of the country from siphoning off our region's greatest resource; and

            Whereas, The city of Waukesha, Wisconsin, has filed an application with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to divert an average of 10.1 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan. The city is the first community located outside of the Great Lakes basin but in a county that lies partially within the basin to apply for a diversion under the compact. Such communities can request to use water from the basin but must have approval from all eight Great Lakes governors and meet other conditions; and

            Whereas, The city of Waukesha's proposal fails to meet the principles of the compact. The limited exception for communities bordering the Great Lakes is to meet the current and critical needs of communities with no other drinking water options, not to support extensive future economic growth outside of the basin; and

            Whereas, An approval of the request will set a precedent for countless other bordering communities across the region to use Great Lakes water without demonstrating a critical need. At least seven other cities in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio are in the same situation as Waukesha. It is imperative that the state of Michigan demonstrate its commitment to the compact and set a precedent to protect its principles of designed wise-use conservation; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge Governor Snyder to uphold Michigan's commitment to the principles of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and to veto the city of Waukesha's request to divert water from the Great Lakes; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Office of the Governor.