Panel Discusses Great Lakes Basin Compact

Sulfide Mining Introduced as a Major Threat to the Great Lakes

October 3, 2008

Marquette, MI – Three panelists addressed environmental and conservation issues threatening the Great Lakes at a symposium sponsored by Northern Michigan University’s Political Science department. Panelists also presented a general outline of the new “Great Lakes Basin Compact,” which has been signed by the Governors of eight US states, as well as Ontario and Quebec.

In a presentation on the Great Lakes basin, Tom Baldini, current Upper Peninsula aide to US Representative Bart Stupak, noted that Lake Superior takes 190 years to regenerate its water supply, leading to concerns with long-term pollution. Baldini explained that, because Lake Superior has such a large surface area, it acts as a “cup” that collects and retains air pollution from as far away as China.

Ken Sikkema, former Michigan Senate Majority Leader and current Senior Policy Consultant with think-tank Public Sector Consultants (president and CEO, William Rustem, is a Kennecott consultant), maintained that “eternal vigilance is the price of protecting the Great Lakes” and considered invasive species the greatest threat to the Great Lakes.

Journalist, author and former environmental advisor to Governor James Blanchard, Dave Dempsey, urged the audience to consider, not only today’s economy, but our economy 30 or 40 years from now. Addressing the potential for long-term damage from acid mine drainage into the Great Lakes, Dempsey said, “I don’t see sulfide mining and the potential for long-term damage to Lake Superior…which….has a retention time of 190 years, as a very wise economic choice for the State. The benefits are few and the risks are great.”

Dempsey introduced inconsistencies with previous Great Lakes protection measures. Under a federal statute, Governors in states within the Great Lakes basin were able to veto any plan that diverts water outside of the Great Lakes basin. In 2001, Governor John Engler “vetoed” such a plan by a community in New York State to sell water commercially. However, only several months later, Perrier (now owned by Nestle) received permission from Engler to bottle water, in Michigan, for sale outside the Great Lakes basin.

In another example, Dempsey said that, despite campaign promises that she would prevent diversion and export of Great Lakes water, in 2003, Governor Jennifer Granholm intervened against Michigan citizens to overturn a court decision preventing Nestle from extracting Michigan water for sale throughout the world.

A major concern with the new Compact is the potential commodification of water. Dempsey noted that free trade agreements consider it illegal to prevent the export of a product across international boundaries.

According to Dempsey, “The danger that I see in the Great Lakes Compact, which became law today, is that we have now ratified a statutory policy of the eight Great Lakes states and the federal government that that water can be a product and not just a publicly-owned resource.”

Attendees were left with Dempsey’s hopeful message that, while “the damage may be done; on the other hand, there’s always the opportunity for us to go back to the Michigan legislature and, hopefully, Congress and strengthen the policies and try to prevent the commercialization of water.”

Several audience comments and questions concerned the threat of metallic sulfide and uranium mining to the Great Lakes. Some comments concerned the ability of legislation to protect the Great Lakes when continued industrial pollution would be permitted to continue. Panelists raised questions as to whether or not the State of Michigan has enough funding, or the will, to properly regulate and control continued industrial pollution.

According to Baldini, “We have laws…how will they be enforced…how will they be measured.”

Dempsey express that he does not “have faith that the State is prepared or willing or able to enforce that law….Funding for the Department of Environmental Quality is at an historic low level. The Director recently said, talking about a wetlands program, we don’t have enough staff to even send out to check on the permits anymore…basically, he said, we have an honor system…I have no faith that the Department of Environmental Quality will do the job.”