A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION to urge the International Joint Commission to Maintain its vigilance in opposing diversion of Great Lakes water ad to support the prompt resolution of all issues related to the finalization of Annex 2001.

     , read first time and referred to Committee on

    A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION to urge the International Joint Commission to maintain its vigilance in opposing diversion of Great Lakes water and to support the prompt resolution of all issues related to the finalization of Annex 2001.

    Whereas, Protection of the Great lakes is a challenge of unsurpassed significance and scope to the people of Indiana and all of the states and provinces that comprise the region. This monumental challenge includes working to safeguard the quality of the waters to protect these freshwater resources from the threats of out of basin water diversion and to continue to enable our use and enjoyment of this water resource within the basin;

    Whereas, The International Water Uses Review Task Force recently submitted to the International Joint Commission it report, entitled "Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes." This project, part of the three-year review by the International Joint Commission, cites data to indicate that the issue of consumptive use problems "has been consistently and significantly overstated for the past three decades." The report also says that long-distant, large-scale removals are, for the near or mid-term, "highly improbable." The study encourages support for a more deliberative approach to finalizing the Annex 2001 agreement to establish protection of the waters of the Great Lakes from the

diversions;

    Whereas, With the uncertainties of the future, including in the area of technology, and the magnitude of the value of the Great Lakes, it would be a mistake to abandon the ongoing efforts to prevent the bulk diversion of the Great Lakes water outside of the basin. Such policies should be made pro-actively, before a crisis is upon us;

    Whereas, Our state is well aware of the projections of water shortages for other reasons. We are also well aware of the role that the Great Lakes network plays in contributing to the strength of the American and Canadian economies and the vitality of the states and provinces along its shores, Therefore;

    SECTION 1. That we encourage the International Joint Commission to maintain its participation in developing feasible and defensible strategies and policies that protect the Great Lakes water from out-of-basin diversions and to continue to support the Annex 2001 process in a deeply considered and scientifically informed manner.
    
    SECTION 2. That the Principal Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit copies of this resolution to the International Joint Commission, the Great Lakes Commission, the congressional delegations from the Great Lakes states, the Council of Great Lakes Governors, and the legislative leadership from the Great Lakes states and provinces.