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(AP) - A coalition of environmental groups
wants to amend a recently enacted Great Lakes water management
compact, contending it has loopholes that could enable water grabs
by multinational corporations.

      The groups kicked off their campaign Sunday in Traverse City,
led by Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation. 


Their attorney,
Jim Olson, said Congress should reword the pact or enact a bill to
make clear that water is a publicly owned resource and not a
commercial product.


      As ratified by the eight Great Lakes states and Congress, he
said, the compact opens the door for outsiders to demand access to
the region's waters under international trade laws.


      If the effort to clarify the pact fails, the coalition will push
for stronger water protections under state law or the Michigan
Constitution.


      "It's a very simple change," Olson said during a public
meeting as supporters circulated a petition supporting the
revisions. "It's not that hard. We just have to join together to
get this done."


      Other analysts contend Olson and his allies are misreading the
document and no changes are needed.


      "We think the compact provides ironclad protections and went as
far as we could go without violating international trade
agreements," said Marc Smith, state policy director for the
National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office.


      The compact prohibits, with rare exceptions, taking water from
the Great Lakes or its tributaries for use outside the system's
natural drainage basin. 

     It requires each state to monitor and regulate large-scale water
withdrawals and develop conservation policies.


      The prohibition on diversions does not apply to water used in
products, such as beverages and foods. 


The debate focuses on the
definition of "product," which the pact describes in part as
something "intended for intermediate or end use consumers."


      Olson and other critics fear that provision makes water itself a
product, in effect converting it from a public resource to a
private commodity.


      Others disagree. David Naftzger, executive director of the
Council of Great Lakes Governors, noted the compact also says water
"in its natural state such as in lakes, rivers, reservoirs,
aquifers, or water basins is not a product."


      The issue was discussed at length as governors of the region's
eight states negotiated the compact over more than four years, and
later as state legislators debated ratification, Naftzger said.
They consulted with experts in water and trade law.


      "The overwhelming viewpoint is that it provides adequate
protections," he said.


      Amending the compact would appear to be a long shot, requiring
agreement by the eight legislatures, their governors and Congress.


      "Given the process we just went through, it's very difficult to
imagine an effort like that being successful," Naftzger said.


      U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who shares Olson's
views and voted against the deal, said last week he might sponsor a
joint resolution to express congressional intent that Great Lakes
water not be commercialized. It's unlikely that Congress will favor
changing the pact, he said.


      "Anybody could run a semi-truck through these loopholes,"
Stupak said. "But I'm among the few members expressing any concern
about this."

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A coalition of environmental groups
wants to amend a recently enacted Great Lakes water management
compact, contending it has loopholes that could enable water grabs
by multinational corporations.

Groups want stronger control of Great Lakes water

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