Protecting Water—The Essence of LifeBy Mary Branham | Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 12:00 am Water is critically important to Michigan. “If you ask most people in Michigan about the importance of water, they would say, ‘it’s the essence of our being’ or ‘it’s the essence of our living’ or ‘it’s the essence of our life,'” said Patty Birkholz, a former state senator and current director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. Just look at the state—it touches four of the five Great Lakes and is almost completely surrounded by water. Agriculture, manufacturing and tourism—the state’s three largest industries—depend on the Great Lakes. |
Study sees some good, some bad with state implementation of Great Lakes compactBy Tim Anderson | Monday, September 19, 2011 at 4:57 pm As the historic Great Lakes compact made its way through state legislatures, much of the media coverage on the agreement focused on its ban of out-of-basin diversions. But the compact did much more. |
Future of offshore wind energy, water withdrawals among issues being tackled in state capitolsBy Tim Anderson | Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 8:48 am Several Great Lakes-related measures have been introduced in state capitols across the region during the first half of 2011, from bills on how to handle future offshore wind energy projects to new legislative proposals on how states should manage their water resources. |
Interstate Compacts: Background and HistoryBy Crady deGolian | Friday, March 18, 2011 at 11:59 am Interstate compacts are contracts between two or more states creating an agreement on a variety of issues, such as specific policy challenges, regulatory matters and boundary settlements. This brief provides background on the history of compacts, their primary purposes, and information about compacts affiliated with the National Center for Interstate Compacts. |
