Public Hearing Scheduled on Request to Divert Great Lakes Water

Members of the news media and the general public are encouraged to attend the regional public hearing the Wisconsin DNR must hold as part of the City of Waukesha’s application to divert water from the Great Lakes.

This opportunity represents the final chance for Wisconsinites to share concerns and voice opposition in a public forum in front of a broader group of regional representatives from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin Regional Body and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin Compact Council. The Regional Body is composed of the eight Great Lakes governors and two Canadian premiers.

After a lengthy and often contentious application process, the hearing also serves as the time and place for governors and premiers to ask questions and have them answered in a public forum. This hearing is the first and only time citizens will have an opportunity to be heard directly by the decision-making body before the eight Great Lakes governors decide whether to support or veto the application.

Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin Regional Body and Compact Council will hear comments Thursday, February 18 in advance of this precedent-setting decision. The public information meeting will be held at 2 pm with the public hearing scheduled for 3 pm at Carroll University’s Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave. (Room 122), Waukesha WI 53186.

Those who are not able to attend the public hearing in person are able to make a comment directly to the secretariat of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council until March 14, 2016 at www.waukeshadiversion.org/comments.

Following this final public comment period, the regional body will reconvene in late April to reach a decision. Only the eight Great Lakes governors are allowed to veto, but a significant level of deference will be given to any objection from the Canadian premiers. While silence is considered assent, only one veto is required to deny the application. Or, the application may be approved with conditions attached.

For comprehensive information about the Great Lakes Compact and Waukesha’s application to divert water, visit www.protectourgreatlakes.org.