A bill establishing a permit program for major withdrawals of water from Lake Erie has cleared the Ohio House of Representatives, but an area legislator says it may invite a lawsuit from other states that have signed onto the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basis Water Resources Compact.

Substitute House Bill 231 passed Wednesday requires permits from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for withdrawal thresholds of:

• 5 million gallons per day averaged over 90 days for withdrawals from Lake Erie or rivers or streams that are tributaries of the lake.

• 2 million gallons per day averaged over 90 days for withdrawals from rivers and streams that aren’t tributaries of the lake.

• 2 million gallons per day averaged over 90 days for withdrawals of ground water

• 300,000 gallons per day averaged over 90 days for withdrawals from a “high quality” river or stream with a drainage area of less than 100 square miles measured at the point where the withdrawal or consumptive use occurs.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, (R – Napoleon), who told House members it “offers tremendous protections for the Great Lakes and Lake Erie watershed” and protects jobs and economic growth. He also said the ODNR had extensive input into the bill while it was being crafted.

State Representative Dennis Murray (D-Sandusky), who sponsored a competing bill that required permits for much lower withdrawal rates, said the lower rates are governed by proven scientific models.

With some exceptions for grandfathered facilities, major utilities, and public water systems, Murray’s bill would have required state permits for anyone withdrawing more than an average of 2.5 million gallons a day from Lake Erie over a 30-day period. A 500,000-gallon average daily threshold for permits would be imposed for withdrawing groundwater.

“Ohio must live up to the promise it made to New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois,” Murray said. “If we fail to adhere to the compact, other compact members will sue Ohio and we will lose.”

Ohio is one of eight states agreeing to the Great Lakes Compact to protect the watershed of the Great Lakes and portions of the St. Lawrence River. The states endorsed the compact and it was ratified by Congress and signed by President George Bush in 2008.

Rep. Wachtmann Thursday told The Press the bill passed by the House includes provisions that bring it into full compliance with the compact.

“The bill has been improved significantly in a number of areas to ensure it complies,” he said.

Environmental and conservation groups had come out in support of the Murray bill and a similar bill introduced in the Senate by Mike Skindell (D-Lakewood).

“Lake Erie has the shallowest waters and is most sensitive to excessive water withdrawals,” said Rick Graham, a Great Lakes Compact Advisory Board member and president of the Izaak Walton League of America – Buckeye State Chapter. “This coupled with the high withdrawal thresholds pushed by the industry bill cold spell disaster for Lake Erie and my opportunity to take my family fishing.”

Rep. Wachtman said there are already economic incentives in place that promote conservation of water.

“Costs have gone up, especially in the Maumee (River) watershed, dramatically for those of us who purchase that water for homes and businesses due to EPA regulations to improve the water quality of the Maumee and Lake Erie watershed,” he told House members. “For most of us who buy water it costs money to waste it.

“Current water withdrawals have not been shown to create a problem in the Lake Erie watershed. Last night in the senate committee, I was listening to a panel of environmental types, and a specific question was asked of them. Could they point to a specific problem that’s ever arisen in the Lake Erie watershed and they could not.”

Wachtmann’s biography on his House website says he is president of Maumee Valley Bottling, Inc. and a partner in Culligan Water Conditioning. He is also a director of the International Bottled Water Association.

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