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Great Lakes Compact in Wisconsin
On April 8, 2008, Governor Doyle announced that he would call a special session for lawmakers in Wisconsin to ratify the eight-state compact. While a bill has not been signed yet, there appears to be some agreement between the governor and the Assembly on compromise language.
The Senate has already approved a bill implementing the compact, but the Assembly leadership balked during the last session.
The final vote on the Compact has yet to be scheduled, but there is some indication that it will occur during the first two weeks of May.
Eight governors signed the Compact in 2005 after four years of talks. The agreement was driven by fears that fast-growing states in the Southwest would try to get water from the Great Lakes in the coming years. The Great Lakes hold 90 percent of the nation's fresh surface water.
The Compact would allow any Great Lakes governor to block requests to use lake water, and sets out new guidelines for water usage in the basin.
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