The Great Lakes Compact is an agreement between the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec to act together to protect, conserve, restore, improve, and effectively manage the waters and water-dependent natural resources of the Great Lakes Basin.
In adopting the Compact, Minnesota committed to implement a water management program. To ensure Minnesota continues to fulfill our commitment, the DNR submits to the Great Lakes Water Resources Council a Water Conservation and Efficiency Report annually and a Water Management Program Report every five years. Staff also participate in regular council meetings and evaluate proposed water diversions.
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Lake Superior Watershed
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- Regional, national and binational information
- Great Lakes | St. Lawrence River Basin - Compact/Agreement
- Great Lakes Basin Map
- The Great Lakes | St. Lawrence - Governors and Premiers encourages and facilitates environmentally responsible economic growth through a cooperative effort between the public and private sectors among the eight Great Lakes States and with Ontario and Quebec.
- Through the Great Lakes | St. Lawrence River - Water Resources Regional Body the Great Lakes Governors and Premiers work to put the Agreement into action.
- The Great Lakes | St. Lawrence River Basin - Water Resources Council (Compact Council) was established on December 8, 2008, when the Compact became State and federal law (Public Law No: 110-342).
- Minnesota implementation
- Minnesota enacted the Great Lakes Compact into law (Minnesota Statutes, section 103G.801). This law includes the water conservation goals in Compact Section 4.2.1. The law also provides that new diversions of water from the Great Lakes Basin are prohibited with limited exemptions. The Lake Superior-North, Lake Superior-South, Cloquet River, St. Louis River, and Nemadji River watersheds in Minnesota are within the Great Lakes Basin
- The Compact Council and Regional Body have found that Minnesota's Water Conservation and Efficiency Program and Water Management Program meet or exceed the current requirements of the Agreement and Compact (Joint Declaration of Finding, December 2015).
- Water management program
- Minnesota's water appropriation permit program addresses water withdrawal requirements in the Compact. In Minnesota, permits are required for water uses of 10,000 gallons or more per day and 1 million gallons or more per year - a lower threshold than that in the Compact.
- Annually, water-use data in Minnesota is updated and made available online.
- Water-use data from Minnesota's portion of the Great Lakes Basin is submitted annually to the Great Lakes Regional Water Use Database repository.
- Minnesota has established its baseline water use data for the Great Lakes Basin. Section 4.12 of the Compact requires each state to submit a list to the Compact Council of all diversions.
- Water conservation and reports
- The document, Minnesota Water Conservation Goals and Objectives, provides a summary.
- Every five years, Minnesota and other states are required to submit a Water Management Program Report and a summary of Water Conservation and Efficiency Programs. These and other state program reports are available online
- Annually, Minnesota submits a Water Conservation and Efficiency Program Assessment Report. These and other state program reports are available online.