COMPACT REAFFIRMS APPROVAL OF WAUKESHA’S LAKE MICHIGAN WATER PLAN
The Freeman
May 6, 2017
By Katherine Michalets, Freeman Staff
WAUKESHA — The Great Lakes Compact Council again showed its support for Waukesha’s plan to obtain Lake Michigan water when it reaffirmed its approval this week.
“Today’s final ruling by the governors of all eight Great Lakes states as member of the Great Lakes Compact Council is another step forward for the future for the citizens of Waukesha. We are one step closer toward providing a clean, reliable and sustainable drinking water source for our citizens,” said Mayor Shawn Reilly in a statement.
In its decision, the Great Lakes Compact said the administrative record supports the final decision that the Compact Council considered all Compact criteria and all relevant information and said that the Cities Initiative has not met its burden of proof to show that the Compact’s final decision was “based on erroneous findings of fact or conclusions of law or an abuse of discretion that warrants opening or modifying it.”
Reilly noted that the Compact Council ruled in the city’s favor on every count and the Cities Initiative failed to show the council’s decision was incorrect.
“While the Cities Initiative could appeal this order through the federal courts, this would be an expensive exercise and it’s the wrong thing to do,” Reilly said. “The purpose of the Great Lakes Compact is to ensure that these water use decisions are made by the Great Lakes states and provinces, and not by the federal government. We hope the Cities Initiative will now join us in creating a world-class water program that will not only serve our community well into the next century but also be the standard for sustainability and protecting our Great Lakes and the Root River.”