45 ILCS 147/5 — Illinois Code / Chapter 45 / Act 147 / Section 5
Section 5
Status: in_force

(45 ILCS 147/5) Sec. 5. Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The Governor of this State is authorized to take such action as may be necessary and proper in his or her discretion to effectuate the following Compact and the initial organization and operation thereunder: AGREEMENT Section 1. The states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby solemnly covenant and agree with each other, upon enactment of concurrent legislation by the respective state legislatures and consent by the Congress of the United States as follows: GREAT LAKES-ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASIN WATER RESOURCES COMPACT ARTICLE 1 SHORT TITLE, DEFINITIONS, PURPOSES AND DURATION Section 1.1. Short Title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact." Section 1.2. Definitions. For the purposes of this Compact, and of any supplemental or concurring legislation enacted pursuant thereto, except as may be otherwise required by the context: Adaptive Management means a Water resources management system that provides a systematic process for evaluation, monitoring and learning from the outcomes of operational programs and adjustment of policies, plans and programs based on experience and the evolution of scientific knowledge concerning Water resources and Water Dependent Natural Resources. Agreement means the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement. Applicant means a Person who is required to submit a Proposal that is subject to management and regulation under this Compact. Application has a corresponding meaning. Basin or Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River upstream from Trois-Rivières, Québec within the jurisdiction of the Parties. Basin Ecosystem or Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Ecosystem means the interacting components of air, land, Water and living organisms, including humankind, within the Basin. Community within a Straddling County means any incorporated city, town or the equivalent thereof, that is located outside the Basin but wholly within a County that lies partly within the Basin and that is not a Straddling Community. Compact means this Compact. Consumptive Use means that portion of the Water Withdrawn or withheld from the Basin that is lost or otherwise not returned to the Basin due to evaporation, incorporation into Products, or other processes. Council means the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, created by this Compact. Council Review means the collective review by the Council members as described in Article 4 of this Compact. County means the largest territorial division for local government in a State. The County boundaries shall be defined as those boundaries that exist as of December 13, 2005. Cumulative Impacts mean the impact on the Basin Ecosystem that results from incremental effects of all aspects of a Withdrawal, Diversion or Consumptive Use in addition to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future Withdrawals, Diversions and Consumptive Uses regardless of who undertakes the other Withdrawals, Diversions and Consumptive Uses. Cumulative Impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant Withdrawals, Diversions and Consumptive Uses taking place over a period of time. Decision-Making Standard means the decision-making standard established by Section 4.11 for Proposals subject to management and regulation in Section 4.10. Diversion means a transfer of Water from the Basin into another watershed, or from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into that of another by any means of transfer, including but not limited to a pipeline, canal, tunnel, aqueduct, channel, modification of the direction of a water course, a tanker ship, tanker truck or rail tanker but does not apply to Water that is used in the Basin or a Great Lake watershed to manufacture or produce a Product that is then transferred out of the Basin or watershed. Divert has a corresponding meaning. Environmentally Sound and Economically Feasible Water Conservation Measures mean those measures, methods, technologies or practices for efficient water use and for reduction of water loss and waste or for reducing a Withdrawal, Consumptive Use or Diversion that (i) are environmentally sound, (ii) reflect best practices applicable to the water use sector, (iii) are technically feasible and available, (iv) are economically feasible and cost effective based on an analysis that considers direct and avoided economic and environmental costs and (v) consider the particular facilities and processes involved, taking into account the environmental impact, age of equipment and facilities involved, the processes employed, energy impacts and other appropriate factors. Exception means a transfer of Water that is excepted under Section 4.9 from the prohibition against Diversions in Section 4.8. Exception Standard means the standard for Exceptions established in Section 4.9.4. Intra-Basin Transfer means the transfer of Water from the watershed of one of the Great Lakes into the watershed of another Great Lake. Measures means any legislation, law, regulation, directive, requirement, guideline, program, policy, administrative practice or other procedure. New or Increased Diversion means a new Diversion, an increase in an existing Diversion, or the alteration of an existing Withdrawal so that it becomes a Diversion. New or Increased Withdrawal or Consumptive Use means a new Withdrawal or Consumptive Use or an increase in an existing Withdrawal or Consumptive Use. Originating Party means the Party within whose jurisdiction an Application or registration is made or required. Party means a State party to this Compact. Person means a human being or a legal person, including a government or a non-governmental organization, including any scientific, professional, business, non-profit, or public interest organization or association that is neither affiliated with, nor under the direction of a government. Product means something produced in the Basin by human or mechanical effort or through agricultural processes and used in manufacturing, commercial or other processes or intended for intermediate or end use consumers. (i) Water used as part of the packaging of a Product shall be considered to be part of the Product. (ii) Other than Water used as part of the packaging of a Product, Water that is used primarily to transport materials in or out of the Basin is not a Product or part of a Product. (iii) Except as provided in (i) above, Water which is transferred as part of a public or private supply is not a Product or part of a Product. (iv) Water in its natural state such as in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, or water basins is not a Product. Proposal means a Withdrawal, Diversion or Consumptive Use of Water that is subject to this Compact. Province means Ontario or Québec. Public Water Supply Purposes means water distributed to the public through a physically connected system of treatment, storage and distribution facilities serving a group of largely residential customers that may also serve industrial, commercial, and other institutional operators. Water Withdrawn directly from the Basin and not through such a system shall not be considered to be used for Public Water Supply Purposes. Regional Body means the members of the Council and the Premiers of Ontario and Québec or their designee as established by the Agreement. Regional Review means the collective review by the Regional Body as described in Article 4 of this Compact. Source Watershed means the watershed from which a Withdrawal originates. If Water is Withdrawn directly from a Great Lake or from the St. Lawrence River, then the Source Watershed shall be considered to be the watershed of that Great Lake or the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, respectively. If Water is Withdrawn from the watershed of a stream that is a direct tributary to a Great Lake or a direct tributary to the St. Lawrence River, then the Source Watershed shall be considered to be the watershed of that Great Lake or the watershed of the St. Lawrence River, respectively, with a preference to the direct tributary stream watershed from which it was Withdrawn. Standard of Review and Decision means the Exception Standard, Decision-Making Standard and reviews as outlined in Article 4 of this Compact. State means one of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio or Wisconsin or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Straddling Community means any incorporated city, town or the equivalent thereof, wholly within any County that lies partly or completely within the Basin, whose corporate boundary existing as of the effective date of this Compact, is partly within the Basin or partly within two Great Lakes watersheds. Technical Review means a detailed review conducted to determine whether or not a Proposal that requires Regional Review under this Compact meets the Standard of Review and Decision following procedures and guidelines as set out in this Compact. Water means ground or surface water contained within the Basin. Water Dependent Natural Resources means the interacting components of land, Water and living organisms affected by the Waters of the Basin. Waters of the Basin or Basin Water means the Great Lakes and all streams, rivers, lakes, connecting channels and other bodies of water, including tributary groundwater, within the Basin. Withdrawal means the taking of water from surface water or groundwater. Withdraw has a corresponding meaning. Section 1.3. Findings and Purposes. The legislative bodies of the respective Parties hereby find and declare: 1. Findings: a. The Waters of the Basin are precious public natural resources shared and held in