Make any recommendation and do all things necessary and proper to carry out the powers conferred upon the Commission by the compact, provided that no action of the Commission shall have the force of law in, or be binding upon, any party state. MATTERS OF SPECIFIC CONCERN Stabilization of lake levels. Measures for combating pollution, beach erosion, floods, and shore inundation. Uniformity in navigation regulations within the constitutional powers of the states. Proposed navigation aids and improvements. Uniformity or effective coordinating action in fishing laws and regulations and cooperative action to eradicate destructive and parasitical forces endangering the fisheries, wildlife and other water resources. Suitable hydro-electric power developments. Cooperative programs for control of soil and bank erosion for the general improvement of the Basin. Diversion of waters from and into the Basin. Other measures the Commission may recommend to the states. COMMITTEES Seaway, Navigation and Commerce. Water Resources. Shoreline Use and Recreation. Fisheries and Wildlife. Pollution Control. International Relations. REPRESENTATION AND LIAISON U.S. Public Health Service pollution studies in upper Illinois-Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie. Great Lakes Study Group. Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators. International Association of Great Lakes Ports. Council of Lake Erie Ports. Sports Fishing Institute. Engineering Societies. Great Lakes Historical Society. -Great Lakes Maritime Institute. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lake Carriers' Association. PUBLICATIONS Great Lakes News Letter-bi-monthly. Great Lakes Foreign Commerce-annually. Official Minutes of Great Lakes Commission Meetings-following each meeting. Great Lakes Research Checklist. Summary of State and Provincial Regulations Relating to Sport Fishing on the Great Lakes--annually. Overseas Tonnage Statistics for Great Lakes ports-monthly. Report to the States-biennially Great Lakes Fauna, Floar and their Environment. Proceedings of the Institute on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Great Lake Port Organization and Administration. Great Lakes Programs and Problems. Seaway Construction, Commerce and Tolls. Deep Draft Navigation Improvements on the Great Lakes. Reduction of Pollution in the Great Lakes Boundary waters. Shoreline Recreational Survey. Water Levels of the Great Lakes. Lamprey Control and Research on the Great Lakes Fisheries. Regulations and Policies for Controlling the Drilling for Gas and Oil in the Great Lakes. Special studies, reviews and reports-as appropriate. COMMISSION PROJECTS AND SERVICES In establishing the Commission, the states directed that it serve them as a fact-finding and advisory agency on developments relating to the water resources of the Great Lakes. In accordance with this mandate, the Commission obtains a wide range of information and statistics concerning subjects vitally affecting the states and localities in the region and subsequently analyzes the material and disseminates the findings through a variety of channels. These range from the reports on current developments in all aspects of Great Lakes water resources presented in the Commission bi-monthly news letter to advisory services to state agencies, university personnel, industry and news media. Water resources Spearheaded effort to have the problem of Great Lakes water levels referred to IJC (International Joint Commission)-Effected October 1964. Requested detailed study of proposed Lake Erie-Ohio River Canal project to assure no loss of water to the Great Lakes Basin. Recommended construction of engineering works to regulate water levels in lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie-Corps of Engineers "Report on Lake Regulation," December 1965. Supported UNESCO's plans for International Hydrologic Decade (1965–75), and offered Great Lakes Commission support-Continuing. Assisted in formulation of and supported legislation on Federal Water Resources Planning Act-PL (Public Law) 89-80. Conducted Great Lakes Water Resource Conference. Urged amendment of the Flood Control Act of 1936 to allow use of federal funds to alleviate inundation problems on the Great Lakes-BOB (Bureau of the Budget) approved July 1959. Pollution control and abatement Spearheaded effort to have referred to IJC problem of pollution of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the international section of the St. Lawrence River— Effected October 1964. Supported passage of the Water Quality Act of 1965-PL 89-234. Urged development of Model Harbor Sanitation Code-Draft now in preparation by HEW (Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare). Urged USPHS (U.S. Public Health Service) to develop efficient sewage treatment process for removal of nutrients-USPHS Conference, Lake Erie Pollution. Pointed out the need for each port city on the Great Lakes to provide for the sanitary handling of refuse from pleasure craft and commercial ships-Continuing. Supported extension of Federal Oil Pollution Act of 1924 to the waters of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River-Continuing. Requested funds for the USPHS Great Lakes regional water pollution control laboratory-Approved January 1963; bids for construction opened January 1966. Recommended federal and state financial incentives for construction of capital improvements to control water pollution-Continuing. Reviewed the multiplicity of agencies engaged in effecting pollution control and providing sewage facilities, and suggested necessity of municipal, state and federal coordination-Continuing. Encouraged the Surgeon General, USPHS, to publish amendments to the Interstate Quarantine Regulations relative to disposal of sewage and wastes from vessels operating on the Great Lakes Continuing. Fisheries and wildlife Encouraged a uniform approach to state fishing regulations—Continuing. Gave early recognition to the need for funds to control the rapidly expanding alewife population in the Great Lakes. Supported efforts of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to control the sea lamprey and to rehabilitate the lake trout fishery. Endorsed implementation of the Convention with Canada on Great Lakes Fisheries-The Great Lakes Fisheries Act of 1956, PL 84-557. Maintained liaison with commercial and sports fishing interests-Continuing. Shoreline use and recreation Served as forum for discussion on ownership of alluvial lands, laws and regulations pertaining to submerged lands, and regulations for use of shorelines-Continuing. Supported enactment of a model state boating act under the provisions of PL 85-911. Gained federal support for extension of shore protection legislation to include projects in the Great Lakes BOB approved July 1959. Assisted in the shoreline survey program of the National Park Service-"Our Fourth Shore," Report of the National Park Service. Encouraged federal assistance for flood plain information studies-River and Harbor and Flood Control Act of 1960. Endorsed action by all states to acquire lake shore lands for recreational programs. International relations Maintained contact with various Canadian agencies to effect international action on measures to control and abate pollution in Lakes Ontario and Erie and connecting channels, and to regulate the water levels of the Great Lakes Two References to IJC. Presented views to Canadian Parliament on water resources matters. Held exploratory conferences with the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec concerning augmentation of water supply in the Great Lakes. Seaway, navigation and commerce Conducted a symposium on St. Lawrence Seaway-Seaway Institute, March 1964. Supported efforts to effect a more equitable share of military cargo movement through Great Lakes ports and the Seaway-Continuing. Recommended studies to determine the feasibility of extending the Great Lakes shipping season-PL 89-298. Supported appropriation of federal funds for harbor and channel development, and navigational aids-Continuing. Made recommendations incorporated in the federal pilotage bill for the Great Lakes-PL 86–555. Recommended dual locks on the Illinois waterway-Authorized PL 87-874. Contracted with the Bureau of Census for compilation of data on the overseas commerce of the Great Lakes ports-Continuing. Promoted increased use of Great Lakes ports for exporting surplus agricultural products under governmental assistance programs-Began July 1959. Recommended expanded traffic development program for the Seaway Development Corporation. Opposed tolls and user charges for all inland waterways in the United StatesContinuing. Participated in planning for national emergency operation of lake ports. Endorsed federal subsidies for U.S.-flag vessels operating on Great Lakes trade routes-Approved May 1958. Urged adoption of a free-time period on rail export cargo at Great Lakes ports equal to that of ocean ports. Urged federal support for Great Lakes shipping companies which make capital investments on vessels-Continuing. Sponsored symposium on Port Organization and Administration—November 1958. Urged Congress to provide funds for the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway-Project completed. Supported the continuation and extension of U.S.-flag vessel developmental trade routes into the Great Lakes-Report, Maritime Administration, October 11, 1965, Great Lakes Foreign Trade Routes. Recommended review of freight rates for government cargo under Section 22, ICC Act-Continuing. Recommended enlargement of the new New Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie to accommodate 1000-foot ships-Now under construction. Requested greater utilization of the U.S. Great Lakes shipbuilding industryContinuing. Maintained close liaison with Great Lakes port agencies Continuing. COMMISSIONERS Dr. Harold G. Wilm, Vice Chairman Mr. Edgar D. Whitcomb, Chairman Illinois Mr. Albert J. Meserow, Chairman, Attorney at Law, Chicago. Dr. Harold B. Gotaas, Dean, Technological Institute, Northwestern University, Hon. Francis Loughran, Member of the House of Representatives. Mr. Milton F. Schaible, Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co., Ottawa. Michigan Hon. Frank J. Kelley, Chairman, Attorney General. Mr. William Heaton, Publisher, Birmingham. Dr. Ralph A. MacMullan, Director, Department of Conservation. Mr. Loring F. Oeming, Executive Secretary, Water Resources Commission. Dr. William E. Stirton, Vice President, and Director of the Dearborn Campus, University of Michigan. New York Dr. Harold G. Wilm, Chairman, Commissioner, Conservation Department. Mr. Frank C. Ash, Sealright-Oswego Falls Corp., Fulton. Mr. Edmund H. Brown, Trustee, Power Authority of the State of New York. Mr. Ronald B. Peterson, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commerce. Pennsylvania Mr. Francis A. Pitkin, Chairman, Planning Consultant, Camp Hill. Hon. Paul W. Mahady, Member of the Senate. Mr. Joseph S. St. John, Erie Navigation Co., Erie. Indiana Mr. Clinton Green, Chairman, Klein and Kuhn, Indianapolis. Mr. Richard B. Falkiner, Transportation Consultant, Crown Point. Mr. Robert W. Kellum, Member, Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board. Mr. John W. Van Ness, Senate President Pro Tem Emeritus. Mr. Edgar Whitcomb, Attorney at Law, Seymour. Minnesota Hon. Gordon Rosenmeier, Chairman, Member of the Senate. Hon. Fred A. Cina, Member of the House of Representatives. Hon. Robert R. Dunlap, Member of the Senate. Hon. Roy E. Dunn, Member of the Senate. Hon. Lloyd L. Duxbury, Jr., Member of the House of Representatives. Mr. Fred E. Morr, Chairman, Director, Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Lee C. Howley, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., Cleveland. Hon. E. W. Lampson, Member of the House of Representatives. Mr. Louis C. Purdey, Executive Director, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. Hon. Robert Stockdale, Member of the Senate. Wisconsin Mr. George M. Epstein, Chairman, Kenosha. Mr. John T. Crawford, Materials Handling Consultant, Superior. Hon. Bronson C. La Follette, Attorney General. Mr. Reuben M. Tetzlaff, President, Brown County Board of Harbor Commissioners. Commission staff.-Leonard J. Goodsell, Executive Director; Larry Minock, Research Assistant; Albert G. Ballert, Director of Research; Olga Bilakos, Secretary. Mr. OLDS. Mr. Chairman, a letter is presently residing on the desk of Governor Romney of Michigan and I was told yesterday that as soon as they were able to secure his signature, it would be secured and dispatched as quickly as possible. (The letter from Governor Romney was subsequently received and follows:) Col. LEONARD J. GOODSELL, Executive Director, Great Lakes Commission, STATE OF MICHIGAN, DEAR COLONEL Goodsell: In 1954 the State of Michigan joined with the other Great Lakes states in promoting the concept that the Great Lakes basin presented so many complex interstate problems that a permanent and continuing organism should be formed. This concept was finally consummated in 1955 by the States of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana adopting a previously drafted Great Lakes Basin Compact. The Great Lakes Commission was organized in the fall of 1955, and since that time the States of Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio have become parties to this basin-wide interstate organization. Despite the fact that the Great Lakes Commission does not have regulatory powers and is only a consultatory and recommendatory body, nevertheless, it has served as an effective instrument working on behalf of the states of the Great Lakes region, totally financed by them, and by which they could consult with each other and make their collective voices known concerning matters affecting their regional interests. Through the years the Great Lakes states have sought to secure the consent of the Congress to their compact, and the necessity for such consent was made even more compelling when a few years ago the Attorney General of the United States ruled that such consent should be secured. Senate Bill 2922 sponsored by fourteen Senators of the Great Lakes basin states and House Resolutions 937, 12294 and five other House Resolutions identical to H.R. 12294 have been introduced in the Congress. All of these bills would grant the consent of Congress to the Great Lakes Basin Compact. Recently I initiated a request for the establishment of a federal river basin commission under Title II, Public Law 89-80, the Water Resources Planning Act, which will concern itself with the planning of water resources use and development of the Great Lakes basin. It is my belief that the Federal River Basin Commission will be effective in coordinating the federal agencies in their planning in this important basin and will permit the states and the Great Lakes Commission, when formally recognized by Congress, to have a bona fide voice in the planning effort. I would visualize that the Great Lakes Commission as presently constituted could perform a valuable function as complementary to the mission of the Basin Commission in identifying and programming solutions to the many complex problems that arise out of the multiple uses which the Great Lakes serve. Therefore, I am in full accord with your present efforts to obtain the consent of Congress to the Great Lakes Basin Compact. Very truly yours, GEORGE ROMNEY. (The following letter from the Governor of Pennsylvania was later received and also requested to be placed in the record:) COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, Harrisburg, October 3, 1966. Mr. EDGAR D. WHITCOMB, DEAR MR. WHITCOMB: It is noted that Senate Bill 2922 sponsored by fourteen Senators of the Great Lakes Basin States, House Resolutions 937 and 12294 and various other resolutions have been introduced in the U.S. Congress which would give consent to the Great Lakes Basin Compact. Such consent is required in accordance with existing Federal statutes. 70-234-66 -3 |