Great Lakes a treasure worth fighting for
TOM REYNOLDS Congressman 26th District
The end of summer is nearly here, and assuredly, many Western New Yorkers and tourists alike have enjoyed one of the greatest attractions our area has to offer in the summer months: the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes, as all Western New Yorkers know and understand, represents so much to our area.

From a plentiful source of drinking water, food supplies and biodiversity, to recreation and natural beauty, to creating electrical power and economic opportunity, the Great Lakes are a vital asset to Western New York. An asset we, from recreational boat users to sport fishermen to tourists to elected officials, all have a stake in restoring and protecting.

Recently, New York State took an important step helping to restore and protect the Great Lakes. This happened when the New York State Senate passed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, which puts New York State one step closer to becoming the third state to endorse the compact.

The compact is an agreement reached between the eight states and two Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes to help protect and preserve these natural treasures. The compact was agreed upon in 2005 thanks to the hard work of then Gov. George Pataki and the state legislature. I look forward to the State Assembly and Gov. Eliot Spitzer making this important environmental legacy a reality in the fall.

The compact, once ratified by the compact states, provinces and the U.S. Congress will provide important concrete principles and agreements to, in the words of the compact, "act together to protect, conserve, restore, improve and effectively manage the Waters and Water Dependent Natural Resources of the Basin under appropriate arrangements for intergovernmental cooperation and consultation." The compact is the best way forward in providing common principles and governance for each state in the Great Lakes Basin.

And while New York State and the other Great Lakes states continue to push for ratification of the compact, we must continue in the short term to provide important protection to the Great Lakes. Short term action will prevent long term higher costs. For as we have seen, the longer we wait, the more expensive and complicated the problems of the Great Lakes become.

To this end, I have worked in Congress to be a steward of our lakes by passing legislation to protect their waters and wildlife. I worked successfully to prohibit drilling on the lakes, opposed the diversion of water from the lake system, and was the lead sponsor on legislation that helps prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes by placing stricter requirements on vessels entering its waters. In the short term, these policies are important, necessary and attainable in helping address the vast problems confronting the 94,000 square-mile water system.

Working together, at the Federal, state and local level, we all can be stewards of the world's largest single source of freshwater. In fact, each of us can play a part in making the health and restoration of the Great Lakes a reality not just for us, but for our children and grandchildren.