Provinces, states unveil proposals to limit diversions from Great Lakes

[CHIMO]

TORONTO - Ontario, Quebec and all eight states that border the Great Lakes unveiled proposals for new controls on the diversion and use of water on Monday.

The proposed agreements allows for the borrowing of water from the five Great Lakes, but the water must be cleaned and returned to the system.

Public hearings will be held over the next 90 days in Canada and the United States. The agreement then needs to become law on both sides of the border.

When the laws take effect, Canadian provinces will have a powerful new tool. If a state violates the new law, the provinces will have standing in U.S. courts, said David Ramsay, Ontario's minister of natural resources.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2004/07/19/Great_Lakes040719.html