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New Rules For Great Lakes Water Use <br />~ue to concerns about potential large diversions of water out of the Great Lakes basin, <br />in July 2004 tl~ie Council of Great Lakes Governors proposed adecision-making standard <br />for ~~~ithdrav~.~ing water from the Great Lakes watershed. Any ne~~ or increased request for <br />water over one million gallons a day would require review and approval of a new regional <br />council and require t?7e applicant to implement a natural resource improvement project. <br />The basin,: which includes the Great Lakes and their tributai-~~ surface and ground water, <br />contains approximately 20 percent of available fresh water on Earth. <br />The proposed standard could affect facilities or communities in or near the Great Lakes basin <br />that plan to ex~~and or locate in the basin in a few years. Pro~~isions of the proposed standard are <br />consistent with existing power plant regulations and the recently promulgated 316(b) rule, which <br />largely bans new power plants fi-orrl using once-through cooling water, said John Osinski, executive <br />director of regulatory affairs for the iV'ew York Power Authorit}~. Consequently, the proposed stan- <br />dard would impose few new requirements on power plant water use. For new plants with recycled <br />water, evaporative losses may trigger the threshold for regional review, but they ~~~ill have best <br />available control technology (BACT). <br />iB JANUARY-FEBRUARY ZOOS PUBLIC POWER <br />