INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana House overwhelmingly approved a Senate bill Tuesday that calls on Indiana to join a regional compact intended to prevent water-hungry states from tapping into the Great Lakes’ waters.

The bill, which was approved on a vote of 91-8 with no amendments, now goes to Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has 10 days to sign the legislation.

Erin Crofton, a resource specialist with the Michigan City-based Save the Dunes Council, said the bill’s passage is a “great accomplishment for Indiana.”

“We are neck to neck right now with New York to get the Compact adopted. Indiana could be the first state to pass both the legislation and implementing language together,” she said.

The compact would protect water from being siphoned out of the Great Lakes watershed to drought-stricken states or areas that need water to continue their growth. Indiana encompasses parts of both the Lake Michigan and Lake Erie watersheds.

Among the eight states bordering the Great Lakes, only Minnesota and Illinois have ratified the agreement.

The compact instructs the Great Lakes states to regulate water use and adopt conservation plans — rules that could affect everything from sewage treatment to auto manufacturing.

After all the states enact it, the compact must be ratified by Congress as well.

Posted2/13/2008