HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2003.01.30 - 27131Miscellaneous Resolution # 03019
BY: Commissioner Bill Bullard, Jr., District #2, Thomas F. Middleton, District #4
RE: Board of Commissioners - Support Designating Lake St. Clair as a Great Lake
TO: Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS, the Great Lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario - and
their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on Earth; and
WHEREAS, the Great Lakes, in their current state, are one of the youngest natural
features on the North American continent. Covering more than 94,000 square miles and
draining more than twice as much land, these freshwater seas hold an estimated 6
quadrillion gallons of water, about one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water supply and
nine-tenths of the U.S. supply; and
WHEREAS, the channels that connect the Great Lakes are an important part of the
system. One of the channels is Lake St. Clair. This body of water is a 26-mile long lake
north of Detroit between Lakes Huron and Erie, with the United States on the west and
Canada on the east. Lake St. Clair plays a vital role in the Great Lakes system; and
WHEREAS, the Great Lakes system, including Lake St. Clair, greatly affects our
way of life, as well as all aspects of the natural environment, from weather and climate, to
wildlife and habitat; and
WHEREAS, Lake St. Clair supplies drinking water to 6 million U.S. and Canadian
citizens and has a direct effect on the water flowing downstream into lakes Erie and
Ontario. It is the most productive sportfishery in the Great Lakes and is one of the most
heavily used portions of the Great Lakes for recreational boating; and
WHEREAS, backers of a proposal to designate Lake St. Clair in Michigan, as the
sixth Great Lake hope support from the Great Lakes Commission, a binational public
agency that promotes the use, management and protection of the lakes, to adopt a
resolution urging Congress to make Lake St. Clair the "sixth Great Lake" and if designated
as a Great Lake it would qualify for federal grants for pollution and other problems; and
WHEREAS, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners recognizes that Lake St.
Clair has been plagued with beach closings, sewage overflows, invasive species, toxic
contamination and other ills. For far too long a period of time, these environmental
hazards have been overlooked when it came to restoring and protecting the water
resources of the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, a Great Lakes status could bring more federal funding to the long-
polluted lake and will help remedy that oversight and ensure that the lake is a healthy and
productive-resource for the millions who rely-on-this-invaluable resource for their drinking
water.
e_ukcaitY
Commissioner Bill Bullard, Jr.
District #2
O., w -14 • -
LCo missioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
rmissioner
t #
4'4A
Commissioner'
District #
Cdmmissioner
District # 14-
Commissioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Oakland County Board of
Commissioners hereby supports the designation of Lake St. Clair as a Great Lake and
urges the United States Congress to designate Lake St. Clair as the sixth Great Lake.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT copies of this adopted resolution be forwarded
to the Governor of the State of Michigan, the Oakland County delegation to the state and
federal legislatures, the Michigan Association of Counties, the Great Lakes Commission
and Oakland County's legislative lobbyists.
Chairperson, we move the adoption of the foregoing Resolution.
,s4
Corrimissioner Thermas-F-4Afeldieteff
DistriFt #4
4„
Commii4sioner
Distri6t #
Commissioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
Commissioner
District #
Resolution #03019 January 30, 2003
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no objections.