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UU072~ The General Agi-eement on Tariffs and Trade ("GAIT") as. supplemented by the World Trade Organization ("WTO") Agi-eements, signed by the United States and Canada, severely restrict the ability of the Great Lakes States and Provinces to arbitrarily or unilaterally limit the export of Great Lakes water. Specifically, the Great Lakes States and Provinces cannot adopt blanket prohibitions against water exports since doing so would run afoul of GAIT Article XI, which prohibits all quantitative restrictions on export . or imports from or into GAIT countries. However, a. GAIT-compliant approach to responsible conservation of water resources and regulation of water withdrawals is possible within the framework of. GAIT Article XX(g). Specifically, Article Xx(g} provides that GAIT does not prevent "the adoption or enforcement" of measures "relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources if such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption," provided such measures are not imposed as a means of "arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail" or are a "disguised restriction on international trade." U.S and u.S-Canadian Agreements Under the Boundary Waters Treaty, the United States and Canada reached a Great Lakes Water Quality Agi-eement in 1972, whicJ:l was superceded by a 1978 Agreement calling for the restoration of "the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem." The Agi-eement called for the virtual elimination of the' discharge of certain toxic chemicals and the established target loadings for various pollutants. The 1987 Protocol identified 43 geographic areas of concern (AOCs) and the impaired uses within each AOC. The Protocol encouraged but did not require local jurisdictions to cooperate in forming remedial action plans (RAPs) to address the identified AOes. The. Protocol also called for the development of Lakewide Management Plans (LAMPS) for critical pollutants. The IJC oversees irnplementation of the Agreement and Protocol. '>The Great Lakes Charter is an informal agreement between the governors and prerniers of the eight Great 'J.akes states and two provinces. The Charter affirms that the primary responsibility for rnanagement of hhe Great Lakes water resources rests with the states and provinces. The Charter is designed to conserve t~e levels and flows of the lakes and tributary waters, to protect and conserve the Basin's ecosystem; and provide for cooperation between the states and provinces. The Charter states that each state should nsult with the other states in the region before approving any diversion greater than 5,000,000 gallons r day average in any 30-day period. States are also supposed to provide information to. a central ,abase on any withdrawals in excess of 100,000 gallons per day average in any 30-day period. Because ~ither Congress nor the Canadian federal government ratified the Charter, the Charter is a non-binding Weement. . .,.. Great Lakes Compact created the Great Lakes Commission to "promote the orderly, integrated and prehensive development, use 'and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes Basin." The ission is composed of representatives of each of the eight Great Lakes States. Although the mission may conduct studies and recommend water regulation proposals, the Commission has no ority to regulate or manage water use in the Basin. ~ee,nt Events in the Great Lakes r~cent proposal by the Nova Group to export Great Lakes water to the Far East highlighted the pprtance of the pressing issue of water exports, and the inadequacy of existing institutions and legal ,..""jneworks to deal effectively with it. In response, the Governors ofthe Great Lakes States, through the ,y,~t~~t Lakes Protection Fund, retained. a team of attorneys to review the many issues inherent in ?',~~~l;tting water withdrawals and exports from the Great Lakes Basin. The Fund issued a report to the ',~~;Vernors in May 1999. The report recommended that the states and provinces utilize existing :',m~G~anisms under U.S. and Canadian law, such as an interstate compact, to adopt and enforce a common ,:;~f~hdatd, based on benefit to the waters and water-dependent natural resources ofthe Great Lakes Basin. 357