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At the heart ofthie compact is a prohibition on any new or increased "diversion," which is defined as. "a transfer of water from the Basin into another watershed, or from the watershed of:one of the Great Lakes Into.that.of another by any means of transfer..:" 3 The "Basin refers to "the watershed of the Great.Lakes and the St. Lawrence. River upstream from Trois=Rivieres, Quebec within the jurisdiction of the parties: `Three. types of diversions are excepted from the compact's general prohibition as long as Certain relevant standards are met and procedures followed. Thesa include; 1. Intra-basin transferssThe transfer of wator from tine watershed..of one Great Lake to the watershed of another Great Lake, which .would still be within. the greater basin, is permissible under certain circumstances. For example, if an intro=basin diversion results in a "consumptive use" (water that is. withdrawn from the basin but not: returned to it) of greater than 5 mil I!on .galfons per day; it would require prior approval of all the Great Lakes governors --who together comprise the compact's managing body, the Great Lakes;St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council—and.would be subject to regiona1.review by council and by the "Regional Body," which includes; both. the governors. and: the preen€ers of On and Quebec.sn Note that the compact does not. prohibit Water.transfe:rs that occurfulfywithin the watershed of one of the Great Lakes, such as within the Lake Superior watershed.. Z Straddling communities. The compact also allows certain diversions of Great Lakes water to "straddl.ing communities," those that have land both within and :outside of the .Great Lakes Basinwatersh.ed.51 To qualify for this exception, diversions must be used for water supply or a wastewater treatment -system within the.straddling community, and the water used must be returned naturally or after use to the source watershed, less an a[Iowance.for consumptive us.e.52 If a diversion. to a straddI-ing-community results in a consumptive use of greater than 5 million gallons per day, the proposed diversion is subject to regional review, but it would not require approval by the council. 3. Straddling counties. The..third exception.from the. compact's: pro hibition.on diversions.has proven the most contentious. It allows the transfer of Great Lakes -water to a community that is outside of the basin but within a county that straddles the basin. bau.nd.ary. Like the exception for strad.dIingcommunities, the straddling county exception requires that the water be.used solely for public water supply purposes. But this exception is subject to more.stringent`review..by. other states, requiring not only man datory.regional review but also unanimous approval by the council. The. straddling community exception and indeed the compact itself was put. to the test after the. city of Waukesha, Wisconsin ---which is located outside of the basin but within a county that straddles the. basin boundary msubmitted. a 2010 application fora.controversial diversion of up to.10.1 million gaIIons. per day of Lake M€chigan water.53 The council ultimately`approved the diversion (with conditions) but only after six years of bitter local and regional political battles, with,oOnions divided upon whether Waukesha's request was motivated more by genuine.shortage of potable water or fay an interest in fostering urban growth,54 Proposed diversions. under these exceptions may also need to meet the compact's "exception standard," which requires showing, among other things, thatthe diversion (a) cannot be reasonably avoided through the efficient use and conservation of existing water supplies; (b) will be. limited to quantities that are considered reasonable for the diversion's purposes; (c) can be Implemented. in a manner so as to ensure no significant individual or cumulative adverse impacts to the quantity or qua€ityof.the. waters and water -dependent. natural resources of the Basin; and (d) will incorporate :envirooMehtally sou.nd.and economicallyfeasible:water conservation measures. Small -container "loophole" One. frequently criticized provision of the Compact relates to removing water in containers. Although section 4.12(10) provides that proposals to withdraw water in any container greater than5.7 gallons must be treated.. as a. diversion, the compact does: not prohibit removals of water in containers smaller than 5.7 gallons—such.as, for example, 8-ounce. plastic containers for bottled water. Regulation of such. small -container withdrawals is left to the discretion of individual .states. Critics worry that this "loophole" wi11611ow bottled -water cohnpanIes to freely