; Whereas the protection of the Great Lakes is fundamental to treaty rights; and Whereas, during the 1980s, when the Department of Energy was studying potential sites for a permanent nuclear waste repository in the United States in accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 ( 42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq. ), the Government of Canada expressed concern with locating a permanent nuclear waste repository within shared water basins of the 2 countries: Now, therefore, be it