The result was a proposal that would spend most of its money - $1.1 billion - on protecting lakes, rivers, seashores and drinking water.

"This is not a clean water bill that will allow us to do the job of protecting rivers, lakes and the people who live around them."

The declaration announced an official pledge to work together to protect and restore the world's rivers and lakes.

Its goals are to reduce flooding, cut stormwater treatment and energy costs, and protect rivers, lakes, and vital landscape.

The association has been working to protect and preserve lake Sunapee and other lakes in the region since 1898.

To protect lakes, the tonnage of sulfur emissions must be roughly halved, and nitrogen oxides also reduced, at a cost of about $5 billion a year.

The plan to reduce acid emissions, which come mostly from high-sulfur coal, was adopted mainly to protect forests and lakes from acid rain.

But the plan also contains strict controls designed to safeguard valuable wetlands and protect lakes and streams from erosion.

The bulk of it, $1.1 billion, would be spent on protecting lakes, rivers, seashores and drinking water.

This is also about guaranteeing biodiversity and protecting the seas and lakes from becoming polluted.