when is an outright prohibition, not?

Granholm said the outright ban on diversions in the compact "sends a message nationally" that the region intends to protect its resource.

Back up 2 paragraphs:

Despite such reassurances, Michigan lawmakers will soon take up water legislation that ratifies a 2004 compact by the Great Lakes states, Ontario and Quebec to ban the diversion of Great Lakes water out of the basin. The only exception to that rule is bottled water in containers of less than five gallons. [Correction: that's actually less than 5.7 gallons, which as one friend said, is a pretty big sippy-cup. Particularly when multiplied by thousands of truckloads or trainloads.]

There are more exceptions:

-- for communities that straddle the Great Lakes Basin watershed;
-- for communities in counties that straddle the Great Lakes Basin watershed.

 

In fairness to Governor Granholm, the term "outright" is a paraphrase; and it may be the reporter's word and assumption.

http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1185052210249070.xml&coll=1