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The new Board: its structure and how it will work

Role and name of the new Board

• New name-the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board-reflects broader responsibilities and system-wide oversight
• Functions in most respects similar to the current Board of Control
• Has additional responsibilities for monitoring and adaptive management
• Includes a committee for monitoring and adaptive management
• Provides oversight of the Order of Approval and regulation plan for the International Joint Commission
• Manages and coordinates increased communications needs

Composition of the Board

• Ten members appointed by the IJC including:
  • Equal numbers from each country coming from federal, state, and provincial agencies, non-governmental organisations or the general public
  • Two Co-Chairs-one Canadian and one U.S.-appointed from federal government departments and agencies
• Members serve in personal and professional capacities, not as representatives of their organizations or governments
• Public collaboration is a high priority, and the Board may establish an informal group of public advisors
• Support of two Secretaries, one from United States and one from Canada, continues; Secretaries support the Board and participate in the Communications Committee and other committees as requested by the Board.

Support

• Has two Regulation Representatives (Reg Reps)
  • Calculates plan flows each week; tracks water levels, supplies, pre-project flows, and other plan levels; produces forecasts; carries out emergency deviations and short-term deviations in coordination with the Board according to the new Order of Approval
  • Provides hydrological and technical modeling of regulation plan impacts to support Board's adaptive management function

Operations Advisory Group (OAG)

• Advises on actual operating conditions for the hydroelectric dams at Cornwall-Massena and Beauhaurnois and the Seaway with practical information such as turbine shutdowns, ice problems, navigation problems through weekly calls with Reg Reps
• Includes members from the power entities, the Seaway on both sides, and the Canadian Coast Guard

Monitoring and Adaptive Management Committee

• Board structure closely linked to this new committee, which will implement and update the Adaptive Management Action Plan, monitor and analyze key performance indicators, hold periodic science forums

This is a summary of a background paper. The full text is available at http://www.ijc.org/LOSLdocuments/pdf/
LOSL_background_board_e.pdf or by contacting the Commission.

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