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Deviations: fewer and more transparent

Consistency of plan flows

• Normal practice will be to use release flows as determined by Plan 2007 in order to:
  1. Achieve expected plan outcomes, including environmental outcomes, and
  2. Provide greater predictability and better balanced benefits for all users.
• The proposed new Order would permit deviations for emergencies, for extremely high or low supplies, and for short time periods when benefits can be created, or system problems solved, with no significant detriments.
• The regulation plan accounts for flow adjustments for ice management and for forecasting error (e.g., the Ottawa River freshet).

Emergency deviations

• Although rare, emergency deviations are necessary under extreme conditions such as major power blackouts, major power dam shutdowns, the sinking of ships, or major spills of dangerous substances.
• Reg Reps are authorized to act immediately and report quickly afterwards to the Board and to the International Joint Commission.

Discretionary deviations

• Discretionary deviations require an accounting and restoration of discharged water to plan flows usually within one week; two weeks or more are permitted only on rare occasions.
• With Board permission, Reg Reps can also approve other minor within-week deviations for reasons such as hydropower unit maintenance, assisting commercial vessels during periods of unexpected low water levels, and assisting the seasonal recreational boat haul-out.

Criterion 10 deviations

• According to the new Order of Approval in Criterion 10, the Board may request from the Commission authority for deviating one month at a time when it foresees in its three-month forecast a significant probability of either extreme high or low conditions being surpassed only 1% of the time.
• The Board must submit an analysis and reduce negative impacts without serious negative impacts to other parts of the system. The Board may renew this request monthly with renewed analyses.

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

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