The International Joint Commission is seeking public input on whether it should change the regulation plan used to determine how much water to release from the Moses-Saunders water control structure near Cornwall, Ontario, and Massena, New York. These releases affect water levels and flows on Lake Ontario and on the St. Lawrence River as far downstream as Trois Rivières, Quebec.
Background
The Commission directed its International St. Lawrence River Board of Control to test two alternatives to the current regulation plan, Plan 1958-D, which has been used since 1963. The first alternative, Plan 35-P, updates Plan 1958-D to incorporate knowledge gained from several years experience of operating the water control structures. The other alternative, Plan IS, presents an entirely new approach based on defining and balancing various groups' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with water level and flow conditions. Both of the alternative regulation plans were developed pursuant to the Commission's Orders of Approval, which govern the operation of the water control structures.
Board Recommendation
The Board's June 2, 1997, report recommends that the Commission adopt Plan 35-P, begin using it in 1998, and rename it "Plan 1998".
Impacts
When tested with historical water supplies since 1900, the recommended regulation plan provided limited improvements for the following interest groups: commercial navigation (fewer low levels and fewer high velocities), domestic water supply (fewer very low levels), and riparians on Lake Ontario and Lac St. Louis (fewer occurrences of damaging high levels.) The recommended plan provides little or no change for hydropower. Given the limited information available on the impacts of water levels and flows on the Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River environment, the recommended plan apparently offers no significant difference from the current plan for environmental concerns. Improvements for recreational boating may not be large enough to be perceived by the boating public.
The recommended plan achieves only very minor adjustments to levels and flows. Further changes might be achieved by making physical changes to the Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River system or possibly revising the criteria in the Orders of Approval. The Commission developed a Scope of Work describing the studies that would be needed to determine whether or not changes to the criteria are warranted, but does not currently have the funding to conduct such studies. The studies outlined in the Scope of Work would also determine some of the impacts of water levels and flows on the environment.
Review Process
The Commission is making the Board's report available to the public and invites public comment. The Commission and Board will hold meetings this fall to discuss the report and hear from the public. The Commission also welcomes any written comments, which should be received by November 21, 1997 at one of the addresses provided below. The Commission will consider all comments prior to making its decision on the Board's recommendation.
| International Joint Commission United States Section 1250 23rd Street, NW Suite 100 Washington, DC 20440 Fax: (202) 736-9015 E-mail: Chandlerj@ijc.org.intern.net | International Joint Commission Canadian Section 100 Metcalfe Street 18th Floor Ottawa, ON K1P 5M1 Fax: (613) 993-5583 Email: Clamenm@ijc.achilles.net |