September 19, 1997

MEDIA RELEASE

Contact

Frank Bevacqua	International Joint Commission	(202) 736-9024
Fabien Lengellé	International Joint Commission	(613) 995-0088
John Kangas	International St. Lawrence River Board of Control	(312) 353-4333
Ed Eryuzlu	International St. Lawrence River Board of Control	(613) 990-5617

Public Meetings Scheduled to Discuss Proposal to Fine Tune Regulation of Lake Ontario Outflows

The International Joint Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed regulation plan for Lake Ontario outflows that would make minor adjustments to the regulation of water levels on the lake and St. Lawrence River as far downstream as Trois Rivières, Quebec.

Though approval of the proposed regulation plan would make only minor adjustments to the way Lake Ontario outflows are currently regulated, the Commission and its International St. Lawrence River Board of Control will hold six public meetings due to the high degree of public interest in water levels.

The proposed regulation plan builds on over 30 years of experience with the current regulation plan, Plan 1958-D, and includes many of the deviations from Plan 1958-D that are currently made to address various water supply conditions.

The purpose of a regulation plan is to implement the Commission's Orders of Approval, the basic policy document that defines the objectives for the regulation of Lake Ontario outflows. Approval of the proposed regulation plan requires no changes to the Commission's Orders of Approval.

The new regulation plan has been recommended to the Commission by its Board of Control after three years of tracking how it would perform compared to the current regulation plan. The attached summary sheet provides an overview of the proposed regulation plan. To obtain a report on the results of the three-year tracking, contact the Board of Control or look under "special issues" on the Board's website at the following address:

www.islrbc.org

The International Joint Commission was created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to help prevent and resolve disputes over the use of waters shared by Canada and the United States. The International St. Lawrence River Board of Control was established by the Commission to ensure that outflows from Lake Ontario meet the requirements its Orders of Approval, develop regulation plans and conduct special studies. For more information, visit the Commission's website the following address:

www.ijc.org

The Commission and its Board of Control will discuss the proposed regulation plan and receive public comment at public meetings in the following locations. Each meeting will take place from 7:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

October 9, 1997 Burlington, Ontario	Canadian Centre for Inland Waters 867 Lakeshore Road, Cafeteria Room Telephone (905) 336-4712
October 16, 1997 Montreal, Quebec	To be announced
October 29, 1997 Kingston, Ontario	To be announced
November 12, 1997 Brockport, New York	To be announced
November 13, 1997 Sodus Point, New York	Heights Golf Course 7030 Bayview Drive Telephone (315) 483-4767
November 14 Massena, New York	To be announced

Written comments received by November 21, 1997, at either of the following addresses will also be considered by the Commission prior to making its decision on the proposed regulation plan.

International Joint Commission United States Section 1250 23rd Street, NW Suite 100 Washington, DC 20440 Fax (202) 736-9015 Email Chandlerj@washington.ijc.org

International Joint Commission Canadian Section 100 Metcalfe Street 18th Floor Ottawa, ON K1P 5M1 Fax (613) 993-5583 Email Clamenm@ottawa.ijc.org

URL: http://www.ijc.org/rel/news/fall_rev.html