110 HRES 1146 IH: Expressing the sense of the House of
U.S. House of Representatives
2008-04-24
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
Whereas the United States and the Dominion of Canada
signed the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 (the Treaty), which provided for the
creation of the International Joint Commission (IJC) to help resolve and
prevent disputes concerning water quantity and quality along the boundary
between the United States and Canada throughout the Great Lakes and St.
Lawrence River;
Whereas the Treaty states In cases involving the
elevation of the natural level of waters on either side of the line as a result
of the construction or maintenance on the other side of remedial or protective
works or dams or other obstructions in boundary waters flowing there from or in
waters below the boundary in rivers flowing across the boundary, the Commission
shall require, as a condition of its approval thereof, that suitable and
adequate provision, approved by it, be made for the protection and indemnity of
all interests on the other side of the line which may be injured
thereby
;
Whereas the environment of Lake Ontario and the St.
Lawrence River should be considered an interest;
Whereas the Order of Approval (the Order), which provides
specific parameters for the water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence
River, was adopted by the governments of Canada and the United States in 1952
and amended in 1956 to reflect the development of power in the International
Rapids Section of the St. Lawrence River;
Whereas the existing Order has resulted in the substantial
derogation of at least 33,000 acres of wetlands, allowing a thick cattail
monoculture to expand and replace large areas of biodiverse meadow marsh,
resulting in the loss of habitat for a wide range of aquatic, avian, and upland
species;
Whereas in 1999, it was recognized that the current Order
was insufficient and therefore the five year, $20,000,000 International Lake
Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study was conducted, with the assistance of
agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps
of Engineers, and Environment Canada;
Whereas on January 12, 2005, the International Lake
Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study adopted the goal that decision-making
with respect to the development of the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River System
Criteria and Plans will be transparent, involving and considering the full
range of interests affected by any decisions with broad stakeholder and public
input
;
Whereas on May 12, 2005, the Secretary of the United
States section of the IJC, Elizabeth C. Bourget, and the Secretary of the
Canadian section of the IJC, Murray Clamen, directed the Upper Great Lakes
Plan of Study
Revision Team to incorporate lessons
learned from the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River
Study
;
Whereas on May 31, 2006, three proposed water level
management plans were presented to the public for comment: Plan A+ proposed
that the water levels of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River be stringently
regulated, Plan B+ proposed that the water levels be returned to a more natural
rhythm which existed before the pre-project system, and Plan D+ proposed minor
changes to the existing regulation plan to minimize losses to any one interest
area;
Whereas the IJC conducted a public comment period on the
three proposed plans which concluded on September 15, 2006;
Whereas on June 14, 2007, the IJC announced a new regime
would be selected on September 17, 2007;
Whereas on September 10, 2007, the IJC announced that it
would extend the period of consultation to allow more time for discussions with
government in the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River basin;
Whereas on March 28, 2008, the IJC announced Plan 2007,
which had not previously been submitted to the public for comment or fully
vetted by the scientific community and the State of New York, as the proposed
water level management plan for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River;
Whereas all territory of the United States regulated by
the Order is exclusively within the domain of the State of New York;
Whereas Plan 2007, which closely mirrors the existing
regime, does not provide the same measure of environmental benefits as those
proposed by Plan B+;
Whereas Plan 2007 does not allow for the same high levels
of hydropower production as those proposed by Plan B+;
Whereas hydropower is a low-cost, abundant, and renewable
source of energy for power generation; and
Whereas the approval of the Secretary of State, acting as
the agent of the United States Government, is needed before a new water level
management plan is adopted: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that—
(1)the IJC’s proposed
Plan 2007 does not provide the necessary level of environmental protections and
benefits for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River;
(2)the views of the
public and the State which has jurisdiction of waters to be regulated must be
fully considered when a new plan for the management of water levels is
selected;
(3)any water level
management plan should make every effort to maximize hydropower production at
existing facilities; and
(4)the Secretary of
State should not approve a water level management plan if the criteria set
forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) are not met.