Progress Reports on 5-Year Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River
Water Level Study Released to International Joint Commission
OTTAWA, August 14, 2002 - The International Lake Ontario
- St. Lawrence River Study Board and the Public Interest Advisory
Group (PIAG) announced today the public release of two
comprehensive progress reports to the International Joint
Commission (IJC). The reports summarize activities completed
in the first year of a 5-year, bi-national water level study
of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. "We are very
pleased to report on the significant amount of work that took
place over the first 16 months of the Study", said Doug
Cuthbert, Canadian Co-Director of the International Lake Ontario
- St. Lawrence River Study Board. "Each member of the
Study Team has been working to lay the foundation for a successful
evaluation of water level regulation in the system."
The PIAG Year 1 report was developed to ensure that the public's
impressions, opinions and feedback were accurately captured
from the very beginning of the Study. The Public Interest
Advisory Group will continue to liaise between the study team
and the public, carrying forward public concerns about water
level regulation in the basin and in turn providing the public
with the latest information regarding the study.
"The Commission is very pleased to receive the reports
presented by the Study Team and we look forward to reviewing
them in detail," said Mr. Herb Gray, Chairman of the
Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission. "The
Commission has been following the work of the Study closely
as they set out collecting data and reaching out to those
who are impacted by Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River regulation.",
added Mr. Dennis Schornack, Chairman of the U.S. Section of
the IJC in Washington, D.C.
The Study Team emphasizes that there is a great deal of work
ahead to complete the 5-year project and that public participation
is critical to the evaluation and assessment of current water
level regulation in the basin. To ensure that the study reflects
the interests of the public, the PIAG will continue to schedule
frequent public meetings in various locations in the Lake
Ontario and St. Lawrence River area. Upcoming meetings will
be held in Ogdensburg, New York, Belleville, Ontario and Trois-Rivières,
Quebec.
The International Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Study
was set in motion in 2000 by the International Joint Commission
to assess and evaluate the Commission's Order of Approval
used to regulate outflows from Lake Ontario through the St.
Lawrence River. The current Order of Approval requires that
the St. Lawrence Seaway Power Project be operated to meet
certain conditions and criteria to protect the interests in
both countries, including shoreline communities, commercial
navigation and Hydroelectric Power production. The Study is also evaluating
the impacts of changing water levels on environmental factors,
shore erosion, flood damages, recreational boating, and tourism.
The 22-member PIAG is a group of U.S. and Canadian volunteers
working to ensure effective two-way communication between
the public and the study team.
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