FINAL REPORT - International Joint Commission

FINAL REPORT
Institutional issues discussed included those raised in a report commissioned by the Study Board and
proposed by an Aboriginal member of the Board (Clinton Edmunds and Associates, Ltd., 2002), as follows:
• The Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study decision making process;
• Consensus decision making;
• Roles, responsibilities, interrelationships and membership of the Control Board, the Operations
Advisory Group and the Control Board’s Regulation Representatives;
• Flexibility inherent in the Boundary Waters Treaty;
• Consideration of Aboriginal peoples’ knowledge about water levels in relation to the system as a means
of increasing understanding; and
• Input from lesser-represented users.
Other issues discussed were:
• The hydrology envelope within which existing control structures are valid,
• Timely-decision making,
• User-friendly descriptions of models,
• Communication,
• Funding of hydraulic and hydrologic research,
• Information management,
• Peer/independent review,
• Adaptive management,
• Mitigation, and
• Transition.
A workshop report summarizing these discussions was conveyed to the International Joint Commission
on January 19, 2005.
The Study Board suggests that the International Joint Commission consider and act on the findings in the
Study Board’s January 2005 Institutional Issues Workshop report and communicate Commission decisions
and actions to affected groups and communities. Many of the issues addressed in this report have been
raised at the Study’s public meetings and in other Study discussions. Many are also independent of the
selection of a new plan and can be acted upon independently. Early and decisive action on these findings
would be very positively received. To further its understanding of the system, the Commission should also
continue the dialogue established with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal
Council, the environment departments and tribes throughout the region including the Akwesasne,
Kahnawake and Tyendinaga.
At the conclusion of this $20 million U.S. Study, the Study Board will be transferring three candidate plans
to the International Joint Commission, and a sizable amount of documents, software and knowledge that
provide the basis for the plans. If one of these plans is selected and implemented, this will initiate a new
set of requirements for the Board of Control. These requirements will include information management
(including preserving the existing documents and data bases); greater communication and outreach; model
running, maintenance and upgrading; and analysis of monitoring data. In this way, the Board of Control
will be kept aware of plan impacts and will know when and to what extent adaptive changes in policy
should be considered. Meeting these new requirements will necessitate additional resources and personnel.
This transition provides a window of opportunity to change more than just the regulation plan. It provides
an opportunity to change the way in which the plan is implemented and explained to the public, the way
adaptive management can be considered, and the way in which the research and documents produced by
the Study are kept available for scientists and the public.
98 Options for Managing Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Water Levels and Flows