FINAL REPORT - International Joint Commission

FINAL REPORT
Executive Summary
The International Joint Commission issued an Order of Approval on October 11, 1952, amended on
July 2, 1956, for the construction of the St. Lawrence River Hydropower Project. Regulation of Lake Ontario
water levels and outflows in accordance with the Commission’s orders began in 1960. The current plan,
1958-D, which has been in effect since October 1963, was designed for the hydrologic conditions experienced
from 1860 to 1954. For that reason, 1958-D has not performed well under the extreme high and low water
supply conditions experienced since that time. As a result, the International Joint Commission and its
International St. Lawrence River Board of Control have had to deviate from the Plan. More recently, the
Board of Control has deviated from the Plan to better address changing needs and interests.
The International Joint Commission’s Levels Reference Study Board report of March 1993 recommended
that the “Orders of Approval for the regulation of Lake Ontario be revised to better reflect the current needs
of the users and interests of the system.”
In April 1999, the International Joint Commission informed the governments that it was becoming
increasingly urgent to review the regulation of Lake Ontario levels and outflows in view of dissatisfaction
on the part of some interests, in light of environmental concerns and in response to potential climate
change conditions.
On December 11, 2000, the Commission issued a directive to the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence
River Study Board, which it had appointed, to:
i) review the current regulation of levels and flows in the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River system, taking
into account the impact of regulation on affected interests;
ii) develop an improved understanding of the system among all concerned; and
iii) provide all the relevant technical and other information needed for the review.
The subsequent five-year, $20 million1 Study was conducted with funding provided equally by the U.S.
and Canadian governments and through participation of agencies, individuals and organizations in
both countries.
This is the final report of the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study Board in response to the
Commission’s 1999 Plan of Study and December 2000 Directive. It summarizes findings from the scientific
and other undertakings of the Study, describes three new candidate plans for Commission consideration,
presents recommendations on public involvement and regulation-related matters and outlines some steps
towards implementation of a new regulation plan. While the Study Board and team have some differences
of opinion, the Study Board is confident that each of the three candidate plans performs better than the
1 All monetary values indicated throughout this report are expressed in equivalent U.S. dollars.
Options for Managing Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Water Levels and Flows
i