Canada, US agree ways to drain N.Dakota lake safely

[Eugene]

Canada, US agree ways to drain N.Dakota lake safely

August 6, 2005

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada and the United States announced a deal on
Saturday that could years of bickering over plans to drain a North
Dakota lake into rivers that end up in Canada, and said there would be
safeguards to prevent pollution and minimize risk from "nuisance
species" of fish.

A statement from the two countries said they had made progress in
deciding how to drain Devils Lake, a low-lying area of water that
flooded farms, schools and villages as it spread from 70 square miles
(180 sq km) to 200 square miles (520 sq km) during extended periods of
wet weather.

North Dakota has built channels to let some of the water from the lake
drain into rivers that flow to the Red River and then on to Lake
Winnipeg in Manitoba, the world's 10th largest freshwater lake.

Canadian officials had said draining the lake could pollute Canadian
waters and introduce nonnative fish stocks, threatening commercial
fishing at the lake -- a C$25 million ($20 million) a year industry.

<snip>

More: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06463180.htm

[achtung_circus]

1. Huh, we'll see.

Although an agreement would save the IJC, there should be no need for that kind of pressure. This is what the IJC was designed for and North Dakota's refusal (and the US Federal Gov't's complicity) to send the matter to the IJC scares me in the long term.