Federal Highway Administration said that it will now only approve Peace Bridge scoping document if and when feasibility of shared border management is more carefully studied or removed from consideration

Schumer: Customs is four months overdue in releasing plan to Congress for building US-Canada border management facility; Delay is now even more unacceptable

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today took the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to task for failing to submit to Congress a plan for setting up a joint border inspection facility on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario. At Schumer's urging, Congress officially directed Customs to come up with the plan by August 19. Schumer said that it is more imperative than ever that the study be completed now that the Federal Highway Administration has said it will not approve its scoping document until shared border management is more carefully studied or removed from consideration.

"It was one thing when Customs was a week or two late with the study. It was frustrating but I was willing to give them some leeway," Schumer said. "But this delay is now four months long, threatens to hold up major progress in the Peace Bridge expansion project, and is unacceptable. I have made this clear to Customs. They said that they understand. Well, now is the time for them to step up to the plate."

Schumer said without the shared border facility, a larger plaza would have to be built on the US side that would require the demolition of hundreds of commercial and residential buildings. The Congressional directive, which was written into the conference report of the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for Fiscal Year 2003, says the agencies should "report within 180 days of enactment of this Act detailing how a joint United States-Canadian border inspection facility could be established on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario." The proposed joint facility, which could include the creation of accord processing zones with shared facilities, staffing, technology and operations, would also have a huge impact on the ongoing Peace Bridge expansion project.

Although the provision was non-binding, Schumer appealed to Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson personally on March 19 and received Hutchinson's promise that the plan would be created and submitted. Undersecretary Hutchinson is responsible for overseeing the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. Congress's directive to issue the plan was a major step because previously, only physical designs for the facility had been drafted. Detailed plans explaining the logistical details, political ramifications, and time-line for the facility will move the project much closer to construction.

"Shared border management at the Peace Bridge will keep commercial traffic flowing between the U.S. and Canada," Schumer said. "It will help bring the City of Buffalo's West Side back to life, and it will get the large, commercial diesel trucks out of Front Park and the adjacent residential neighborhood. This project is about more than just building a new bridge. It is a development effort that could create an entirely new gateway to the City of Buffalo and the United States."

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