| Montreal, 4/04/2006 – On 30 March 2006, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada; Friends of the Earth US; People to Save-the-Sheyenne River, Inc.; Thelma Paulson and Gary Pearson D.V.M. of North Dakota; and Claire Sevenhuysen and Lawrence Price of Manitoba (Submitters), filed with the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) a citizen submission asserting that Canada and the United States are failing to effectively enforce anti-pollution provisions in the 1909 International Boundary Waters Treaty (Treaty) with respect to the construction and operation by the state of North Dakota of an outlet to drain water from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River, the Red River Basin, Lake Winnipeg, and ultimately into the broader Hudson Bay drainage system.
In SEM-06-002 (Devils Lake), the Submitters assert that Devils Lake is polluted with biological pollutants (such as algae species and fish parasites) that are alien to Lake Winnipeg, as well as high levels of sulfates, mercury, phosphorus, arsenic, and other pollutants. They contend that the Devils Lake outlet unlawfully allows this pollution to cross the US-Canada border and flow into Lake Winnipeg and other Canadian waters. The Submitters contend that both Canada and the United States have failed to prevent the diversion and resulting cross-border pollution, contrary to Article IV of the Treaty. They assert that both countries failed to effectively enforce Articles IX and X of the Treaty by not referring their dispute over the diversion to the International Joint Commission (IJC), either jointly or unilaterally. They contend that these treaty obligations have the status of statutory obligations under the domestic laws of both countries. The Submitters assert that the failure of both governments to enforce the rights and obligations set out in mandatory language in the Treaty is not a reasonable exercise of discretion. They further contend that the United States’ referral of the Devils Lake issues to the US Council on Environmental Quality was not a valid substitute for referral to the binational IJC.
The Secretariat of the CEC will now analyze the submission to determine whether it meets the requirements of Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
The CEC citizen submission mechanism allows citizens to play an active "whistleblower" role in matters relating to environmental law enforcement. Pursuant to NAAEC Article 14, any citizen or nongovernmental organization may file a submission when it believes that a NAFTA partner is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. After reviewing the submission, the CEC may investigate the matter and publish a factual record of its findings.
For more information, please visit the CEC's Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters page. |
