Plan 2014 – adamantly opposed by local lakeshore communities – will take effect in January.
In mid-December, the International Joint Commission (IJC) announced their plans to go through with Plan 2014, which will regulate water levels and flows in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, following the signing of an updated order of approval by IJC commissioners.
Orleans County Legislator Ken DeRoller, whose district spans three-quarters of the 24 miles of Lake Ontario shoreline in Orleans County, calls the approval, “concerning from our standpoint.”
He and other members of the Niagara Orleans Regional Alliance (NORA) as well as municipal officials, have actively fought the plan for years – including trips to Washington, D.C. by David Godfrey (Niagara County legislator) and Lynne Johnson (Orleans County legislator) in November of 2015 and July of 2014 to meet with Congressman Chris Collins and State Department officials.
DeRoller says implementation of the plan threatens the southern Lake Ontario shoreline, in particular, with increased erosion due to increased flooding. Harbor access is also threatened and is additionally aggravated by the lack of a, “real federal schedule for harbor dredging,” DeRoller observes.
Legislator DeRoller says local concern over the plan and its implementation continues to focus around its impact on shoreline erosion, increased periods of flooding, the negative impact on harbor access, and the negative impact on lakeshore property values.
The IJC states in a news release that Plan 2014 is a new regulation plan for determining the flows through the Moses-Saunders Dam located on the St. Lawrence River between Cornwall, Ontario and Massena, New York. The updated order and plan replace an outdated system of regulating flows developed in the 1950’s.
“Plan 2014 is a modern plan for managing water levels and flows that will restore the health and diversity of coastal wetlands, perform better under changing climate conditions and continue to protect against extreme high and low water levels,” said US Section Chair Lana Pollack.
The IJC argues that Plan 2014 will protect shoreline property and improve the ecosystem health and diversity of Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River and provide net economic benefits. “Allowing for more natural variations of water levels, the plan will foster the conditions needed to restore 64,000 acres of costal wetlands and improve habitat for fish and wildlife. The plan will also frequently extend the recreational boating, better maintain system-wide levels for navigation and increase hydropower production,” the IJC states.
The plan is the result of more than 16 years of scientific study, public engagement and governmental review.
Congressman Chris Collins has vowed to fight implementation of Plan 2014.
“The incoming Republican Administration will know from day one how important it is to eliminate Plan 2014 once and for all,” Congressman Collins said in a news release. “If the International Joint Commission thinks for a second that Plan 2014 will ever by fully implemented, they are sorely mistaken. I can guarantee you that I will do everything in my power to protect taxpayers, homeowners and small businesses along the Lake Ontario shoreline that are set to be devastated by this bureaucratic disaster.”
“It’s like throwing gasoline on a fire,” State Senator Robert Ortt said. “We need consistent water levels for local residents, small businesses, and family farms along the shore, not heavy fluctuations that will only aggravate flooding and erosion. Hundreds of miles away, unelected bureaucrats are making major decisions that will have a devastating impact here in our community. Had they asked or listened to those who live, visit, or work along Lake Ontario, they’d know we’re already dealing with a dangerously deteriorating shoreline.”
Ken DeRoller says local leaders will continue to work to support Congressman Collins’ efforts. “He has been a champion,” of the local effort to fight Plan 2014, DeRoller says. “We are not taking this lightly, we will fight it with our every breath.”
He says he feels the approval of Plan 2014 was done in, “the dark of night,” and without the knowledge of close stakeholders who were left out of the final conversation. “It is very discouraging,” he says.
