Forty-one organizations across the U.S. and Canada are calling on the federal governments to adopt Plan 2014 which would regulate water levels in Lake Ontario. Plan 2014 was unanimously recommended by the International Joint Commission in June, but it also faces strong opposition from local governments.
This summer, representatives of 41 environmental organizations including the NY League of Conservation Voters, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Save the River, World Wildlife Fund Canada and the National Wildlife Association, sent a letter expressing strong support for Plan 2014 to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and elected officials and representatives of federal agencies in the United States and Canada.
The letter details how Plan 2014 will protect against extreme water levels, restore tens of thousands of acres of wetlands, boost hydropower production, enhance outdoor recreation and increase the resilience of 712 miles of Lake Ontario Shoreline in the U.S. and Canada, a news release from the Nature Conservancy states.
“The more the public learns about Plan 2014, the more they support it,” says Jim Howe, The Nature Conservancy’s Central and Western New York Chapter executive director. “This is a once-in-a-generation chance to restore a Great Lake, invest in New York’s recreation-based economy and prepare for climate change. We hope everyone will explore the facts about this plan, and express their support for its adoption.”
Local government leaders, however, have voiced strong opposition to the plan and even traveled to Washington, D.C. in July to meet with senators and State Department officials to express concerns.
Niagara-Orleans Regional Alliance co-chairs Lynne Johnson, an Orleans County legislator, and David Godfrey, a Niagara County legislator, have said Plan 2014 may benefit the ecosystem, but it will disproportionally affect the southern shore of Lake Ontario.
Johnson and Godfrey call the plan “catastrophic to communities along the lakeshore,” because of anticipated erosion of property during times of high water and losses to the $94 million/year sport fishing industry and shipping interests when levels are low. They say Plan 2014 will cost every single tax payer in shoreline counties as “all taxpayers will end up paying to make up for losses in sales tax.”
Both county legislatures have called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to step up and use his power to veto the plan.
Congressman Chris Collins has also been critical of the Plan, saying it will “devastate residents along the lake’s southern shore … it is clear this plan is not in the best interest of homeowners and other stakeholders along the Lake Ontario shoreline,” he said in a statement following the July meetings in Washington, D.C. “I remain committed to working with my colleagues in state and local government against its implementation.”
