Groups challenge IJC report watershed

The report by the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River Watershed Task Force recommended in July 2011 establishing the International Watersheds Initiative Board was the result of task force meetings involving many stakeholders and several public meetings.

The board and the International Watershed Initiative are part of an effort to help improve binational management of water quality in the Lake of the Woods — Rainy River basin, the IJC reported during the process. According to the IJC, the new governance model would enhance local participation and support mechanisms to address priority issues through cooperative research and decision making.

The challenge to the report and recommendations come from Don Parmeter, cochairman of the National Water and Conservation Alliance, and Chuck Cushman, executive director of the Washington state-based American Land Rights Association.

Parmeter said the report concludes there is broad agreement that water quality is threatened, that ecosystems health is deteriorating, that communication is not encompassing, and that current governance mechanisms are fragmented.

Frank Bevacqua, public affairs officer for IJC in Washington D.C., told The Journal that the statements made by Parmeter and Cushman are “very generic statements that are critical of government regulation, but they don’t really seem to have anything to do with the work the IJC boards and its task force in the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River Watershed.”

Parmeter said he questions the credibility of the report and says there is little evidence that the natural resources in northern Minnesota are in a state of decline.

“To the contrary, I would suggest that they have been improving for several decades,” he said. He added that the report appears to be based on a predetermined course of action, such as the expansion of IJC authority, rather than on any sound scientific analysis. “Furthermore, any environmental issues that surface are best addressed by local people, their elected officials, and the state of Minnesota,” he said.

Bevacqua said the report addresses concerns people in the watershed have raised about a variety of issues, including increased algal blooms.

“We need to have coordination on the national and international level,” he said. “We need to inventory how much nutrients are coming from each country, what the main sources are, what are the priority actions, and agree on objectives for the whole watershed and then each authority in their jurisdictions carry out programs.”

Bevacqua said the report of the task force was based on the idea of having more participation in IJC process. “And again, this new watershed board doesn’t create new authority in either country,” he said. “The watershed board can’t tax, can’t regulate, can’t issue permits, can’t levy fines or enforce, but helps governments on both sides of border coordinate their activities in order to manage the international waters.”

Cushman said the proposal is “another threat to jobs, property rights, and outdoor recreation. “I doubt that many people and elected officials are even aware of this issue, and I’m certain that the vast majority of people affected have not seen the report.”

International Falls City Council and Koochiching County Board each discussed the initiative and task force effort at their respective meetings during a public process.

Bevacqua, said the IJC has been reporting on water quality in Rainy River for more than 50 years without impacting jobs or property rights.

“This is essentially helping our two governments work together in their own existing authorities to coordinate on meeting water quality objectives,” he said. “In this day and age, taking a holistic approach to managing the watershed is just common sense.”

Another example of that, he said, is the input of residents of the basin which helped guide revision in 2000 of the rule curves for Rainy and Namakan lakes, which was prompted by concerns about how the regulation of levels and flows were impacting fish and wildlife.

Cushman said the proposal apparently has not had any legislative oversight. “We intend to help remedy that,” he added.

Parmeter said that an independent assessment of the report and recommendations should be conducted, and until that is done, the U.S. State Department and Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs should put the matter on hold.

Bevacqua said the task force conducted a transparent process and Parmeter was invited to take part, but did not.

The task force “had an active advisory group with over 40 members,” he said. “Mr. Parmeter was invited to join the group. The task force had 14 public meetings, after that the IJC held six public hearings, and if the folks issuing this challenge really want to help local people solve problems at the local level, it might have been good if they sat with basin residents and talked about concerns, rather than issue a news release 10 months after the report is out.”

Bevacqua continued, “What is the specific complaint? Is by helping the two governments reduce algae blooms negatively impacting property values?”