IJC’s Plan 2007 making waves again: Proposed dam worries some in Montreal and Quebec
June 17, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Andy Riga | Source: Canwest News Service
MONTREAL - For the past 50 years, a massive power dam about 100 kilometres southwest of Montreal has used the force of the St. Lawrence River to produce electricity for Ontario and New York. The length of 10 football fields, it produces enough power to supply more than one million homes.
The dam has also been used to regulate how much water from Lake Ontario reaches the St. Lawrence, the source of drinking water for more than half of Quebecers.
Now, for the first time, the International Joint Commission, an independent Canada-U.S. agency, wants to change how it regulates water flow at the Moses-Saunders dam, which straddles the border in Cornwall, Ont., and Massena, N.Y.
Nature Quebec, a coalition representing 100 environmental groups, says proposed changes could have disastrous effects - including flooding, extreme droughts and more pollution - in Montreal and other parts of Quebec.
At a public hearing in Montreal Tuesday tonight, Nature Quebec will tell the IJC that it should not alter how the St. Lawrence is fed because there is too much uncertainty about the effects of climate change.
The IJC’s proposal - known as Plan 2007 - will “allow water to go a little higher and a little lower” than the current system. The proposal will promote the establishment of more diverse flora and fauna, the IJC says.
