| Devils Lake Outlet Hangs in the Balance | 28 April 05 |
 Pending decisions of Condoleezza Rice and a North Dakota court, water from Devils Lake could flow into Manitoba in July, jeopardizing a century of trans-boundary water cooperation.At issue is a US$28 million project to pump water from Devils Lake-which has no natural outlet and is causing widespread flooding in North Dakota-into a watershed that drains into Lake Winnipeg. Manitoba is concerned that foreign biota and pathogens, as well as high levels of phosphorus and sulfates from Devils Lake could harm Lake Winnipeg. Officials throughout Canada and in some U.S. jurisdictions are concerned that if the project proceeds it will violate the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty and the long record of cooperation which the treaty has fostered. Prime Minister Martin has raised the issue with President Bush, and a delegation led by Manitoba Premier Doer met with the Assistant Secretary of State. Manitoba and Ottawa would like Secretary of State Rice to refer the dispute to the International Joint Commission, a bi-national body with a long record of resolving trans-boundary water disputes. Her decision is expected in coming weeks. Canada and Manitoba have both requested a referral to the IJC. According to Reuters, Federal Environment Minister Stephane Dion said in reference to an upcoming Washington trip: "Devil's Lake... is something I want to put a lot of pressure on to be sure it will not happen. The project is almost 80 percent completed and it's threatening the ecosystem of the 10th largest fresh water lake on Earth and a key one for Manitoba and the whole of Canada." Manitoba is also taking legal action in North Dakota. On April 18, the state's high court asked State officials tough questions about what appear to be short cuts in the environmental review of the project. Manitoba now awaits the court's decision. View the April 25, 2005 Hansard Transcript (DOC) View the Globe & Mail article View the Grand Forks Herald article View the Reuters article View the Winnipeg Free Press articles: April 16, April 18 & April 19, 2005 (DOC) View CBC article View Manitoba Government release View previous ManitobaWildlands.org article on Devils Lake Sources: CBC, Winnipeg Free Press |
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