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Niagara River's Toxic Burden Lighter WASHINGTON, DC, June 21, 2002 (ENS) - Remedial actions on numerous hazardous waste sites taken by New York State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reduced potential inputs of certain hazardous pollutants to the Niagara River by about 90 percent, says a new progress report by the International Joint Commission (IJC). The commission's findings, released June 20 by the U.S./Canada agency, reflect federal, state and provincial government activities toward restoration of the Niagara River.
Many rivers and some of the largest lakes in the world lie along, or flow across, the border between the United States and Canada. The International Joint Commission assists governments in finding solutions to problems in these waters. The 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty established the Commission, which has six members - three named by each country. The Niagara River flows north and northwest for 32 miles from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario forming the border between the two countries. The Upper River, in the south, circumvents Grand Island before flowing over 167 foot high Niagara Falls into a gorge up to 200 feet deep which extends downstream about six miles. The river then flows for about seven miles until it reaches Lake Ontario. The shoreline in some areas is industrially developed, but in other parts it is forested or open. There are a number of parks on both country borders. The IJC Niagara River status assessment highlights several successes, but also points out that financial problems could hinder future progress if they are left unaddressed under the current Remedial Action Plan. The Commission and its Science Advisory Board met with local citizens, representatives of government agencies in both the U.S. and in Canada, industries, local municipalities, nongovernmental organizations and the media to collect information during the assessment.
The IJC reports that, "Considerable reductions in contaminant loadings have been achieved. Implementation of the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan has resulted in significant reductions of the loading of toxic chemicals to the Niagara River." Eighteen persistent toxic substances including PCBs have been targeted, and there is a reduction in PCBs from Niagara River sources entering Lake Ontario, the commission found. Long term monitoring programs have been established and maintained. Biomonitoring results have been useful in both identifying contaminated sediment problems and confirming the benefits of remedial efforts.The Commission's Science Advisory Board said these monitoring and surveillance programs should be replicated in the other Great Lakes connecting channels. A unique division of labor between Environment Canada, Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation toward implementation of the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan, has proved to be very cost effective. This activity is a notable example of binational cooperation toward achieving a common goal, the commission said.
But many management challenges are still to be addressed, the commission said, not the least of them financial. "The lack of secure long-term funding appears to be a challenge to both the Ontario and New York Remedial Action Plans," the assessment states. Extensive investments have been directed toward the remediation of hazardous waste sites, but much less has been allotted for fish and wildlife habitat and waste water control, even though the State of New York said in 1994, "The loss of fish and wildlife habitat on the upper Niagara River has been dramatic." Remediation efforts to address the remaining 26 priority hazardous waste sites have required expenditures in excess of US$370 million with additional future costs estimated at over US$261 million, according to the U.S. EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The large amounts of funding made available for remediation of priority hazardous waste sites contrast sharply with funds made available for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, control of combined sewer overflows and contaminated sediment remediation, the assessment states. Efforts to restore instream fish and wildlife habitat within the Areas of Concern have been necessarily delayed due to the pressing need to first address severe contamination by persistent toxic substances, the commission acknowledges. A better integrated approach to public outreach is required, the report concludes, and says that planned coordination between the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and U.S. EPA's Niagara Falls Public Information Office is a step in the right direction. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved. |
The Niagara River (Photo credit unknown)
Niagara Falls, Canada (Photo courtesy 
Happy fisherman on the Niagara River (Photo courtesy 