June 13, 2007
Manitoba, Environmental Groups To Appeal Lowering Of Standards For Devils Lake
The Manitoba government and several American organizations are appealing the North Dakota Department of Health’s decision to weaken the environmental standards governing the operation of the Devils Lake outlet, Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick announced today.
The appeal will be filed in North Dakota Supreme Court and includes People to Save the Sheyenne River, the Peterson Coulee Outlet Association and the National Wildlife Federation.
At issue is the North Dakota Department of Health’s 2006 decision to weaken the sulphate standards in the outlet’s original operating permit. The changes allow for Devils Lake waters to be discharged into the Sheyenne River when the sulphate levels are higher than allowed by the original permit (up to 450 milligrams per litre).
“We believe North Dakota did not follow its own regulations when the outlet’s original environmental standards were lowered,” Melnick said. “In fact, had the standards not been unilaterally weakened, the outlet would remain inoperable today as sulphate levels are above the original guideline.”
Melnick said the province has also asked the Canadian government to press the U.S. federal government to remove North Dakota’s delegated authority under sections of the U.S. Clean Water Act. It was the decision to delegate this authority to North Dakota that allowed the state to unilaterally change the operating permit.
The minister also called on the two federal governments, who agreed in August 2005 to build an advanced filter at the outlet, to set a firm timeline to complete the work.
“As a province, we have left no stone unturned in trying to address this issue and we have completed the work required of us in the August 2005 commitment. Only the two federal governments can implement the promise they made nearly two years ago to install an advanced filter.”
Manitoba and the organizations involved in the appeal are concerned about the risk of alien species being transferred from Devils Lake downstream into the Sheyenne River and Hudson Bay basin, which includes Lake Winnipeg. There are three fish parasites and four kinds of algae that have been detected in Devils Lake that have not been found in Lake Winnipeg. Sulphate levels are also estimated to be 10 times higher in Devils Lake than in Lake Winnipeg.
This will be the second appeal of the North Dakota sulphate decision. The first was rejected in April in North Dakota district court located in the city of Devils Lake.
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