Seaway future

It is heartening to hear St. Lawrence Seaway Administrator Collister W. Johnson Jr. come out against winter navigation and expansion of the Seaway locks.

Mr. Johnson sought to reassure Northern New Yorkers that neither winter shipping nor Seaway expansion is in the future plans of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. "Expanding the Seaway will never happen. Winter navigation is never going to happen," he said in a recent meeting with Save the River leaders, who oppose both ideas.

Mr. Johnson also rejected the group's claims that a power marketing agency in the Great Lakes region was a devious plan to implement winter navigation, which can cause future environmental damage.

Still, Save the River Executive Director Jennifer Caddick had a valid point: Mr. Johnson does not decide these issues.

He is a political appointee who can leave the job, be replaced or overruled. He may have some influence on the final decision, but ultimately it rests with Congress.

With Mr. Johnson and Ms. Caddick in agreement on winter navigation, they should work together to defend the Seaway against attacks from upper Great Lakes interests.