Seaway chief: opening date up to us

CANTON — The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. likely won't involve the public in its process for choosing opening and closing dates for St. Lawrence River ship navigation any time soon, its administrator told a St. Lawrence County advisory board Wednesday.

Collister W. "Terry" Johnson Jr. told members of the county's Environmental Management Council that a petition filed last month by Save the River, Clayton, to force greater transparency in choosing a Seaway opening date likely will be denied. He said the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., the U.S. Seaway's Canadian counterpart, objects to the environmental organization's request.

Save the River argues in its petition that the Seaway's process for choosing opening and closing dates is subject to a federal law requiring that it be spelled out in written policy, be carried out publicly and allow for public comment.

"A treaty dating back to 1909 says that whatever we do is done in consultation with, and the approval of, Canada," Mr. Johnson said. "We have talked to our counterparts, and they are strongly opposed to having any U.S. law govern what Canada can do with its own sovereign territory. We can't impose our laws on Canada any more than they can impose their laws on us."

Mr. Johnson said the agencies consider multiple factors in choosing the dates, like weather and water conditions, whether lock maintenance is finished and the anticipated demand for Seaway services.

"We're doing what we can for the environment and are mindful of our responsibilities to do that, but at the end of the day we are charged with protecting the economic vitality of the Seaway," he said.

Jennifer J. Caddick, Save the River executive director, said the organization's main concern is whether there is still ice on the river when the shipping season begins. Ships' wakes could disturb broken ice, causing a scouring effect that damages shoreline wildlife habitats and fish spawning beds.

Ms. Caddick said the organization also fears that ice conditions can significantly hinder emergency response to a hazardous material spill if a ship runs aground.

She said Wednesday night she has received no response from Seaway officials since Save the River filed its petition last month and had not been told it probably will be denied.

"We know a couple of things they take into account when making their decision, but how they're weighing those things and the mechanics of how they're putting those things together is completely black box to us," Ms. Caddick said. "The U.S. and Canada routinely work together on rules like this. A great recent example is the rules for how ships coming into the system treat their ballast. They've done this type of process before, so why they wouldn't want to do it for the season opening is a mystery to me."

Mr. Johnson said the Seaway recently worked with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe on a study examining the extent to which shipping causes shoreline scouring. He said it will be released in the next few weeks.

"We wanted to get some science behind it to see whether ice breaking does produce a scouring effect," Mr. Johnson said. "The question is whether shipping is a contributor. I think the study will surprise some people."