Eight senators from Alaska, Montana, Washington and Idaho are urging British Columbia Premier John Horgan to acknowledge and clean up the province’s mining operations near salmon-rich transboundary rivers flowing into their states.
In a June 13 letter, they specifically noted that the International Joint Commission did not convene in April for its usual meeting because the IJC lacked a quorum among U.S. and Canadian commissioners. They noted that bilateral discussions on transboundary waterways typically occur in conjunction with the biannual convening of the IJC and have strengthened bilateral cooperation between the two governments on issues including baseline monitoring in the Alaska-British Columbia transboundary area.
The letter was signed by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, Senators Mike Crapo and James Risch of Idaho, and Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester of Montana.
In the absence of such engagement opportunity between the two governments, the senators said they felt it appropriate to write to Horgan to provide him with a summary of their own work in Congress to dedicate attention and resources to concerns regarding transboundary watersheds. While appreciative of Canada’s engagement to date, they said, they remain concerned about what they feel is a lack of oversight of Canadian mining projects near multiple transboundary rivers that originate in British Columbia and flow into four bordering states.
The senators noted that the U.S. Departments of State and Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency established an interagency working group in 2017 to address concerns regarding British Columbia mining activity in transboundary watersheds and to determine mechanisms necessary to safeguard U.S. economic interests and resources.
Congress recently appropriated $1.8 million to the Interior Department for stream gauges in transboundary rivers to provide better monitoring and water quality data, including detection of any impacts from upstream mining, at the international boundary. Congress has also directed the U.S. Geological Survey to enter into a formal partnership with local tribes and other agencies to develop a long-term water quality strategy to address contamination risks in transboundary rivers shared by British Columbia with Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana, they said.
The senators said that indigenous peoples whose lands are affected by past, present and proposed mines near transboundary rivers have expressed concern and asked that U.S. and Canadian governments undertake cumulative assessments of impacts to communities, cultural and natural resources, as well as enforcement of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. They also noted that these transboundary watersheds support critical water supply, recreation opportunities and wildlife habitat that support many livelihoods in local communities.
“We appreciate the diverse array of benefits that responsible management of our shared watersheds can bring, and view this as an opportunity to engage and collaborate toward a mutually beneficial future,” they said.
