Grand Forks Herald
Posted on Fri, Sep. 12, 2003
EDITORIAL: Canada's concerns
OUR VIEW: N.D. should get State Department approval
before building a Devils Lake outlet.
Putting a quarter in a slot machine or a buck on a blackjack
table is one thing.
But betting $25 million on a structure with an uncertain future
is something else. The trouble is, the "something else"
that it seems to be is state policy - a policy North Dakota's
leaders should reconsider.
The project is the state's version of the Devils Lake outlet. The
uncertainty involves Canada's objections.
The bottom-line question is this: If Canada continues to object
to the outlet, will Devils Lake water ever flow?
Chances are good the answer is no.
The Boundary Waters Treaty governs the water interests that cross
the U.S.-Canadian border. Among other things, the act
"provides that waters shall not be polluted on either side
to the injury of health or property on the other," according
to the treaty's International Joint Commission.
Is the Devils Lake outlet a treaty issue? Canada thinks so. The
Canadian foreign minister has said he'll invoke those treaty
rights to block an outlet.
The U.S. government suspects the minister has a point. In the
appropriations act for fiscal year 2003, Congress directed the
Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an outlet, but subject to
certain conditions - "including the requirement for
assurances from the Secretary of State that the project will not
violate the Boundary Waters treaty," the joint commission's
International Red River Board reports.
In other words, the federal government recognizes that Canada
might have a legitimate beef. If it does, then until that
nation's concerns are resolved, the water can't flow.
Why is North Dakota proceeding as if the outlet's future is
guaranteed?
Don't misunderstand. The Corps has declared an outlet is the
preferred solution for Devils Lake. That vital declaration should
be acted upon.
But it doesn't mean state backhoes should start turning dirt. For
one thing, the corps' proposed outlet differs from the state
version. More importantly, Corps approval is not the last hurdle.
Canada's approval is, unless the United States is willing to risk
an international incident by ignoring Canadian concerns.
Is the United States willing to do such a thing? Is North Dakota?
To cop an old Hollywood line, "This thing is bigger than
both of us." Congress put a sensible condition on an outlet
by requiring the State Department's blessing. North Dakota should
do the same - and should seek that blessing before more money is
spent.
Tom Dennis for the Herald
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