Ms. Lana Pollock, Chair

August 30, 2013

Ms. Lana Pollock, Chair

International Joint Commission

2000 L Street, NW

Suite #615

Washington, DC 20440

Dear Ms. Pollock,

As the deadline approaches for public comment on the IJC’s Plan 2014 for Lake Ontario, I have received a flurry of contacts from municipal governments and individuals expressing their concerns about the impact the plan would have on south shore communities.

I expressed my concerns personally to you at the Williamson High School hearing on July 16, 2013. I have enclosed a copy of those remarks so that you also have them in print.

People are legitimately fearful that changes included in the IJC’s Plan 2014 will, during times of sustained high water, create massive losses to public water and sewer infrastructure, public park properties, and personal losses in property.

When the Seaway was built, the treaty guaranteed that no one group could be disproportionately affected by a change in policy. This proposed policy clearly violates the treaty by causing excessive damage to south shore property owners and communities and, I believe, the estimates greatly under value the level of losses on the Lake and do not take into account losses on the embayments off Lake Ontario.

Therefore, I respectfully request that the IJC reject in full all current plans for the implementation of the PLAN2014 and enact a moratorium on the development of any future proposals to modify the range of water levels on Lake Ontario. The moratorium should stay in effect until an independently-conducted, IJC funded, impact analysis can be completed of the effects that PLAN 2014 will have on the built environment of Wayne County and other Lake Ontario south shore communities.

Thank you for your consideration of my request and comments on this critically important issue.

Sincerely,

ROBERT C. OAKS

Member of Assembly

RCO:mlb

enclosure

The following is the text of Assemblyman Oaks’ comments to the IJC on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at Williamson High School during a public hearing:

“I raised concerns last year to BV7 – any changes to that plan, contained in the 2014 Plan, are minimal and still leave south shore communities at great risk.
I am mostly concerned with the negative impact of high water on:
1) community infrastructure (like water treatment facilities)
2) public parks and public access facilities,
3) private home owners, and
4) business owners
I have had an opportunity to look through the publication printed by IJC and I agree with speculation by the IJC that over the past couple of years the loss of winter ice cover and increased storm activity are influencing how water levels and flows impact coastal communities and other interests on Lake Ontario. Rather than adopt a new plan of sustained higher highs and sustained lower lows to respond to those changes, I believe that Plan 2014 underestimates the amount of financial loss to the south shore and would assure greater land erosion, greater damage to personal homes and businesses and greater damage to public infrastructure in coming years.
I am here as a representative of nearly 50 miles of the south shore of Lake Ontario. If this plan is put into force we will experience significant damage to public and personal property at some time in the future due to a storm or storms that assuredly will hit sometime during that sustained high water level period. When that happens, who is going to pay? Will it be the federal government - the state government? Will it be the interests that benefit financially from this plan? My biggest fear is it will be our local communities and our local home and business owners who will be stuck with the bill - a bill that will devastate our local economies and our local tax base.
I have represented this area for 21 years in the state Assembly. I grew up within a few miles of the Lake and 40 years ago worked summers at a local park in Sodus Point. I recognize that any plan, including the current one, cannot control the lake level precisely – but this is not a reason to create a new plan that gives up on keeping us within a certain range. I would contend that the last 50 years of data suggests we should continue within our current course – not chart a new uncertain one.
The environment and eco-system of the lake have been impacted by many things – some intended, others not. The stocking program started in the late 60’s changed some of the eco-system and food chain. Several different invasive species have been introduced that have had a major negative impact on the Lake.
If implemented, the 2014 Plan will have its own set of consequences some intended and welcome, some intended and not welcome to south shore communities and others not intended and extremely detrimental.

I appreciate the adaptive management strategy being proposed as a part of Plan 2014 but my real fear is that we will adapt only after major losses from a storm that hits at a time of sustained high water. Over the past few years, New York State has suffered from significant flooding from hurricanes and other storms. The south shore of Lake Ontario has mostly been spared from this flooding but implementation of the 2014 Plan will assure that this area will be added to the list of problem areas in the future.
For the communities along the southern shore who will be negatively affected in the future, for the homeowners and business owners along the southern shore who will suffer losses, and for all of my constituents who will be affected by damage to the local economy, I implore you to not implement Plan 2014 or BV7 and stick with the current plan until another plan that is neutral to all interests can be found and approved.”