August 17, 2006

The Canadian government must call on the U.S. federal government to remove North Dakota’s delegated authority over environmental licensing and seek a firm commitment on a timeline to build an advanced filter at Devils Lake, Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton said today.

The minister’s comments were in response to North Dakota’s decision to modify the operating permit for the Devils Lake outlet. The change allows for higher levels of up to 450 milligrams per litre (mg/l) of sulphate to be discharged to the Sheyenne River and expands the time period each year during which the outlet can be operated.

The province will also immediately review its legal options, Ashton added, noting there is a 30‑day window to file an appeal.

“We are disappointed in the ruling. From our monitoring of the hearings, we do not believe North Dakota provided sufficient new evidence to support a relaxing of the environmental standards that governed the Devils Lake outlet. We will be looking at this very closely in considering an appeal,” Ashton said.

The outlet’s former permit allowed it to operate when sulphate levels in the Sheyenne River were below 300 mg/l. The guideline was established to protect the environment downstream from Devils Lake and was already slightly above the standard of 250 mg/l set by the International Joint Commission (IJC) for sulphate levels at the Canada-U.S. border.

Ashton said the Canadian government must press the U.S. government to direct its federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intervene and revoke North Dakota’s delegated authority over environmental licensing.

“This is a water issue that crosses borders and involves guidelines set by the International Joint Commission. We believe the EPA must be involved to ensure that international water-quality standards are met,” Ashton said.

Raising the allowable limit for sulphate, combined with extending the annual operating period, will increase the amount of water that can be discharged from Devils Lake. This increases the risk that alien and invasive species will be transferred into the Manitoba portion of the Hudson Bay basin, where they are not now found. Relaxing the sulphate limit will also lead to increases in the magnitude and frequency of exceedances of the IJC’s water quality guidelines for salt content in the Red River at the border, said Ashton.

“This entire process further reinforces the need to move quickly on the installation of a permanent filter,” the minister added. “Manitoba is working co-operatively with representatives from the Canadian and U.S. federal governments, but only the two federal governments can implement the commitment they made one year ago to install an advanced filter.”

The Devils Lake outlet has not operated in 2006 due to high sulphate levels in the Sheyenne River. Even with the permit changes, the outlet is still unable to operate as sulphate levels are currently higher than the new 450 mg/l guideline set for the Sheyenne River.

Devils Lake has already dropped about 15 inches so far this year. Even if the outlet could be operated later this year, it would remove no more than a small fraction of an inch. Because of this and because of the risk posed to the environment, Manitoba believes the advanced filter for Devils Lake should be in place before operation of the outlet resumes, the minister concluded.

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Gyrodactylus hoffmani was not detected in the latest survey, however, it was detected in an earlier survey of Devils Lake. It is not known whether Gyrodactylus hoffmani has disappeared from Devils Lake or was simply not detected during the latest survey. It may be the parasite is not widespread and the sample size was too small to allow for its detection. If it still exists in Devils Lake, it would remain a species of potential concern to Manitoba since it can cause disease especially in the baitfish fathead minnow.

Epistylis, an external parasite also previously known to exist in Devils Lake, was detected in the latest survey. This parasite is a species of potential concern since it has not been reported in Manitoba and because it has been reported to cause disease and sometimes mortality in members of the bass family.

Trichodina was detected on walleye, white bass and yellow perch from Devils Lake during the latest survey. This external fish parasite had not previously been found in Devils Lake but has been reported to be widespread in both fresh and marine waters in North America. However, it has not been reported in Manitoba, including Lake Winnipeg, so it is a potential species of concern to Manitoba. Most if not all trichodines are potentially pathogenic to fish and can cause mortality.