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Opening Devils Lake Outlet "hostile act against Canadians" |
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Contributed by Jim Elliott
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Tuesday, 12 June 2007 |
 In an open letter to Premier Doer of Manitoba, Governors Hoeven and Pawlenty (North Dakota and Minnesota), Prime Minister Harper and President Bush, Bea Olivestri of Friends of the Earth Canada sees the act of opening the gates at the Devils Lake outlet as cementing the death sentence of the sixth Great Lake, Lake Winnipeg.
On June 11, North Dakota opened the gates of its
Devils Lake outlet, in what Friends of the Earth Canada calls a "hostile act against Canadians".
The outlet is operating without an adequate filter or disinfection
system, and without proper testing results, according to Olivestri.
Devil water?
FOE photo.
"Friends of the Earth has worked with citizens across Canada and the United States to express our concerns over this water conflict," Ms. Olivestri proclaimed. "We have looked for the necessary means to resolve it to mutual satisfaction."
Almost two years ago, a "layered system of environmental safeguards at the Devils Lake outliet and a cooperative approach to monitoring throughout the Red River Basin" was announced.
"We are now calling you, the governments of Canada and the United States, to account for those committments," Ms. Olivestri added, "in particular 1) to make public the first year of IJC testing results, and 2) to report on installation of the advanced filter or disinfection system."
At this point, the public is unaware of any action on the ground to replace the dump truck full of gravel (the so called filter) that is supposed to protect Lake Winnipeg from foreign organisms. Friends of the Earth is urging with this open letter the governments to issue the required orders to turn off immediately and until the sophisticated filter is in place.
For more information on this issue and the current impacts on Lake Winnipeg, check out the Friends of the Earth Canada website, www.foecanada.org.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 June 2007 )
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