Cuomo demands more water be released from Lake Ontario, but regulators decline

Steve Orr
Democrat and Chronicle

UPDATE, May 31, 12 noon: Gov. Andrew Cuomo believes the agency that oversees water-level regulation on Lake Ontario has failed repeatedly to release enough water from the lake and to communicate with the public about its actions.

During his visit to the Lake Ontario shoreline in Greece on Monday, Cuomo was critical of the response to the on-going high water crisis.

He said the International Joint Commission, which implements the rules by which the water level is regulated, had committed "a series of blunders" and used "flawed" methodology.

Specifically, Cuomo thinks the IJC should have seen to it that more water was released from the lake during the winter and again in March, before heavy rains began in April, a spokeswoman said late Tuesday afternoon when asked to elaborate.

He also argues that the IJC, a U.S.-Canada treaty organization, failed to properly warn the public about rising levels.

 In a written response to Cuomo's comments, the commission said Tuesday it was wrong of anyone to blame the regulatory plan or the response of the board for what has occurred.

"The devastating flooding and erosion in the United States and Canada could not have been prevented by lake level regulation," the statement said. "No conceivable action this year could have made more than an inch or two of difference on Lake Ontario without increasing downstream flooding by one or more feet, or potentially causing ice jams that would have resulted in even higher Lake Ontario water levels."

More from Cuomo on the IJC can be found in the original story, below.

At the same time Gov. Andrew Cuomo was demanding Monday that more water be released from Lake Ontario, regulators were deciding that it could not be done.

It was like ships passing in the night. 

Cuomo paid a visit to Edgemere Drive in Greece Monday afternoon to pledge support for residents and business owners who are coping with record-high lake periods and the constant threat of floods.

More:Cuomo offers $7 million to help shoreline residents

He also was critical of the International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canada treaty organization that oversees lake-level regulation, and an IJC board that implements those regulations. 

More: U.S. Rep. Chris Collins wants to nix Plan 2014

Water is now being released from the lake at a record-tying 10,200 cubic meters per second.

As the Democrat and Chronicle reported Friday, the board decided at a May 22 meeting that releasing still more would worsen flooding on the St. Lawrence, force commercial ships to halt navigation and possibly damage the turbines in hydroelectric plants.

Flooding at the corner of Lakeside Boulevard and Clearview Avenue, near Bogus Point, in Parma on May 25, 2017.

At one point he referred a decision by the board to cap the amount of water being released from Lake Ontario to a record-tying

Speaking in Greece Monday, Cuomo was critical of that decision. "I don’t buy their current rationale that they can’t lower the lake because they’re going to cause navigational issues for shipping," he said.

More:It'll take months for Lake Ontario to reach normal levels. Here's one reason why.

The 11-member International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board met again Monday via teleconference to consider whether they could justify releasing more water.

The conclusion was no.

"The board decided to keep the outflow the same as last week (on Monday)," said Gail Faveri, the secretary of the board's Canadian section. "Levels downstream were hovering around the level that has caused flooding since May and any increase would cause more home evacuations downstream."

She did not mention protection of commercial shipping as a consideration in the decision. 

The board is obligated to balance the interests of shoreline property owners on Lake Ontario with those along the St. Lawrence, into which the lake drains.

The Montreal area has experienced its worst flooding in decades this spring, and for a time the outflow from Lake Ontario was being minimized to keep things from getting even worse there.

Flooding has eased in some parts of Quebec, allowing the board to release water from the lake at a rate only achieved twice in the last half-century. But Faveri said high water continues to plague residents south and east of Montreal.

During his stop in Greece, Cuomo also was critical of the IJC more generally, saying the commission had committed "a series of blunders" and used "flawed" methodology. It was not clear what he was referring to, and a request to the governor's press office for clarification had yielded nothing by Tuesday afternoon.

In a written response to Cuomo's comments, the commission said Tuesday it was wrong of anyone to blame the regulatory plan or the response of the board for what has occurred.

"The devastating flooding and erosion in the United States and Canada could not have been prevented by lake level regulation," the statement said. "No conceivable action this year could have made more than an inch or two of difference on Lake Ontario without increasing downstream flooding by one or more feet, or potentially causing ice jams that would have resulted in even higher Lake Ontario water levels."

SORR@Gannett.com