The International Joint Commission (IJC) is planning to host a one-hour virtual information session on transboundary water pollution in the Kootenay watershed.
The info session will include opening remarks by the IJC commissioners and a short presentation from staff, followed by a question-and-answer period. The event will explain the IJC’s role in the reference to the transboundary water pollution issue, actions taken to date by the IJC and and outline of the next steps.
The info session will be held on Thursday, May 30th at 6:30 pm MDT (5:30 pm PDT). Anyone interested in participating is asked to register at elk@ijc.org.
READ: Canada, U.S. agree to study transboundary water pollution concerns in Kootenay watershed
In March, the Canadian federal government agreed to a reference to the IJC that would study water pollution concerns in the Kootenay watershed — a measure that the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation, environmental groups and the U.S. state department have been seeking for years.
The IJC is guided by the Boundary Waters Act, a treaty signed between Canada and the United States in 1909, which provides a framework for preventing and resolving transboundary water issues between the two countries.
Specifically, Canada and the United States asked the IJC to create a study board for two years that will convene experts and knowledge holders to coordinate transparent transboundary data collection and knowledge sharing.
The IJC also recently met with all government stakeholders as part of an effort to determine terms of reference that would establish a governance body to oversee the process as well as develop and report on an non-binding action plan.
The Elk River rises in the Canadian Rockies and flows into the United States at Lake Koocanusa (also known as Koocanusa Reservoir), an impoundment of the Kootenay/Kootenai River.
It flows through the states of Montana and Idaho, and through transboundary Ktunaxa lands, on its way back to British Columbia, where it empties into the Columbia River.