Cuomo says black water story stinks
New York governor believes investigators will probe wastewater dump in Niagara River
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he doesn’t believe a Niagara Falls, N.Y., agency’s claims surrounding wastewater discharges that turned the water near the base of Niagara’s falls black at the height of a busy tourist weekend.
A day after directing state regulators to investigate, the Democrat told reporters Tuesday he believes there will be a criminal investigation because of the potential seriousness of the situation.
He said he doesn’t believe the Niagara Falls Water Board’s statement the discharge from the local wastewater treatment plant was within permitted limits.
Cuomo said Monday the expulsion of foul-smelling, black water into the Niagara River on Saturday may have violated state water quality standards.
The city’s water board said it was part of routine maintenance.
The water board did not return an interview request Tuesday.
The dark water enveloped the dock for the popular Maid of the Mist tour boats on the American side of the falls.
The murky water had dissipated by Sunday morning.
Cuomo said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting the investigation. Violations carry a maximum penalty of US$37,500 each.
Both the Maid of the Mist and Rainbow Air took to social media Saturday to express their concerns, posting a video and photograph of the dark, sludgy-looking water.
“Why the smelly black discharge into Niagara River on very busy tourist weekend?” the Maid of the Mist posted on Twitter and asking the Niagara Falls, N.Y., mayor for answers.
Video taken from Rainbow Air’s helicopter showed black-coloured water along the U.S. shoreline below the falls.
Kevin Keenan, of the Maid of the Mist, again Tuesday referred media inquiries to the City of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
A person in the office of Niagara Falls, N.Y., Mayor Paul Dyster said he was out of town, and was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
An interview request to the DEC was not returned Tuesday.
Niagara Falls Water Board executive director Rolfe Porter said in a news release Sunday the dark water contained accumulated solids and carbon residue within permitted limits and did not include any organic oils or solvents. The release described the odour as “normal sewer water discharge smell.”
“We apologize for causing alarm to residents, tourists and others,” Porter said.
“NFWB remains committed to the highest quality of waste water treatment and the treatment and distribution of drinking water consistent with public health laws and regulations, the public enjoyment of natural resources, the protection of fish and wildlife and the economic development of the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y.”
Lindsay Davidson, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Environment, said neither the local office in St. Catharines nor the Spills Action Centre received any calls about the incident.
“The ministry does not have any involvement as the incident occurred in the U.S.A.,” he said in an email.
Niagara Parks Commission chairwoman Janice Thomson said the agency is looking into the incident to determine what measures are in place with stakeholders regarding future drainage occurrences.
Thomson said although the incident occurred on the American side, the river is a shared resource, so officials on the Canadian side are equally concerned.
“We should all be concerned about it from an environmental perspective,” she said.
“This is our natural resource, it is a shared river, and from that perspective there is a need to examine what happened, and find out what’s the protocol, how could something like this happen, and what exactly was it?”
Thomson said Niagara Parks was not advised the discharge was going to happen.
“We’re just doing some research right now on what the protocols are around those things — what the understandings are, but from an environmental perspective, there’s certainly a concern, and also from an image perspective, for all of us, not just for tourism, but for all of us, that image was not nice to see.”
Niagara Falls (Ont.)Tourism chairman Wayne Thomson said the discharge into the river was “totally unacceptable.”
He said he had “all kinds of people” in the tourism industry calling him, and describing the incident as a “disaster.”
Thomson said although the incident happened in Niagara Falls, N.Y., many people who consume the news might not distinguish between the two sides.
“Not everybody is aware of the Maid of the Mist and the Hornblower changes. They could conceive that that was Niagara Falls, period,” he said.
“I really hope that this is fully investigated, and that this is not something that is a common practice, or something that they think is acceptable.”
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said he reached out to Dyster to discuss the situation. Diodati said he also checked with water expects on the Canadian side.
He said he was assured drinking water is drawn from the upper river, not from the lower river where the incident occurred.
“If it was of any kind of danger or concern, we would have been notified by the Ministry of Environment.”
Diodati said he was disappointed with the lack of communication.
He said neither the municipality nor Niagara Region were notified of the discharge.
“I think the minute it happened … we should have been notified on the Canadian side to address questions and to address concerns. It’s a shared resource … and I think that would have been a good idea.”