Call for action and answers over Niagara Falls discharge
Several US lawmakers want the board that runs Niagara Falls’ wastewater treatment plant to resign after a sewage- smelling discharge blackened the water near the base of the falls during a busy tourist weekend.
Members of the Niagara County Legislature’s Republican majority said yesterday they also want the New York attorney general, county district attorney and the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate for possible criminal charges. An investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation already is under way.
The legislators complained they have received little information about an incident that had the potential to damage the county’s US$ 827 milliona- year ($ 1.1b) tourism industry.
“Residents deserve to know how this happened, why this happened and exactly what this disgusting discharge was,” Niagara County legislator Rebecca Wydysh said. “We also need to be assured that it will never happen again.”
The Niagara Falls Water Board has said the discharge on Sunday occurred during routine maintenance of a sedimentation basin and contained permitted amounts of accumulated solids and carbon residue. It has apologised for alarming residents and tourists.
Board Chairman Dan O’Callaghan said “possible human error or a possible mechanical malfunction” may have occurred.
“The last time [ Niagara Falls] got this much attention, Nik Wallenda was walking across a tightrope, and that had a massive positive economic impact on the region,” legislature majority leader Randy Bradt said. “We can only imagine the damage done to tourism- related businesses due to this mismanagement by the water board.”
The Department of Environmental Conservation has said the discharge, which enveloped the dock of the popular Maid of the Mist tour boats, violated state water quality standards by changing the colour and odour of the Niagara River. Additional findings have not yet been released.
US Congressman Brian Higgins has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether the release violated the federal Clean Water Act, Boundary Waters Treaty or other international agreements. The river and falls straddle the USCanadian border.
Canadian authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the Department of Environmental Conservation investigation would encompass both state and federal interests.