Call for review of the Devil's Lake water diversion project by the International Joint Commission

The Devils Lake water diversion project is scheduled to open on July 1st, 2005. When the outlet opens, water will flow from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River in North Dakota, which joins the Red River and flows into Hudson Bay. The environmental impact of opening the Devils Lake Outlet is poorly studied, and could be devastating to downstream ecosystems in both the United States and Canada.

The International Joint Commission (IJC) is an independent organization charged with administering the Boundary Waters Treaty which has allowed the resolution of numerous international disputes over shared water resources for nearly a hundred years. During the years of debate over the construction of this outlet, North Dakota has refused to allow review of the Devils Lake project by the IJC. By going ahead with the Devils Lake Outlet without proper assessment, North Dakota is endangering not only the downstream environments of North Dakota and Manitoba but also a long-standing, internationally acclaimed environmental agreement.

We, citizens of both the United States of America and Canada, call on President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Paul Martin to agree to submit the Devils Lake water diversion project for review by the International Joint Commission, as well as to put a hold on all further construction or opening of the outlet while discussions are ongoing.