Schumer Calls On EPA To Stop Montreal Sewage Dumping

Senator Charles Schumer wants federal agencies to work with Canadian officials to stop the city of Montreal’s plan to dump of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River.

With tourism being such a major part of the Clayton economy, many are anxious that dumping the raw sewage will discourage people from visiting the area.

Even though Montreal is downstream from USA waters, Schumer said the sewage could impact the river’s overall water quality, surrounding ecosystems, riverside communities and tourism.

In a press released obtained by Global News, the senator is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intervene and “stop the City of Montreal’s plan”.

Schumer, D-N.Y., became the highest-ranking USA government official to become involved in the issue, which has raised concerns in St. Lawrence County over the past two weeks.

“Clean water is arguably our planet’s most precious and limited resource”, Mr. Collins said.

The environmental group Save the River says there must be a way for the city to dispose of its sewage that’s not potentially harmful to human health and wildlife.

Save the River has created a crowd sourcing site where anyone can share ideas on what Montreal should do with all that waste.

Lee Willbanks, who is executive director of the Clayton-based Save the River applauded Schumer’s efforts.

Montreal has already twice dumped billions of litres of sewage into the river: in 2003 and 2007.

“The river is the biggest symbol of the city and the Quebec region, and that is why I am most concerned about that”, said Nonnenmacher.

“We have a good relationship to Canada”.

He said both the USA and Canada have made sewage discharges into the Great Lakes basin in the past, but the sheer size of the discharge planned by Montreal officials is staggering.

“If this plan is allowed to move forward, this sewage could severely impact the river ecosystem and wildlife, and the St. Lawrence County tourism industry on which the North Country depends”, Schumer said.

And Victoria, B.C. pours approximately 130 million litres of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean every day as it doesn’t have a sewage treatment facility. “Assuming that all of the sewage would go downstream, which is not clear when you have that large of an amount of sewage, it will affect the birds, it will affect the fish that rely on the waterway, and that could cause real problems for the St. Lawrence as it goes by the United States border”. This is why it is critical that we immediately begin to work with our Canadian partners in order to find another way to address this untreated sewage, and to protect a lovely, shared waterway that will provide ecological and economic benefits for years to come. The work is expected to begin on October 18, but has yet to receive approval from Environment Canada.