Stupak Pushes Canada, U.S. Agencies on Sugar Island Sewage Issue

Stupak Pushes Canada, U.S. Agencies on Sugar Island Sewage Issue

- Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) said this week he has cast a wide net in seeking solutions to the problem of Canadian sewage being dumped into St. Marys River and washing up on Sugar Island. According to Sugar Island residents and public health officials, a sewage treatment plant on the Canadian side of Sault Ste. Marie recently discharged what appears to be untreated sewage into the St. Marys River.

"Tests for E. coli have gone off the charts, exceeding the maximum 2419.6 Colony Forming Units per 100 milliliters in some tests. The standard for closing a beach is only 300 Colony Forming Units," said Stupak. "The Canadians need to move quickly to stop the stream of sewage into the St. Marys."

Stupak said that he met in person this week with officials from the Canadian Embassy to press for immediate resolution of the issue and has been in phone contact with several Canadian elected officials in Ontario.

"I delivered loud and clear the message that this needs to be resolved," Stupak said. "I provided the embassy with photographs demonstrating just how bad the problem is and my staff is following up aggressively."

Stupak said that because the river is considered international waters, it is more difficult to regulate.

"Because this is an international issue, the United States and its agencies do not have regulatory authority over the Canadian treatment plant," Stupak said. "However, I will continue working with the appropriate American agencies to document the problem and pressing the Canadian government to resolve the issue."

Stupak said his office has been in contact with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Chippewa County Health Department to discuss the problem. He also said he is requesting that both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Joint Commission (IJC) open investigations into the matter. The IJC is an independent binational organization established to help prevent and resolve disputes relating to the use and quality of boundary waters and to advise Canada and the United States on related questions.

Stupak's office was also reaching out to the U.S. Coast Guard to determine whether the Guard can play a role in clean up. Stupak said he has also weighed in with the State Department to ask that they engage Canada on the issue.

"I have been in frequent contact with Representative Gary McDowell who has taken a leadership role on this issue and I will stay in close consultation with him," Stupak said. "It's important that we leverage all possible state, federal and international resources to solving this problem quickly."

Stupak has a long history of working on water quality and environmental issues. In 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation authored by Stupak that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from loosening its rules to allow partially treated human sewage from being dumped into waterways.

"In this case, we are not even talking about partially treated sewage," Stupak said of the St. Marys River. "This case is so egregious because it appears to be raw, unfiltered sewage in what should be one of our most pristine bodies of water."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/mi01_stupak/StMarysRiver070706.html