International Joint Commission Update Regarding the Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Reference

Press Release

November 19, 2024

Ottawa, Ontario/Washington, D.C. – Further to the Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Reference submitted to the International Joint Commission (IJC) in March 2024, the IJC is pleased to note the official Terms of Reference and the appointment of members by governments to the Governance Body of the Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Water Pollution Study.

The 18-member Governance Body serves as the governments’ collaborative forum to ensure more timely action to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the watershed in order to protect the people and species that depend on the river system.

“This is an important step for all those working to address the impacts of transboundary water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed,” said IJC Canadian Co-chair Pierre Baril. “Efforts from across the watershed during the past decade, including by governments, have led to this important milestone.”

The Governance Body is one of two entities struck to undertake the work of the Referenceprovided to the IJC by the governments of Canada and the United States and developed in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation. There is also an independent Study Board, convened by the IJC, that is tasked with studying the impacts of water pollution in the Kootenai/y watershed.

With the approval of the Terms of Reference and appointment of members for the Governance Body, as well as the establishment of the Study Board, the foundational pieces of the March 2024 Reference to the IJC are now in place.  The Reference represents a historic moment in the history of US-Canada transboundary relations.

“With members now appointed by their respective governments, the Governance Body is now well-placed to undertake the work outlined in the Reference,” added IJC US Co-chair Gerald Acker. “The IJC looks forward to providing secretariat support to the Governance Body over the next two years.”

The Elk-Kootenai/y Reference from governments stipulates that the Governance Body will:

1. review reports and recommendations from the Study Board;
2. identify and recommend actions and resources needed to fill priority data, monitoring, research and reporting needs;
3. identify complementary and non-duplicative opportunities, supported by science and Indigenous knowledge, to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution and protect the people and species in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed;
4. develop an action plan to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the Kootenai/y watershed in order to protect the people and species that depend on this vital river system; and
5. report on progress toward implementing these objectives.

Material associated with the Governance Body’s work, such as meeting minutes, agendas and reports, will be made publicly available on the Governance Body’s website.

Quick Facts

• The Governance Body is an 18-member group of government officials from the six named governments in the March 2024 Reference, including the governments of Canada, the United States, the Ktunaxa Nation, the Province of British Columbia, the State of Montana, and the State of Idaho. The Ktunaxa Nation is comprised of two Tribes (Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) and four First Nation governments (ʔa·kisq̓nuk, ʔaq̓am, Yaqan nuʔkiy, Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡiʾit)
• The IJC is an independent body established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to help the governments of Canada and the United States prevent and resolve disputes over use of the waters shared by the two countries.
• The Elk River rises in the Canadian Rockies and flows into the United States at Lake Koocanusa (also known as Koocanusa Reservoir), an impoundment of the Kootenay/Kootenai River. It then flows through the states of Montana and Idaho, and through transboundary Ktunaxa lands, on its way back to the province of British Columbia, where it empties into the Columbia River.

Contact:
Cara Prest
Canadian Section
Cara.Prest@IJC.org
613-293-7226

Ed Virden
US Section
Edward.Virden@IJC.org
202-372-7990

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