Number: 1987-15
WHEREAS, the Souris River is an important transboundary natural resource, rising in Saskatchewan, flowing for 358 miles in North Dakota, and then turning northward into Manitoba; and
WHEREAS, the Saskatchewan Power Corporation plans to build Alameda Dam on Moose Mountain Creek and Rafferty Dam on the Souris River to provide cooling water for its proposed Shand Thermal electric generating station; and
WHEREAS, the United States Government, the State of North Dakota, and the City of Minot, North Dakota have been asked to contribute $41 million (U.S.) of the cost of the Canadian dams because they are expected to reduce downstream flood damages; and
WHEREAS, the Rafferty Dam would flood 18 sections of farm and grazing land, Dr. Main Prize Regional Park, the home of 1200 white-tailed deer, other camping and recreational facilities, and the Lutheran Bible Camp, and would encourage drainage of wetlands in Saskatchewan; and
WHEREAS, the expected 25% evaporation rate from the Rafferty reservoir would alter water deliveries to the Upper Souris and J. C. Salyer National Wildlife Refuges in North Dakota and reduce water flows in the Souris River to both North Dakota and Manitoba below those required by international agreement in 1952; and
WHEREAS, the region has a surplus of electric generating capacity, especially in North Dakota and Manitoba;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and the Canadian Wildlife Federation in joint annual meeting assembled March 19-22, 1987, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, recommend that the three environmental impact studies now being prepared by the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, the Souris Basin Development Authority, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers be combined; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the terms of reference of the combined study be expanded to include the total economic and environmental effects of the proposed power plant and dams upon the entire Souris River Basin, and that this combined study formulate and evaluate all reasonable alternatives to reduce flooding, provide electric energy, and enhance the fish and wildlife resources and the diversity of habitat.