Mobilizing theory - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 41

The St. John River and Canada-U.S. transboundary water
issues
The international nature of the St. John River has elicited federal attention for
quite some time. As early as 1918, a report from the International Joint
Commission indicated that the pollution - related to potato starch factories
- “. . . exists on one side of the Boundary line which is an 'injury' within the
meaning of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to health and property to the
other”. The pollution was referred to as: “transboundary in its effect and
extension” (IJC, 1977).
In the early 1960s, Maine and New Brunswick, independently of each other,
initiated detailed basin-wide planning studies to maximize resources and to
minimize water quality issues. In 1969, Maine created the Northern Maine
Regional Planning Commission, and New Brunswick, in 1970, created the St.
John River Basin Board. Both agreements had a strong mandate of working
cooperatively between countries.
Also during this time, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) created
the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) as a way to
expand its purview and to address economic, social, and technical issues
incurred by its member countries. Inland water pollution was one of the issues
the CCMS wished to address and, in 1972, Canada and the United States
agreed to work together in a “demonstration of international cooperation
in resolving pollution problems in international streams” (IJC, 1977, p. 11) . 2
During this time, the two federal governments informed the International Joint
Commission of their agreement to run a joint water quality study of the St.
John River, to be carried out by the Canada-U.S. Committee.
The IJC study reported that water quality was compromised in the river
due to potato starch, pulp mills, and municipal waste. As a result, the two
federal governments agreed to undertake actions to mediate the pollution
sources and to jointly monitor the water quality of the St. John River at the
site of the river.
Several decades later, the neighboring St. Croix River, which also crosses
between Maine and New Brunswick, became the first International Watershed
Board, designed to “proactively assist the Commission in preventing and
resolving disputes regarding the boundary waters of the St. Croix River” and
seek to find “local solutions” for the international waterways. A key debate
for this region is whether or not alewives should have free passage into the
waterways, which, after heated debate, has just been supported by state,
provincial, tribal, and federal entities.