Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Basin and the IJC's potential role in this management (Clamen, 2013). The
responsibilities of the IJC are, therefore, primarily focused on investigations under
references and long-term management of works pursuant to applications. For the
reference system to work, the parties need to agree - in theory - to abide by the
decision that the independent Commission finds after their investigation. The
recommendations set forth by the IJC are non-binding, however, both governments
typically do follow the recommendations of the IJC (although, in some cases, after
many years have passed).
Important to this topic - and the chapters that follow - is that the BWT (and
the IJC) are based on binational rather than multinational or multilateral purviews.
The premise that the BWT works to ensure sovereignty between two nations -
Canada and the United States - and does not include mechanisms for inclusion of
the numerous Indigenous nations inhabiting these spaces reifies governance
structures that are based on colonial conceptions of space. In Chapter 1 , I began
to explore terms of “what makes a good upstream neighbor”. In that early exam-
ination, an early consideration of “good neighborliness” was being party to the
decision-making process. The BWT's initial considerations do not consider Indi-
genous communities in their framing, thus are not conceived as “neighbors” at all.
The narratives that I present in this volume help to explore how these reframings
and counter-narratives are occurring and the potential for better capacity for
transboundary governance institutions.
Columbia River Treaty - widening the process
That said, this limited framework is under scrutiny. At the time of writing, the
Columbia River Treaty (CRT) is under renegotiation. The Columbia River Treaty
regulates the largest transboundary hydropower system in North America along
the Columbia River, flowing from the western province of British Columbia,
through the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon and through hundreds
of Indigenous communities that have inhabited the basin continuously for at least
the past 15,000 years. The Treaty has the potential to expire in 2024, if the signa-
tories - Canada and the United States - give notice of termination after September
2014. Renegotiation of the Treaty has raised grievances related to lack of protection
for the ecosystem (particularly the salmon habitat, which was decimated with the
construction of the dams), inequitable cost-share between the parties, and lack of
renegotiation of Indigenous rights.
The renegotiation process, to date, has proved to be far more inclusive than
the original, narrowly defined Treaty of 1964. First Nations and Tribal governments
have been at the table with the regional actors during discussions. The conversations
have widened from the original narrow scope of power and flood control, to cultural
and environmental considerations. Whether the federal governments agree with
the recommendations forwarded on to them by the regional actors is yet to be
seen, but the early signs suggest greater inclusion.
In addition, in the Columbia River Basin, a team of regional actors led by the
NGO Columbia Basin Trust has actively been working to solicit input from people
 
 
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