CANTON, NY (NCPR) – An environmental organization in Clayton is asking to temporarily suspend shipping on the St. Lawrence River.


PAYNE HORNING / WRVO NEWS (FILE PHOTO)
In a letter to the International Joint Commission, the conservation group Save the River said it wants a shipping suspended several days a week this summer to allow more water to go through the Moses Saunders dam near Massena.
“What we are asking them is to consider the riparians. The people on the islands, people on the shores, the businesses on both sides of the river and both sides of the lake,” said John Peach, executive director at Save the River.
Peach says water in the St. Lawrence River is still too high, and shorelines businesses and homes are still flooded. But raising outflows beyond their current level means shipping could become unsafe, because of fast currents.
Peach says the IJC has acknowledged their letter but has not indicated it plans to implement any changes. The group has not heard back from the St. Lawrence Seaway.