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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 145 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45311-45312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19113]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 7537]

International Joint Commission Public Hearings on Binational 
Management of Lake of the Woods and Rainy River Watershed

    The International Joint Commission (IJC) will hold public hearings 
on the final report of its International Lake of the Woods and Rainy 
River Watershed Task Force (Task Force).
    The Task Force report to the IJC makes recommendations on how the 
United States and Canada could work together to better manage water 
quality, water quantity, and related issues in the international Lake 
of the Woods and Rainy River watershed.
    Task Force recommendations address five themes to improve bi-
national governance for priority issues in the watershed. These include 
a summit convened by the IJC to encourage the development of a 
watershed vision, common goals and objectives; combining two existing 
IJC Boards into a single International Watershed Board with a water 
quality mandate encompassing all boundary waters in the watershed 
(including Lake of the Woods); increased support for the existing 
International Multi-Agency Arrangement's work on water quality science 
efforts in the watershed; increased local participation in watershed 
management governance; and a review of water-level regulation on Lake 
of the Woods.
    In June 2010, the Governments of Canada and the United States asked 
the IJC to examine and make recommendations regarding the bi-national 
management of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River system and the 
IJC's potential role in this management. The IJC established the Task 
Force to review the ways that Canada and the United States work 
together to manage water quality, water quantity and related issues in 
the watershed, to identify gaps in the current approach, to identify 
key existing or emerging issues that require attention, and to 
recommend any new or adjusted governance mechanisms that would help 
address the identified issues.
    The submission of the report marks the completion of the Task 
Force's work. The IJC is now inviting public comment on the report. 
Comments will be received at public meetings held August 15-20 at the 
following dates and times:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Dates                       City             Meeting location                Central time
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 15...............  Fort Frances, ON...  La Place Rendez Vous,     7 p.m.
                                                        1201 Idlywild Dr.
Tuesday, August 16..............  International        Rainy River Community     6 p.m.--Board Meeting; 7:30
                                   Falls, MN.           College Theatre, 1501     p.m.--IJC Hearing.
                                                        Highway 71.
Wednesday, August 17............  Cook, MN...........  Cook Ranger Station, 320  7 p.m.
                                                        North Highway 53 55723.

[[Page 45312]]

 
Thursday, August 18.............  Baudette, MN.......  Historic Rex--Hotel       7 p.m.
                                                        Event Room, 103 First
                                                        Street, NW 56623.
Friday, August 19...............  Stratton, ON.......  Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung      1 p.m.
                                                        (Rainy River First
                                                        Nations Interpretation
                                                        Center) Shaw Rd.
Saturday, August 20.............  Kenora, ON.........  Lakeside Inn (Best        9 a.m.
                                                        Western), 470 First
                                                        Avenue S.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The International Joint Commission will also accept written 
comments on the Task Force report via its IJC Web site (http://www.ijc.org), e-mail or regular mail at the addresses below until 
August 31, 2011.

Secretary, U.S. Section, International Joint Commission, 2000 L Street, 
NW., Suite 615, Washington, DC 20440, Fax: 202-632-2006, E-mail: 
commission@washington.ijc.org.
Secretary, Canadian Section, International Joint Commission, 234 
Laurier Ave. West, 22nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1P 6K6, Fax: 613-993-5583, 
E-mail: commission@ottawa.ijc.org.

    Informed by the report and comments from the public, the IJC will 
make its recommendations to the U.S. and Canadian Governments by 
December 2011.
    The International Joint Commission prevents and resolves disputes 
between the United States of America and Canada under the 1909 Boundary 
Waters Treaty and pursues the common good of both countries as an 
independent and objective advisor to the two governments.

    Dated: July 22, 2011.
Charles A. Lawson,
Secretary, U.S. Section, International Joint Commission, Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 2011-19113 Filed 7-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-14-P
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