Public Comments – Decommissioning of the Milltown Generating Station, St. Croix River

The International Joint Commission (IJC) is seeking public comments related to the decommissioning of the Milltown Generating Station and associated removal of the Milltown dam.

The IJC’s International St. Croix River Watershed Board helps to prevent and resolve disputes over the boundary waters of the St. Croix River, monitors the ecological health of these waters, and ensures that four dams—including the Milltown dam—comply with the IJC’s Orders of Approval. The dam associated with the Milltown Generating Station has been subject to IJC conditions of operation since 1934, when the IJC issued an Order of Approval for its reconstruction.

NB Power, the owner and operator of the Milltown dam, has undertaken community consultations and impacts assessments on the decommissioning of the Milltown Generating Station since 2019, and is planning to begin decommissioning activities in summer 2022. If the decommissioning moves forward, the IJC may terminate its 1934 Order of Approval concerning the Milltown dam.  

Whenever the IJC is considering a decision regarding a dam or other structure in a river or on a lake, it seeks public input in accordance with the Boundary Waters Treaty. In this case, the IJC’s goal is to ensure that potential effects on interested parties are identified and understood by seeking public comments on:

• The potential termination of the IJC’s 1934 Order of Approval associated with the Milltown dam.

The public comment period is open from June 2 to June 15, 2022.

Background

The precursor to the existing International St. Croix River Watershed Board, the International St. Croix River Board of Control, was established in 1915 to monitor compliance with the requirements of the IJC’s Orders of Approval relating to the construction, operation and maintenance of structures affecting water levels and flows in the St. Croix River. Today, this includes IJC Orders of Approval for Forest City, Vanceboro, Grand Falls, and Milltown dams.

In 1934, the IJC issued an Order of Approval relating to the construction of a concrete dam across the St. Croix River from Milltown, New Brunswick, to Milltown, Maine, to replace the original wooden structure destroyed by a fire in 1924.

The IJC’s Order specifies a maximum forebay water elevation, requires sufficient river flow through sluiceways during times of flood and requires that the International St. Croix River Watershed Board supervise dam operations insofar as is necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Order.

In addition to ensuring that dam operations comply with IJC Orders of Approval, the International St. Croix River Watershed Board reports on the ecological health of these waters, and engages with local stakeholders.

NB Power owns and operates the Milltown Generating Station and, in 2019, notified the IJC and the International St. Croix River Watershed Board of its intention to decommission the Milltown Generating Station and remove the dam.

Since 2019, NB Power conducted multiple engagement sessions with Indigenous communities, stakeholders and the public, completed an Environmental Impact Assessment process, sought permits and approvals from government authorities, and released a project overview.