Over 500 St. Lawrence River community residents attended the Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) Open Houses last week to voice concerns about a possible new facility in Blind Bay and other locations. Third-party organizations informed attendees about what CBP is considering when selecting a site, including Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. In CBP’s original biological survey, they determined that building, “is not likely to adversely affect,” the ecology of Blind Bay. No CBP officers or direct representatives were present at the meeting.
Several attendees, including Jake Tibbles of the Thousand Island Land Trust, spoke against the proposal. Tibbles explicitly said, “if the facility must have water access to ensure the safe transport of detainees then provide the community with the necessary statistics and case studies that support this operational requirement. In addition, providing a detailed explanation as to why the majority of CBP facilities are located off and/or away from waterfront areas. ” Not one person voiced support for a new CBP facility during the meeting.
We’re so proud and grateful to everyone who came to the meetings. Thank you for showing CBP that Blind Bay is not an option! We have until July 12th to submit written comments to CBP.
CBP has yet to comment on the Open House meetings.
Learn more by watching 7 News Watertown coverage.