What is Plan 2014 and How Did It Get Such a Bad Rap?

The International Joint Commission (IJC) appointed Mr. David to the U.S. Section of the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board in January of 2017. He continues to serve as a member on the board, which is responsible for ensuring that regulated outflows from Lake Ontario (via the Moses-Saunders Dam) are consistent with the approved plan, known as Plan 2014. He regularly presents to stakeholders, planners, and elected officials on the regulation system, its benefits, and its limitations. He is focused on methods of communicating complex scientific issues and seeking common understanding for a system that requires tradeoffs between diverse groups.  

David is also the director of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environment Division, whose origins came out of a response to pollution from three Superfund hazardous waste sites powered by the Moses-Saunders Dam on the St. Lawrence River. Through the Environment Division, the Tribe has affirmed its sovereign authority to implement its own standards, cleanup, and restoration goals, and assumed key leadership roles to improve tribal resources.

David’s career accomplishments include the 2016 decommission and removal of the 330-foot-long Hogansburg Dam at the center of the tribal territory. The 85-year-old dam was the first impassable barrier to fish in the St. Regis River, a tributary to the St. Lawrence River. Its removal restored natural flows and migratory fish access to over 500 miles of habitat. It is the first removal of a federally licensed dam by a Tribe, as well as the first decommission-removal of a hydroelectric dam in New York State.

In 2017, David received the Environmental Champion Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his dedication and commitment to protecting and enhancing environmental quality. It is the highest recognition bestowed upon an individual in EPA Region 2 for accomplishments and countless hours of dedication, both professionally and personally.

David received a Master of Professional Studies from the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University (2005). He received a B.A. from the University at Buffalo in Environmental Studies (2001).