New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants an investigation into black water that fouled U.S. tours of the area around Niagara Falls on Saturday.
The black, smelly water surrounded a dock where Maid of the Mist tours were taking place on Saturday, CBC News reported. The water had dissipated by Sunday.
In an announcement, Cuomo said he had directed state regulators to look into the wastewater discharges responsible for the black water, CBC reported. Cuomo thinks the City of Niagara Falls may have committed violations of water quality standards when a local water treatment plant dumped water containing sewage into the river in preparation for an upgrade to one of its basins.
The Niagara Falls Water Board said it gave approval for the Waste Water Treatment Plant to flush the basin. “The blackish water contained some accumulated solids and carbon residue within permitted limits and did not include any organic type oils or solvents,” the board’s statement read, according to Fox News.
State officials reported that the water board had the proper permits, but businesses said the timing of the release on a busy tourist weekend was not ideal, Fox News reported. Maid of the Mist tweeted “Why the smelly black discharge into Niagara River on very busy tourist weekend?”
Cuomo also tweeted about the incident.
His followers were skeptical that action would be taken.