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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - While some are calling for a royal commission or court action to preserve the quality and flow of water in the Mackenzie River basin, Michael Miltenberger says a way already exists to deal with the issue.

The minister of Environment and Natural Resources said that vehicle is the Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Water Master Agreement, signed in 1997 by the federal government, the NWT, Yukon, Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.

"We have a vehicle," Miltenberger said. "Take it out of the garage, tune it up, give it some fuel and put it on the road."

Bilateral agreements with Alberta and British Columbia would be the GNWT's preferred course of action, he said.

The minister explained the existing agreement calls for bilateral deals to be signed by the signatories.

So far, the NWT has signed only one with Yukon.

Miltenberger said Alberta has agreed to negotiations and there have been preliminary discussions, but no formal talks have yet begun.

It is hoped a deal can be concluded by next year or 2010.

"It's quite a complicated undertaking," Miltenberger said.

The minister brought his opinions to a recent water conference in Fort Chipewyan, Alta. He addressed the conference, which was attended by about 300 people, on Aug. 16.

The transboundary agreement deals with broad issues of cumulative impacts across the basin.

Bilateral agreements could be more specific. For example, the existing agreement doesn't refer to ground water and the effects of airborne pollution on water.

Concern about water has grown in recent years, particularly with the continuing development of the oilsands near Fort McMurray, Alta.

However, Miltenberger said there are other issues besides the oilsands, including pulp mills, mines, a proposal for a nuclear power plant near Peace River and the proposed hydroelectric facility on the Slave River.

The minister also wants to see governments put more resources into the Mackenzie River Basin Board, which was established under the 1997 agreement.

The Fort Smith-based board only has a budget of $250,000 and a staff of two.

"The board's ability to do all the work and be efficient is very limited," Miltenberger said.

In its recent budget, the GNWT raised its contribution to the board to $40,000 from $25,000.

Miltenberger will suggest other signatories raise their contributions when he attends a meeting of environment ministers from across Canada set for October in Whitehorse. He hopes to have a separate meeting with ministers from Western Canada and the North.

Miltenberger noted the GNWT is currently working on a water strategy, which it hopes to have completed by the spring.

"We want to get that nailed down before we go back to the negotiating table," he said.

The Mackenzie River basin, which includes such rivers as the Peace and the Athabasca, covers an area of 1.8 million square kilometres.