Canadians are such nice folks, thoughtful, polite, good hockey players to boot. So how come they can be, at least once they go into government work, such annoying neighbors?

The failure of either Ottawa or Saint John to inform Washington or Augusta of the proposed development of a granite quarry on the New Brunswick side of the St. Croix River is improper at best and illegal at worst, a potential violation of a treaty that has stood since 1909.

The quarry at Bayside, one of those public-private arrangements so common in Canada, has been in the planning for about three years and the first rock is due to be crushed and shipped from the port there in a month or so. Yet, despite long-expressed concerns from both banks of the river about noise, air and water pollution, official Canada never bothered to notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of the proposal.

Instead, EPA learned of the project only a few weeks ago through Maine Rep. John Baldacci and the New Brunswick MP Greg Thompson. Both have heard plenty about it from their constituents, both have reminded Ottawa of the 88-year-old boundary treaty requiring one country inform and consult the other if a planned project could affect the environment across the border.

The quarry would have an estimated life of 40 years. Four decades of noisy blasting, digging, and loading, of dust in the air, of sludgy runoff seeping toward the river all adds up to a significant environmental impact. The proposed mitigation measures–sporadic, low-intensity blasting, dust containment systems, runoff-collection ponds–may be adequate, but that should be proven on both sides of the river.

The EPA last week asked Canadian federal and provincial environmental agencies to halt the project until a binational review can be conducted, but has yet to receive an answer.

The failure of official Canada to inform the United States of the project is not merely disturbing. It’s also hypocritical, considering the way Ottawa handled the blockade of an American ferry by Canadian fishing boats in British Columbia this summer during a dispute over salmon fishing.

Prime Minister Jean Cretien, who came out of the fight with a well-earned black eye for the excuse-making he did on behalf of the ferry pirates, rationalized the criminal act by observing that salmon carry no passports and observe no national boundaries. Neither, Mr. Prime Minister, do noise, dust and sludge.

It’s possible that this oversight isn’t an oversight at all. Canada is struggling to reduce its bloated national debt, a major issue in the recent election Chretien nearly lost. One way to do so is to privatize that which is now publically owned, such as the port of Bayside, and Chretien plans to introduce in the next session of Parliament a port privatization bill. The quarry developer (an American company, ironically) says fast approval of the quarry plan is inextricably tied to his interest in purchasing the cargo terminal. Canada is wise to balance its checkbook, but not at the cost of a longstanding international treaty.

If Canada does not heed EPA’s request for a more thorough study of the project, the United States could ask the International Joint Commission to step in and lay down the international law. That would be a shame. This, so far, is a minor dispute between neighbors that can be settled with a handshake over the fence. There’s no need to call the cops.