Federal lawmakers are proposing new legislation that would allow communities impacted by shoreline flooding along Lake Ontario to take legal actions against the International Joint Commission (IJC).

Introduced Monday by Republican Rep. John Katko (NY-24) and Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), the legislation would remove the IJC's immunity from lawsuits.

"Right now the IJC is immune from lawsuits from homeowners and business owners along the shoreline who have been devastated year after year by their inaction and their incompetence," said Democratic Congressman Anthony Brindisi. 

The legislation is called the IJC Accountability Act. Lawmakers are hoping that with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicting lake levels will reach or exceed previous levels this spring, communities will be able to pursue legal action.  There is no set date on when it will be up for a vote.

The lawmakers made the announcement Monday with shoreline business owners present like the owner of Rudy's in Oswego.

"Yes, I do intend on looking into, not necessarily stepping out on my own, I feel that we need to pool our resources, whether it's through our town and county officials or through individual groups coming together," said Jason Levesey, the owner of Rudy’s.

Business owners said they're frustrated because it does not seem like the IJC listens to the problems people are having.

"At this point, we cannot rebuild our shoreline," said Levesey. 

Lawmakers are hoping this legislation and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of dredging projects will put pressure on the IJC.

"I really do believe that this legislation will have some bite and if we all take advantage of it and we pool our resources together, hopefully we'll have an impact on the IJC," said Levesey. 

IJC Public Information Officer Frank Bevacqua sent Spectrum News a statement:

"The announcement appears to be based on the false belief that IJC can prevent flooding on Lake Ontario. Our International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board has taken every action to reduce the risk of flooding by directing record-high winter outflows from Lake Ontario. However, nature determines whether or not it will flood, not the IJC, particularly when inflows are extremely high both above and below the Moses-Saunders Dam.

Setting Lake Ontario outflows is a difficult and delicate balancing act that can affect shoreline property and commercial interests both upstream and downstream. The IJC was granted immunity from lawsuit because the courts and domestic political institutions are not in a position to oversee international waterways. If Lake Ontario communities file a lawsuit, downstream communities and other interests could as well. It would not be possible to manage Lake Ontario outflows in the face of conflicting lawsuits in different jurisdictions."