In this June 11, 2010 file photo, tourists ride the Maid of the Mist tour boat at the base of the American Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Local lawmakers are asking for a criminal investigation into the discharge of wastewater that turned the water below Niagara Falls black. The Niagara County Legislature passed resolutions Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 that request investigations by the New York state attorney general, the Niagara County district attorney and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. (AP Photo/David Duprey, File)
The public agency that was responsible for black, smelly water being discharged into water below Niagara Falls says it's hired an engineering firm to evaluate the discharge.
The Niagara Falls Water Board said in a statement released Monday that it's retained Los Angeles-based AECOM to analyze details leading to the July 29 discharge of black water from the public authority's wastewater plant.
The discharge turned the Niagara River near the base of the falls black on a sunny day when the area was crowded with tourists. Media coverage showed aerial images of the inky discharge clouding the American side of the river bank.
State officials are investigating what led to the discharge, while Niagara County lawmakers are seeking a criminal investigation by several agencies.
In this July 29, 2017 file photo provided by Rainbow Air INC., black-colored wastewater treatment discharge is released into water below Niagara Falls, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Local lawmakers are asking for a criminal investigation into the discharge of wastewater that turned the water below Niagara Falls black. The Niagara County Legislature passed resolutions Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 that request investigations by the New York state attorney general, the Niagara County district attorney and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. (Patrick J. Proctor/Rainbow Air INC. via AP)
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