Introduction

The 2004 Progress Report, prepared by the bilateral Air Quality Committee, is the seventh biennial report compiled under the 1991 United States-Canada Air Quality Agreement. While building upon previous progress reports, this report reviews key actions taken by the United States and Canada in the last two years to address transboundary air pollution under the Agreement. It also covers each country's progress in achieving the requirements of Annex 1 - the Acid Rain Annex. In addition, this report specifically focuses on actions taken by each country to meet new requirements under Annex 3 - the Ozone Annex.

To prepare the 2004 Progress Report, the Air Quality Committee took into account public comments it received through the International Joint Commission (IJC) regarding the 2002 Progress Report. (A summary of nearly 40 comments received can be found on the IJC Web site at www.ijc.org/php/publications/html/airquality/index.html). In addition, the report reflects decisions made at the June 2004 meeting in Canada to review progress in implementing the Ozone Annex. In preparation for the June meeting, in-country stakeholder meetings were held in March and May 2004.

Section 3 of this document addresses the joint report, Transboundary Transport, Trends in, and Analysis of Fine Inhalable Particles in the Transboundary Region. This technical report on particulate matter is the product of a scientific collaboration between the United States and Canada and is being used for decisionmaking on future updates to the Air Quality Agreement. It is just one example of the ways in which both countries are working together to further address their common air quality goals.