Caution: These are draft documents only.
They were used for public comment purposes. Final drafts will be ready
in time for signing and will be posted in the near future.
Harmful Pollutants Annex
to the
Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting
the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem
BETWEEN
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF CANADA (CANADA)
AND
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF ONTARIO (ONTARIO)
WHEREAS the Governor in Council, by Order in Council No. P.C. , dated
the day of , 200 has authorized the Canada Minister(s) to execute and
deliver this Annex on behalf of Her Majesty;
WHEREAS the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by Order in Council No. O.C.
, dated the day of , 200 has authorized the Ontario Minister(s) to execute
and deliver this Annex on behalf of ;
To achieve the Canada-Ontario Agreement's (COA) vision of a healthy,
prosperous and sustainable Great Lakes Basin ecosystem it is necessary
to achieve virtual elimination of persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances
and significant reductions of other harmful pollutants.
Over the years, considerable progress has been made in addressing releases
of harmful pollutants. Efforts by Canada and Ontario, combined with those
of industry, municipalities and basin residents, have successfully reduced
the levels of many substances in the lakes.
For instance, over the past decade significant reductions of persistent
bioacculumative toxic substances have been achieved through regulatory
and voluntary actions. In particular, over 75% reductions have been reported
for dioxins, furans, mercury, alkyl lead and other chemicals. Nevertheless,
additional efforts are required to reach virtual elimination of persistent
bioacculumative toxic substances.
In fact, all of the Great Lakes continue to suffer from chemical and
pathogen related problems. Persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances
are grave concerns because they can threaten fish, wildlife and human
health. Newer threats of an increasing concern include the effect of air
pollution on the ecosystem and the influence of hormone-mimicking chemicals
on fish, wildlife, and human health.
Harmful pollutants are released from a variety of sources, many of them
far from the Great Lakes. For example, more than 50 percent of Ontario's
air pollution, in the form of smog, comes from the United States. Efforts
need to take these factors into account.
The more we learn about harmful pollutants, the more we recognize how
challenging it is to virtually eliminate the last remaining sources. Our
current emphasis is on the development of policies and programs that address
this challenge.
Canada and Ontario have identified three five-year goals that will demonstrate
progress toward the virtual elimination of persistent bioaccumulative
toxic substances and significant reductions of other harmful pollutants.
They are:
Have in place policies and programs to make progress towards virtual
elimination for persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances such as
mercury, dioxins, furans and PCBs;
Reduce other harmful pollutants that have a significant environmental
impact; and,
Have comprehensive knowledge of the sources, movement, fate
and impact of harmful pollutants, including persistent bioaccumulative
toxic substances, for policy and program development purposes.
Canada and Ontario will work with producers and sources
of pollutants towards virtual elimination of persistent bioaccumulative
toxic substances and reductions of other harmful pollutants, using a substance
and/or sector specific approach by achieving:
Result 1
The virtual elimination of high-level Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB).
Canada will:
Amend the federal chlorobiphenyl regulation to require the phase
out of all PCBs in service by December 31, 2008, and prohibit PCB storage
after that date for existing stored material; and,
Amend federal waste export regulation to allow for better control
and tracking of PCB wastes.
Ontario will:
Use regulatory or other measures to destroy all PCBs in storage by
2008.
Result 2
A 85 % reduction in Mercury releases compared to releases in 1988 by
2005 and a 90 % reduction by 2010.
Canada and Ontario will:
Develop standards for mercury emissions from coal-fired plants through
the Canada-Wide Standards (CWS) process;
Develop technical information to guide municipalities in identifying
and reducing sources of mercury discharges to sewer systems;
Develop and implement, with other partners, life cycle management
programs to divert mercury-containing products from the waste stream;
and,
Develop a public education program on mercury for use in schools.
Canada will:
Implement its commitments under the CWS for waste from dental amalgam;
Develop and implement education and outreach programs with manufacturers
to eliminate or reduce the use of mercury in manufactured products;
and,
Provide pollution prevention training for the healthcare sector to
reduce mercury entering the waste stream and municipal sewer systems.
Ontario will:
Implement the CWS for emissions from coal-fired plants; implement
initial actions to support the CWS for incinerations, with the inclusion
of dioxins and furans into the standards; and,
Implement its commitments under the CWS for waste from dental amalgam.
Result 3
A 90 % reduction in the release of dioxins and furans by 2005, compared
to releases in 1988, and reduction of other persistent bioaccumulative
toxic substances.
Canada and Ontario will:
Develop CWS for dioxins and furans from steel manufacturing and iron
sintering; and,
Undertake outreach initiatives, including with municipalities, to
promote environmentally sound waste biosolid utilization and incineration.
Canada will:
Undertake outreach initiatives directed at the steel sector to guide
the implementation of Strategic Options Process environmental codes
of practice and verify reduction progress under the CWS process;
Review the performance of federal solid waste incinerators operating
in Ontario and undertake outreach initiatives to promote compliance
with the CWS for mercury, dioxins and furans;
Provide technical support to develop and demonstrate innovative waste
incineration control technologies; and,
Survey household garbage disposal practices in rural Ontario and determine
the significance of barrel/backyard trash burning as a source of dioxins
and furans, and develop options for addressing the issue.
Ontario will:
Review the performance of existing incinerators against the CWS for
mercury, dioxins and furans, and develop a compliance strategy; and,
Implement the CWS by 2006.
Result 4
Reductions in the use, generation and release of other harmful pollutants.
Canada and Ontario will:
Develop environmental codes of practice in collaboration with sectors
identified under the federal CEPA Strategic Options Process;
Develop programs, including an education and outreach program, to
promote woodstove changeover in the Great Lakes Basin;
Implement the commitments under the Canada-US Air Quality Agreement
Ozone Annex, Anti Smog Action Plan, and Canada-Wide Standards, and establish
a federal-provincial smog coordinating committee to exchange information
in order to develop opportunities for further reductions; and,
Undertake outreach initiatives to promote the implementation of Codes
and Guidelines for reducing releases of benzene and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs).
Canada will:
Regulate on-road vehicles and fuels by actions including:
Enacting regulations to reduce sulphur content in gasoline to
30 parts per million by 2004;
Developing national emission reduction regulations, aligned with
those in the United States, for on-road vehicles, light-duty vehicles
and light-duty trucks, effective the 2004 model year;
Developing codes of practice for heavy-duty vehicle inspection
and maintenance programs in 2001;
Aligning emission control programs for off-road engines with those
in the United States to be effective by the 2004 model year; and,
Enacting new regulations to reduce sulphur in on-road diesel fuel
to 15 parts per million by 2006.
Implement the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding between Environment
Canada and the Canadian Marine Manufacturers Association to introduce
cleaner outboard engines and personal watercraft into the Canadian market
place;
Identify sources of those substances found "toxic" under
the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and undertake outreach initiatives
to promote pollution prevention activities by source sectors/facilities;
and,
Lead the implementation of the Binational Toxics Strategy (BTS).
Ontario will:
Undertake outreach initiatives to influence further reductions in
discharges from Municipal/Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA) sectors
and facilities, and examine and implement new policies and regulations
to manage aqueous industrial discharges and dischargers not currently
captured under MISA;
Accelerate reductions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and VOC emissions to
25% and 45% reduction from 1990 levels by 2005 and 2010 respectively,
from the current commitment to meet this target by 2015;
Quantify reductions in other harmful pollutants that result as a co-benefit
of reduced criteria air contaminants; and,
Implement a public education program linking individual behaviour
to the release of criteria air pollutants.
Result 5
Reductions in the release of harmful pollutants in municipal wastewater
discharges.
Canada and Ontario will:
Consider sewage treatment plant upgrades and combined sewer overflow
issues as priorities for capital assistance through the Canada-Ontario
Infrastructure Program; and,
Research sewage treatment plan processes to optimize technologies
used to treat harmful pollutants.
Canada will:
Develop a comprehensive municipal wastewater strategy as part of a
national water strategy;
Provide technical support to optimize sewage treatment plant processes
in order to improve treatment efficiency;
Provide pollution prevention training and other support to municipal
inspectors and industry sectors;
Undertake outreach initiatives to promote pollution prevention planning
as a municipal sewer use bylaw requirement; and,
Regulate the concentration of hexachlorobenzene in coagulant used
in municipal wastewater treatment to reduce hexachlorobenzene releases
into receiving waters.
Ontario will:
Provide technical advice, information and training to encourage optimization
in the management of municipal wastewater;
Develop a management framework for municipal wastewater;
Develop best practices guidance documents to aid municipalities in
identifying and reducing sources of harmful pollutants and other contaminants
discharged to sewers; and,
Implement outreach activities to promote water conservation as a means
of reducing demands on wastewater treatment facilities and maximizing
treatment efficiency.
Result 6
Voluntary reductions in the release of harmful pollutants by targeted
stakeholders and sectors.
Canada and Ontario will:
Develop and implement a joint pilot program where Environmental Management
Agreements (EMAs) are negotiated to encourage multi-pollutant, beyond-compliance
reductions of harmful pollutants by priority sectors/facilities; and,
Undertake outreach initiatives targeting priority industries and industry
associations to promote participation in the joint pilot program.
Enhancing Knowledge
Canada and Ontario will ensure that essential knowledge
is available for decision-making pertaining to virtual elimination of
persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances and reductions of other harmful
pollutants by achieving:
Result 7
A common approach for effective emissions reporting.
Canada and Ontario will:
Develop and implement a pilot project to integrate the air emission
reporting requirements of Ontario's proposed Mandatory Monitoring and
Reporting Regulation with the federal National Pollutants Release Inventory
to facilitate the development of a common database of harmful pollutants
and tracking the releases to air.
Result 8
Improved quantification of in-basin and out-of-basin sources of harmful
pollutant releases.
Canada will:
Develop and maintain substance profiles in support of the Binational
Toxics Strategy and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to identify
source sectors for remedial actions and release reduction activities;
Provide technical support for stack emissions testing of persistent
bioaccumulative toxic substances within selected priority sectors to
improve substance inventories;
Maintain the Great Lakes Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Monitoring
Network (IADN) stations, expand to monitor mercury, dioxins and furans,
and review monitoring coverage to ensure a comprehensive substance list
and sufficient spatial coverage;
Monitor COA Tier I and II substances at selected federal National
Air Pollutants Surveillance (NAPS) sites; and,
Develop, with various partners, Canada-US regional airshed networks
(beginning with Windsor) to address local transboundary air pollution
issues including complaints, monitoring and prevention.
Ontario will:
Develop a program to monitor application of biosolids, including biosolids
quality;
Identify transboundary sources of air deposition through regional
scale models; and,
Provide current air quality information and smog updates both on-line
and via the media.
Result 9
Knowledge of the occurrence, fate and impact of harmful pollutants on
human and environmental health is gathered and communicated to the public.
Canada and Ontario will:
Collect and develop more complete and comprehensive data on pollutant
releases and sources to facilitate the risk and health impacts assessment
of harmful pollutants within the Great Lakes Basin; and,
Conduct field studies on the fate and movement of harmful pollutants
including pathogens in biosolids applied to agricultural lands.
Canada will:
Research the nature and impacts of harmful pollutants to human health;
Research the occurrence, persistence, fate and effects of toxic substances
in the aquatic environment;
Research the impact of discharges from various source sectors on the
receiving environment, and develop and implement environmental effects
monitoring programs for major source sectors such as pulp and paper
and metal mining; and
Develop a Health Science Framework (national and Great Lakes specific)
to guide and facilitate the health science activities undertaken by
researchers and other health scientists.
Ontario will:
Develop source-receptor models and provide data to appropriate agencies
for use in determining the human health impacts of harmful pollutants;
and,
Research health impacts of harmful pollutants to set new provincial
standards, guidelines and objectives.
Result 10
An understanding of the ecological and human health risks of priority
chemicals.
Canada and Ontario will:
Research the environmental and human health impacts of substances
of potential concern; and,
Research the sources of these substances and examine options for reducing
their release into the environment.
This Annex will remain in effect for five years, after which time it
may be considered for renegotiation and/or renewal by Canada and Ontario.
Renegotiation, renewal or amendments to this Annex will include public
consultation in accordance with the Canada-Ontario Agreement. Upon mutual
agreement, the Parties may amend this Annex at any time.
Effective implementation and management of this Annex will ensure progress
and consistency in decision making, monitoring, communications and reporting,
as well as clarity in government leadership pursuant to this Annex.
To manage the delivery of the results and commitments under this Annex,
the Parties will establish Annex Management Leads. The Leads will report
to, and receive direction from, the COA Management Committee. The Leads
will be a director-level representative of Environment Canada and a director-level
representative of Ministry of the Environment. Canada and Ontario will
provide resources needed for the management of the Annex jointly and equally.
The Annex Management Leads will:
Develop and coordinate implementation of a multi-year Work Plan, to
be updated annually by June 1. Within 12 months of this Annex coming
into effect, the work-plan will be submitted to the COA Management Committee
for review and approval. The Work Plan will describe the activities
and deliverables of each contributing agency in relation to the specific
results and commitments articulated within the Annex. In preparing COA
Work Plans, every effort will be made to maximize the integration of
activities of contributing departments and ministries in order to ensure
a coordinated and cooperative approach;
Annually, by June 1, update the multi-year Work Plan and prepare Progress
Reports for review and approval by the COA Management Committee; and,
Liaise with other departments/ministries to ensure that those agencies
are aware of the goals, priorities and strategies of the COA, and to
the maximum extent, incorporate these into agency planning.
V Definitions
Criteria air pollutants
Nitrogen Oxides (NOX), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Sulpur Dioxide
(SO2), particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10), particulate matter
less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5).
Discharge
Refers to a release of a substance directly to a water body.
Emission
Refers to a release of a substance to the air.
Harmful Pollutants
Are those substances having a deleterious impact on the health/functioning
of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem. In this Annex, the harmful pollutants
will refer to substances on the Tier I and Tier II substance list, as
well as others such as, PM10/PM2.5, NOx, VOCs, and SO2.
Loading
Refers to the amount (concentration x flow) of a substance being emitted
or discharged
Parties:
The governments of Canada and Ontario
Release
Refers to an air emission or aqueous discharge, depending on the context.
Source-Receptor Models
Computer or mathematical models that predict how sources of pollution
are distributed in the environment and what risk that they pose to the
receptor, which could be humans, animals, water quality, etc.
Tier I
Includes the 11 critical pollutants identified by the International
Joint Commission, plus critical pollutants identified in the Niagara
River and lake Ontario Toxic Management Plans and the Lake Superior
Binational Program. Tier I pollutants are targeted for virtual elimination.
The Tier I listing includes:
Note:* denotes substances that are no longer being used or released in
Ontario
Tier II
Includes substances identified as having the potential for causing
widespread impacts, or have already caused local adverse impacts on
the Great Lakes environment. The Tier II listing includes:
Anthracene
Cadmium
1,4'-dichlorobenzene
3,3'-dichlorobenzene
Tributyl tin
