Overview
Ontario, Quebec and the eight Great Lakes states - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - have negotiated and signed the non-binding Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement for the management of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin waters. The good-faith agreement establishes administrative procedures pertaining to water diversions, consumptive uses and withdrawals and is intended to implement the 2001 Great Lakes Charter Annex. The Great Lakes states have also signed a binding Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Compact among themselves with similar terms.
The Great Lakes Charter and Annex 2001
The Great Lakes Charter is a non-binding understanding between Ontario, Quebec and the eight Great Lakes States that sets out broad principles for the joint management of the Great Lakes. The Charter sets out five principles: integrity of the Great Lakes basin; cooperation among jurisdictions; protection of the water resources of the Great Lakes; prior notice and consultation; and cooperative programs and practices.
The 2001 Great Lakes Charter Annex supplements the Great Lakes Charter and commits the governors and premiers to developing a common management regime that would apply to proposals for new and increased withdrawals and diversions of Great Lakes surface and groundwater. The Great Lakes Charter Annex implementing agreements attempt to provide this management regime.
Great Lakes Water Management Regime
The implementing agreements form part of an existing broad suite of instruments employed by federal, provincial and state governments in managing the Great Lakes. These instruments include: the Boundary Waters Treaty, the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Fisheries Act along with a range of statutes, regulations and policies at the state and provincial level.
The Government of Canada, under the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act, prohibits the bulk removal of boundary waters from Canadian basins, a ban the Government of Canada is committed to keeping in place. In addition, the Government of Canada has worked cooperatively with provincial and territorial governments who have in place similar statutory, regulatory, or policy safeguards.
Next Steps
The agreements provide a framework for each province and state to pass laws that put in place the new protections for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin waters. The United States Congress will also have to endorse the compact among the eight Great Lakes states. Portions of the agreements are effective immediately; others will be phased in over time.
Links
The Great Lakes Charter, Annex 2001 and the implementing agreements are available at the Council of Great Lakes Governors website, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website, and the Quebec ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs.
The final report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on the Great Lakes Charter Annex and the Government of Canada’s response can be found at www.parl.gc.ca.
Presentation of the Government of Canada to the Council of Great Lakes Governors
International Joint Commission
International Boundary Waters Treaty Act
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
