Activities

Discuss the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

• What do you think about the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement?
• Does it need to be updated?
• Is the scope of the agreement still as sound in 2004 as it was in 1978?
• Do you have a vision for the future of the Lakes you want to share and shape?

These are questions the governments of the U.S. and Canada will face this year as they begin to review the effectiveness of this historic agreement-- the IJC is interested in your views and looking for your input.

As part of this process, the IJC has launched an Internet bulletin board to encourage basin-wide discussion of the issues early in the review process. Log on early and often. We encourage you to comment on agreement issues that are important to you and respond to other's thoughts.

Great Lakes Water Quality Issues

The United States and Canada share one of the world's most valuable natural resources – the Great Lakes. The 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement reaffirms a commitment, first expressed by the two countries in 1972, to restore and protect the water quality of these lakes. The International Joint Commission plays an important role in evaluating efforts by both countries to restore the Great Lakes basin ecosystem and recommending actions to the two federal governments to implement the goals and objectives of the agreement.

The 1978 agreement includes Specific Objectives to enhance and maintain ecosystem quality, as well as a goal to virtually eliminate toxic substances, which persist in the environment, from entering the lakes. To reach this goal and to restore, preserve and protect the Great Lakes basin ecosystem, the agreement calls for an ecosystem approach considering the interaction of air, land, water, and living things, including humans. It calls for cooperation among the federal, provincial and state governments to define the total impact of persistent toxic substances and to develop control programs for the use, transport and disposal of pesticides, industrial wastes, petroleum products, and sludge and dredge spoils. Monitoring and research programs identify sources and trends in persistent toxic chemical concentrations and their impacts on wildlife and human health, as well as the broader elements of physical, chemical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.

The Great Lakes Regional Office was established in 1973 to assist the Commission and its Great Lakes advisory boards in fulfilling their responsibilities under the agreement. Staff in the Windsor, Ontario office provide scientific, technical and administrative support, as well as a public information and consultation service. The Director of the Great Lakes Regional Office is Dr. Karen Vigmostad.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Board provides advice to the Commission on broad policy questions related to Great Lakes environmental issues facing the region. Members are primarily key managers of programs and policies related to the purpose of the agreement and are appointed from the U.S. and Canadian federal agencies and each of the eight U.S. Great Lake states and two Canadian provinces.

The Great Lakes Science Advisory Board provides advice related to technical, scientific and socio-economic issues. Its members are chosen from the physical, natural and social science fields and are experts in the areas of Great Lakes research, water quality and related fields.

The Council of Great Lakes Research Managers brings the basin's top research managers together to discuss findings, coordinate projects where applicable, and determine what research is needed to accomplish the purpose of the Agreement. Two important projects of this council are its Research Inventory and Great Lakes Science Vessels website. Both are interactive, web based indexes containing valuable information in these areas and facilitate collaboration on research and monitoring.

Air pollution accounts for significant levels of toxic pollution entering the lakes and the agreement addresses this issue. The IJC's International Air Quality Advisory Board, works on this and other transboundary air quality issues between the two countries.

Because the agreement focuses on a wide variety of water quality issues facing the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence ecosystem, the Commission created a priority setting process to focus on what it considers the most pressing issues. It reviews and revises these priorities as needed every two years, after receiving input from the public, and as it prepares it Biennial Reports to governments on the status of Great Lakes water quality. The IJC's current 2003-2005 priorities are available to read and comment on. Meetings, workshops and other information on these studies will be publicized as they are scheduled. You may also view past priority reports. The most recent 2001-2003 Priorities Report was published in September 2003.

The Commission asks its advisory boards to investigate and report on specific elements of these priorities, and creates additional task forces or working groups as required to undertake additional projects. This process allows the Commission to undertake a thorough assessment of progress under the agreement for these priority issues, and to recommend innovative and anticipatory actions to both governments to restore and protect the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.

Certain sections of the agreement are covered by the Coast Guard organizations in each country. You can view the current joint Coast Guard Report here.

In 1987, the governments reauthorized the 1978 agreement through a Protocol that added annexes, strengthened programs and increased accountability for their implementation. New annexes address research, controls for atmospheric deposition and contaminated sediments and groundwater. A new Annex 2 commits the two countries to develop and implement Remedial Action Plans and Lakewide Management Plans to restore degraded areas in the Great Lakes basin and the lakes as a whole.

Do you live in an Area of Concern with a Remedial Action Plan? Our AOC Interactive Map provides a wealth of information about each area.

The IJC welcomes involvement from citizens in the basin who can share their knowledge and experiences in the Great Lakes. We invite advice from the public at any time and involve stakeholders from many different areas in our programs to ensure that advice and information is received from all interested parties. Biennial Meetings and other public hearings and focus groups are held periodically, particularly as we prepare reports to the governments of Canada and the United States on progress under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Check our Calendar for upcoming events and transcripts of past public meetings.

Other resources of interest can be found in the IJC News Room, under Links, or by clicking on the GLIN Great Lakes Daily News Box found to the right. Check out TEACH Great Lakes, a education site for students and teachers; and Great Lakes maps and GIS information.

For More Information about the IJC's Great Lakes Regional Office and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, contact an IJC office or e-mail commission@windsor.ijc.org.

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